Each month set a calendar reminder and update your GIS portfolio. Yup, that’s my trick to succeed in your career as a data or GIS professional.
One of the best pieces of advice that I was given early in my career was at the end of every month I should spend just a few minutes preparing for my annual performance review.
What?
I was told to put a recurring reminder on my calendar and spend a few moments writing down what I accomplished. The process of writing down the things that I did each month helped me prepare for a better annual review as well as celebrate my wins along the way. In that role each year we were ranked on seven specific categories. By taking a moment at the end of the month to write down what I did I was able to present a clear picture to my boss of all the things that I did (some of them small) that helped provide evidence of success in these categories.
Since I’ve pivoted to being a small business owner the practice has changed and I focus on grabbing pieces of visual evidence or other evidence that I can later put in my GIS portfolio.
Here’s my general process:
- I look over my calendar to ping my memory. What big meetings/ presentations happened this month? Any interesting analysis that I did for a client?
- I scroll through my “posts” section on LinkedIn did I produce any quick maps that I shared that support my brand and story?
- What was my biggest win for the month? I put this on my “Good Did Grow” board and I record it in my PowerSheets.
When I find the evidence (ie a map or chart) I try to save a high-resolution image. But I also believe that doing is best, so I often will just screenshot it. I am a huge fan of greenshot. I highly recommend saving the images directly to a folder on your computer instead of just putting them directly in your GIS portfolio. There have been a number of occasions when I wanted to go back and use an image from my GIS portfolio in something else but I had to screenshot a screenshot (which doesn’t work well).
Remember to grab VISUAL evidence. As GIS professionals, our job is inherently visual and so people want to see how you can communicate. Did you lead a big zoom meeting? Grab a screenshot while you’re talking. If you speak at an event make sure you take a photo and during your monthly time move it from your phone into your “GIS Portfolio” folder.
Even if you are in a job that you love having a GIS portfolio is essential to communicate the value that you add. In a previous role, I used my portfolio as a means to network within my organization and demonstrate the unique value that I brought. I was able to communicate express my value in a way that more people understood and as a result I got put on some great projects! (I write all about this in this blog post!)
This is a small task but compounded over time it will make a difference as you map your future! Make sure you’re signed up for our mailing list to get notified of when I open up my Portfolio Challenge again later this year!