Great article on CNN.com lists easy ways to derail your job search so that you know what not to do. Very awesome.
A lot of it is common sense (#2 – don’t burn bridges; #7 – typos make you look like a fool; #19 – be nice to the person at the front desk), but it’s good reinforcement all the same.
Point #1 spoke to me in particular because my mother showed me a quick way to create a working portfolio. Get a binder and some page protectors. Pop important papers in as you receive them – letters of promotion, job acceptance, completion certificates, the end product of a big project, etc. Simple. Easy to add to. And always there for you when you’re putting in for a promotion, a new job, or for bragging to your mother.
There’s a social media version of this too – a personal wiki. I’ve been using one as a portfolio to aggregate my articles, speaking engagements, resume, etc.
http://bethkanter.wikispaces.com