Building Your Portfolio in sunny Bath!

Yesterday I attended CILIP SW’s Building Your Portfolio workshop at the University of Bath. This was a lively informal session which focused on clarifying details regarding both ACLIP and MCLIP portfolios.

During the morning we talked in depth about how evidence fits the criteria of what the assessors are looking for. We looked at the regulations for the portfolio and any other questions we had were addressed both by the organisers of the course and other colleagues in the room. A majority of the morning was dedicated to looking at how evidence we may already have can fit in with the assessment criteria. Listening to colleagues helped me to clarify what I already thought and gave me ideas of other evidence I could add to my portfolio.

The key points I brought away from the morning were:

• The evaluative statement needs to be concise and focused in a form of: this is what I did, this is what I learnt from it, this is how I can use it in the future
• Keep your portfolio simple and clear to read, don’t expect the assessor to understand sector jargon
• Make sure to anonymise any confidential material and make sure copyright regulations are followed
• Relevantly recently it was decided that the three copies you submit can be electronic! (Saving on postage!)
• Make sure the evidence you present is relevant to your career progression, does it link to your PPDP?
• Use digital resources such as Dropbox and Pebblepad to keep your evidence together (these resources can be synced between your home and work computers).

I found it really helpful to meet other chartership candidates from the same region and share concerns over building our portfolios. I came away from the morning with a clearer sense of the assessment criteria and a renewed energy when looking at the evidence I have collected.  

Thanks to CILIP SW for a brilliant morning and some clarification to a difficult process!