The purpose of resumes and cover letters is to get an interview where one can bring out the portfolio and use it to illustrate and supplement the brief outline of qualifications presented in your resume. A portfolio and resume are not the same things. A resume summarizes your skills, work experiences, and education on one or two pages. Portfolios are much more detailed than resumes and require a larger time investment to create. A portfolio is usually presented in a professional binder allowing for an in-depth showcasing of your experience and skills. But nowadays the Digital Portfolio is very popular.

Originating from the French language, a resume in simple English words stands for the summary. Resume holds the key to the world of opportunities and it is through the resume that one can showcase and create a brand for themselves. A carefully crafted resume can indeed help one to land in a great job without much effort. The word portfolio derives from the Italian word portfolio where Porta means to carry and Foglio means leaf or paper. It is a collection of samples that represent your work or activity. By using a portfolio, a recruiter can get to see and testify one’s talent. This adds a tangible aspect to your work by giving a clearer picture of the type and quality of the work.

In a resume, everything is written in reverse chronological order to emphasize the recent work or project. This type of resume format is quite useful as the recruiters are more interested in working experiences rather than academic qualifications and the courses. A portfolio in many ways is similar to a resume. Like a resume, the portfolio should be up to date and relevant with time. The main characteristic where it differs from a general resume is the tangibility factor. In a resume one can add the type of work done or currently pursuing, it’s not easy to testify them in an interview scenario. But with a digital portfolio, the recruiter gets to see, feel, assess the quality of work, and can make a better decision. A recruiter can make a better judgment which is free from any biases or any absurd assumptions.

The resume contains information about recent projects undertaken along with basic personal information like name, contact information, and brief information about hobbies and stuff that will provide the recruiter with an overall idea about the candidate for the job and how well one would fit in the organization. A digital portfolio, unlike a resume, consists of images, vectors, and other pictures that make it much more perceptive to the viewer and help them to evaluate. One uses a digital portfolio format to create a vivid gallery of work under different categories. Online portfolios are more common today. There are many websites to create creating a portfolio quickly and easily. One can also link to websites or other digital projects they have worked on. This allows the portfolio to be shared easily through email.

In the past, portfolios were used by artists, designers, photographers, and other creative career fields. Today, some job seekers are opting to use job skills portfolios, job search portfolios, or career portfolios that include resumes, instead of the traditional cover letter/resume combination. Digital Portfolios aren't meant to replace resumes, but rather to enhance them.