1. Start collecting evidence early!

• Your portfolio is only as strong as the evidence it contains. You may have gained a wealth of experience during foundation training, but this can't be verified without evidence. 

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• You can use your online portfolio to keep a record of the cases that you have managed and to demonstrate your ability to learn from and reflect on challenging situations or adverse event.s 

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• Remember to also keep a record of any other specialty-specific competencies that you gain during your training. For example, if you are applying to core surgical training, it might be worth starting an online e-portfolio to keep track of theatre cases that you have been involved with. 

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• Keep your presentations and certificates for any conferences that you attend or present at.

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• If you are struggling to find evidence to demonstrate your experience in a specific area, consider asking a consultant who you have worked closely with if they would be happy to write a statement to support your experience and skills.

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2. Look at the portfolio guidance and person specification for your specialty

• Download the portfolio guidance and person specification for your programme early. 

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• Rate yourself using the portfolio points marking sheet and identify areas where you can make improvements. For example, you may realise that you could gain additional portfolio points by attending courses between now and the interview.

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• Try to tailor the evidence that you provide to demonstrate that you meet the person specification.

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3. Curate content carefully

• Remember that assessors only have a very short period of time to review your portfolio and mark its contents against the portfolio marking sheet. 

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• Make sure that every piece of evidence that you include serves to directly satisfy one of the portfolio or person specification elements. Too much non-sensical evidence makes your portfolio look 'messy' and inevitably distracts from the high quality evidence that you have included.

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STOP AND THINK:

What is the purpose of including this specific piece of evidence?

Does it clearly help to demonstrate that I satisfy one of the portfolio or person specification requirements?

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• Think about how you display your content. For example, it may be tempting to include every DOPS you've ever performed to show that you have a range of practical skills, but this may not be the most effective way to demonstrate your technical experience and it is unlikely that your assessors will have enough time to look at every assessment that you have included. Consider creating a  summary sheet to provide an overview of the skills that you have learnt and providing evidence for these instead.

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4. Stand out from the crowd

• Although the overall aim of your portfolio is to demonstrate your specialty-specific experience and show that you meet the person specification, this is also your opportunity to distinguish yourself from other candidates .

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• Consider how you can demonstrate transferable skills that you may have gained through extra-curricular endeavours (ie leadership skills, presentation abilities, teaching experience et cetera)

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5. Set yourself up for success

•  First impressions count! In many cases, your assessors for the portfolio station will only have a short period of time to review your portfolio prior to you entering the assessment room.  Presenting an organised, polished portfolio not only reflects a level of professionalism and attention to detail, but also makes reviewing your portfolio much easier for your assessors and establishes a favourable first impression before you even walk into the room!

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6. Make it easy for your audience

• Your assessors will be reviewing dozens of portfolios during the interview process, particularly for specialties that subscribe to national recruitment. This can be tedious. Think about ways to make the process less stressful for your assessors. For example - 1) organise your portfolio evidence in the same sequence as the portfolio marking sheet so that the person reviewing your portfolio doesn't need to "dig" to find evidence.  2) Consider using a title page and dividers to make it easier for your assessors to access specific information. 

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7. Know your portfolio

• It is not uncommon for your assessors to ask you to talk about 'your greatest achievement' or 'an audit that you are most proud of' in this station. By knowing exactly where the evidence is in your portfolio, you can guide your assessors to review the documents related to the achievement or work that you are referring to (ie a printout of your audit presentation for example) whilst you are answering the question.

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