Quick Tip for Confidence - Keep Your Portfolio Up to Date

I grew up mistaking self-confidence with hubris, avoiding it as though a sin.  Turns out, it's a good thing and I was missing out for a long, long time.  So, I'm trying to bring practices into my routine to improve my confidence…as I find things that work, I'll jot a quick note about it here and maybe it will work for someone else, too!

…and now, without further ado, I bring you my first Quick Tip for Confidence:

Keep Your Portfolio Up to Date

This may sound like trite advice that only applies to artists and writers who actually keep portfolios but it does work. Here's why: Whether you're keeping an actual portfolio of your published and/or best work or you're simply keeping a folder in which to file way your accomplishments, regular reminders of what you do when you're at your best make it easier to remember those same accomplishments when you're feeling down.

In the past, I would let my resume and my portfolio file rot until I was applying for a job and scrambling to make myself look good on a resume.  I would rush through memories of my accomplishments when stressed and therefor already in a negative state of mind. I would forget accomplishments on my resume, stumble when asked in interviews why I should be hired, and, day-to-day, would focus far more on my failures than the things I had done well.

Since I've started trying to write for a living, I've found it to be an important practice to maintain an online portfolio.  I have yet to have a potential employer look at it. If anyone ever needs some samples of my writing, I know it's there but that isn't the point. The portfolio, really, is for me. With every article that I get published, with every blog post that reaches my "popular" page view threshold, and with every stellar creation I complete, I immediately list it on my portfolio site as a kind of celebration of my accomplishment.  As I watch my portfolio grow, so too does my confidence.

It's a practice I would now recommend to anyone. Don't think about it as keeping your resume up to date or always being prepared for the next job. Instead, look at your portfolio as a celebration. Every new piece, every new success is a treasure to thank yourself for and to look back on anytime you forget just how much you rock.