Creating a Portfolio That Stands Out: Curating and Presenting Your Practicum Work

You've completed meaningful work during your practicum, but now you need to package it for employers. What should you include? How should you present it? What makes a portfolio actually useful versus a forgettable collection of documents? These questions stump many students who know how to do public health work but haven't thought carefully about showcasing it.

A strong portfolio does more than display products—it demonstrates your thinking, capabilities, and professional potential. Creating one requires strategic decisions about selection, presentation, and narrative. Done well, a portfolio becomes one of your most powerful job search tools.

What a Portfolio Actually Accomplishes

A portfolio provides evidence of capability that resumes cannot. Anyone can claim skills; portfolios show them. When you include an actual data visualization, communication piece, or evaluation plan, you're proving rather than asserting competence.

Portfolios differentiate you from candidates with similar credentials. Many applicants have MPH degrees and relevant coursework. Fewer have curated demonstrations of applied work that hiring managers can actually examine. Your portfolio shows what you specifically bring.

Perhaps most importantly, portfolios demonstrate professional judgment. Your selection of what to include, how to present it, and what narrative to construct around it reveals how you think. This meta-level demonstration often matters as much as the individual pieces.

Selecting What to Include

Include your strongest work, not everything you've done. A few excellent pieces outperform many mediocre ones. Hiring managers have limited time; don't dilute your best work with filler.

Select pieces that demonstrate different competencies. If all your samples show writing skill but nothing else, you've demonstrated narrow capability. A strong portfolio includes pieces showing various skills: analysis, communication, planning, visual design, community engagement, or whatever competencies matter for your target roles.

Choose work relevant to your career direction. If you're pursuing health communication positions, emphasize communication products. If you want evaluation roles, feature evaluation work. Your portfolio should align with where you're going, not just where you've been.

Consider confidentiality carefully. Practicum work often involves sensitive organizational or community information that cannot be shared. You may need to redact identifying details, use aggregated or anonymized data, or describe work conceptually without showing actual deliverables. Always check with your practicum site about what you can include.

Presenting Work Effectively

Each portfolio piece needs context, not just the product itself. Include brief descriptions explaining: what the piece is, what problem it addressed, your specific role in creating it, what constraints you worked within, and what the outcome was.

This context matters because evaluators can't fully understand work without knowing its circumstances. A community needs assessment created under time pressure with limited resources demonstrates different capabilities than one created with ample support. A report that actually influenced organizational decisions matters differently than an academic exercise.

Show your thinking, not just your output. Where possible, explain decisions you made: why you chose certain approaches, how you handled challenges, what you would do differently with more time or resources. This reflective element distinguishes thoughtful professionals from task-completers.

Present work visually when appropriate. Long text documents don't showcase well in portfolios. Can you include key graphics, executive summaries, or highlighted sections rather than full documents? Visual samples are more accessible to reviewers with limited time.

Portfolio Format Options

Digital portfolios offer flexibility and accessibility. A simple website showcasing your work allows you to share a link with any potential employer. Platforms like Google Sites, Wix, or Squarespace enable professional presentation without technical expertise.

PDF portfolios work well for specific applications. You can curate pieces relevant to a particular position and submit as a single document. This format ensures reviewers see exactly what you want them to see in the order you intend.

Traditional folders or binders still serve for in-person interviews. Physical portfolios allow interviewers to flip through work during conversation. Consider having both digital and physical versions for different contexts.

Whatever format you choose, ensure it's easy to navigate. Reviewers shouldn't struggle to find or open your work. Test links, check formatting, and consider the user experience.

Developing Your Professional Narrative

Your portfolio tells a story about who you are professionally. What thread connects your work? What values or interests drive your choices? What professional identity are you cultivating?

This narrative appears in how you introduce your portfolio, how you describe pieces, and what you emphasize or downplay. A portfolio presenting you as a data-driven decision supporter differs from one presenting you as a community engagement specialist—even if both contain some of the same underlying work.

Think about what you want employers to understand about you. Then construct your portfolio to convey that message through selection, presentation, and framing.

Authentic narrative matters more than polish. Don't present yourself as someone you're not—experienced interviewers detect inauthenticity quickly. Instead, identify your genuine strengths and professional interests, then present your work in ways that highlight those truths.

Common Portfolio Mistakes to Avoid

Including too much: reviewers won't examine extensive portfolios thoroughly. Be selective.

No context for pieces: products without explanation are hard to evaluate. Always provide framing.

Poor organization: if reviewers can't navigate your portfolio easily, they won't try hard. Structure clearly.

Outdated work: include recent, relevant pieces. Work from years ago suggests you haven't developed since.

Confidentiality violations: sharing work you shouldn't share demonstrates poor judgment. When in doubt, ask permission or exclude.

Identical portfolios for different applications: tailoring your portfolio to specific positions shows serious interest and good judgment.

Maintaining Your Portfolio Ongoing

Your portfolio is never finished. As you complete new work, evaluate whether it should replace existing pieces. As your career direction clarifies, adjust what you emphasize. As you apply for specific positions, customize your presentation.

Establish a habit of capturing work as you complete it. Take screenshots, save files, note context while details are fresh. Building a portfolio is easier when you've collected materials ongoing than when you're scrambling before a deadline.

Your practicum provides excellent portfolio material—work produced in real settings addressing actual problems. Take full advantage by selecting your best pieces, presenting them effectively, and constructing a narrative that demonstrates not just what you did, but what you're capable of contributing as a public health professional.