things not to put in your portfolio recommendation letter from your and
social media handle so much you want to get paid Christmas wishlist headshot
photos of your pet favorite coffee the list of snacks you want to be in the
break room selfies don't put any loose glitter in your portfolio what's up guys
and welcome to my channel I'm nurse Blake and in this video I'm going to
talk about the importance of having a portfolio
portfolios are great for two reasons one it'll help you stand out in an interview
number two it'll help you keep track of your nursing journey things you need
inside your portfolio what do you need to put in there
item number one you want to start off your portfolio with your resume it's
your whole portfolio on one page on one sheet of paper and really try to keep
your resume on one page now what's great is if you have a portfolio you can
highlight other things that didn't necessarily fit on your one-page resume
of course your resume could go on to two pages but it is recommended that you do
keep it at one a resume is a summary of you from your educational background to
your work experience and whatever doesn't fit on your resume that's okay
cuz we're gonna include it in the portfolio item number two letters of
recommendation you should be keeping and collecting letters of recommendation
throughout your nursing journey from when you're in nursing school to your
work experience for things you do on the side professionally when I was in
nursing school before I graduated I asked my two favorite teachers to write
me a recommendation letter and I still have those in my portfolio today since
I've been a nurse for four years I also want to keep some updated ones so if I
ever got a new job or switch jobs I would make sure that manager would write
me a recommendation letter just so I can keep it in my portfolio and also use it
when I'm looking for a new job I know number three certifications and license
start the section off with your nursing license and then follow that with
certifications and I would start with the most basic or the general ones like
CPR ACLS PALS these are typically required certifications at any nursing
job and if you have any specialty certifications go ahead and include
those behind them or if there's any requirements or certifications for the
job include those in there as well item number four research and papers
it's always great to show and keep track of things you do professionally like
writing papers or doing research whether you did research while you were
back in nursing school or maybe you're a nurse working on a unit
discounsel and one of your projects was to decrease falls on your unit this is
something extra that you did outside of the bedside in something that you did
that keep contributed contributed and this is something that you did that
contributed to better patient care and better outcomes and definitely something
that you should highlight in something that you should be proud of and always
want to keep track of anything you do that goes above and beyond is something
that you should definitely keep track of and keep a record of and it's something
that you're gonna look back on it in five years and be really proud of
yourself that you did it in this section just so my words today I don't know what
it is maybe my mouth is dry water better item number five volunteer and community
service so what do you do on your days off do you volunteer are you out in the
community making the community a better place if so make sure you highlight
those in your portfolio I volunteer at one of the hospitals down the street I
actually work at the gift shop it's a lot of fun and I highly recommend if
you're not doing a volunteer community service definitely find something that
piques your interest and a way that you can give back especially if you're
applying for a nursing job it's great to show that you want to positively impact
your community and that you're doing something about it there's so many
places that you can volunteer and I'm sure there's so many organizations that
would be happy to have you help them whether you work at a hospital just
greeting people or at an animal shelter whatever it is it's a great thing to
highlight in your portfolio so on this section make sure you put down the
organization that you volunteer at what your job role is and how many hours you
contribute to that organization it's a great thing to be involved in your
community so do it find something that piques your interest
and start volunteering item number six participation and professional
organizations it's highly recommended that you participate in a professional
organization and if you're a nursing student that can be the national student
nurses so and if you're a nurse that could be the
American Nurses Association these are only a few of the many professional
organizations out there let's say you work in a specialty whether that be
pediatrics critical care medicine elorg n' is a shion's for each one of those
and if you're not already a member I highly recommend you becoming one and
don't forget that different states have a professional nurses organization in
this section lists that you are a member what you do for that organization if
you're on a board of directors or if you're part of a committee and also list
how many hours you give to the organization this is a great way to show
that you participate in the nursing profession as a whole
beyond the bedside and for the bonus number seven if you are going into an
interview I highly recommend you start it off with a cover letter and you can
really put that behind your resume and a cover letter is saying to the
organization that you're interviewing with what your skills are and why you
would be a great fit for the organization and what you have to offer
them and their patients so that is a portfolio if there's anything else that
I left out or if there's anything else you want to showcase feel free to add
that to your portfolio again make it fun make it interactive this portfolio will
help you stand out it'll help you secure your next job and it's a great way to
keep track of everything that you've done the nursing you'll be able to look
at your portfolio or grab it after ten years and look at all the awesome things
that you've done as a nurse if you are going into an interview I do recommend
you leave one behind I have my main one which is my main copy and then I have
extras on standby for when I do look for a new job or if I'm interested in
another job or if I want to apply to be on a board of directors or if I want to
apply to be on a committee I always give them my portfolio because it tells them
who I am and things I've done in my nursing career so I hope this video
helps you out again I'm nurse Blake make sure you subscribe
to my channel so click on that big red subscribe button and right next to it
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which means you'll get the videos first thank you so much for watching have fun
putting your portfolio together if you have any questions leave them in the
comments below have a great shift