Your consulting portfolio is your most powerful tool in getting hired.
It’s a detailed record of your accomplishments, and it’s composed and formatted to show you at your best.
What that portfolio actually looks like will vary according to your own discipline; a human resources consultant’s portfolio will have a different look and feel than, say, an medical equipment consultant’s portfolio.
But the intent and the general format is the same. They are richly laid-out project pages; they show in words and (usually) images what kind of positive change you brought to your client.
A consulting portfolio will usually follow the following format for each project:
- The project name, the client, and (sometimes, not always) the budget or size of the project
- The challenge (what problem your client had that you were brought in to solve)
- The approach (what work you did and how you did it)
- The results (the transformation you brought that company, expressed in quantifiable terms)
- The references: people at that company who can back up what you’re saying here.
Portfolio pages are powerful when they balance hard evidence about the changes you made, with images of that project’s people and places that really speak to the heart.
They should usually be about one page per project.
What do you do when you’re just starting out and don’t have projects under your belt?
Did you play a comparable role in a project as an employee? If so, you should use those projects. But be honest about it. Say, “This is what I did when I was an employee at XX”. If you need XX’s approval to do that, ask them.
Use those projects to show what you can do as a consultant. Just be clear that you’re showing them work you did as an employee. (It goes without saying that if you’re still working for XX, you should think twice about using those projects in a portfolio to benefit yourself outside of work. Can you do so without conflict of interest?)
A CV instead of a portfolio?
If you don’t have a compelling portfolio yet, don’t despair. For now, write up a curriculum vitae that has all of the education and experience you have that pertains to your consulting offer. But don’t just list where you worked; list what projects you delivered, and what change you made for your employer. This is important.
Project-centred CVs are powerful.
Your client doesn’t care that you occupied a desk at a particular company for two years; they care that you successfully delivered a project similar to theirs. So say so. Let me give you an example from my past. Which is more compelling? “I worked as manager of interpretive delivery at this Aquarium for two years.” Or this: “During my two years at the Aquarium, I successfully launched a full suite of programs for a new gallery. I revamped the volunteer program to be more responsive to volunteers’ needs. I found new workspace for my staff and was able to move them to more comfortable, productive quarters.” See what I’m saying?
Are you feeling insecure about your resume and portfolio?
Now, if your resume and portfolio aren’t as impressive as you want them to be, don’t beat yourself up about it. Showcase what you have to your best advantage, and from there, concentrate on getting work from people who know you as a professional; who worked with you in your past roles; who believe in you. And honestly, that’s where most of your work will come from anyway: people who know you or know of you, and believe in what you can do.
So work your networks. Take on small projects. Build your portfolio piece by piece, project by project. It won’t take long. You can do it.
Here are some portfolio pages.
These are project pages in website format; most of these businesses will also have these as print-ready PDFs to be included in proposals.
