If you’re like most students nearing college, you have an idea of what you want to major in, but you also know you’re pretty likely to change your mind. Who knows what kind of job you’ll want? That’s a long time away!

But with competition so fierce for jobs after college graduation, the pressure is on to begin preparing early. There is something that can give you an edge over your competition in your job search and you can begin working on it now.

That something is called a career skills portfolio.

Artists have used portfolios for years to demonstrate their abilities. You can use portfolios, too. The best part is, you don’t even have to have any career skills to begin one. With every class you take, every volunteer job you take, you’re likely to produce items for your portfolio. Great papers you’ve written show your writing skills and research abilities. Awards you’ve won for volunteer work, spreadsheets you’ve created as part of a class project and the job you have during school all show you’ve developed skills you can use in future jobs.

You can even “make stuff up” to demonstrate your skills. Say you want to work for a nonprofit as a fund-raiser. You could write a fund-raising letter for a fictitious nonprofit. You could go so far as to research grants that might be a fit the fictitious mission and write the proposal. Maybe you’ll even do a promotional brochure. Now you have three work samples without ever having a related job! You can use those samples to showcase your research abilities.

John Sullivan, author of Resumes Stink: Start Asking for Portfolios, says that portfolios are better ways to demonstrate your skills than traditional resumes. Sullivan says that resumes are too short to give details, that they can’t demonstrate technology or visual arts and that they are focused on the past and not the future. This attitude is good news for students who don’t have much work history to put on a resume!

Once you are ready to put your portfolio together, how do you do it? Luckily, most employers have no firm requirement of what a portfolio should look like, as they are not yet that common. The key is to keep your portfolio organized logically so that you can find what you’re looking for when you want to show it to a prospective employer.

A simple setup would be a nice three-ring binder with tabs to separate the categories and plastic sheet protectors to keep your documents in good condition.

Here’s what to include:

1. A traditional resume

2. Skills & abilities demonstration
This is where you’ll put examples of your best work. For example, a screen shot of a Web site you designed, papers you’ve written or projects you’ve completed. Attach a description of what you did. If you have redesigned something and improved it significantly, include a copy of the old version with your new one and explain the changes.

3. Testimonials & letters of  recommendation
Include any kind of recognition you’ve received—notes from your boss praising your work, recommendations from teachers or coaches.

4. Awards and honors
Include the actual award, if you can, or a photo of it—especially if the award is something that is meant to sit on a shelf. You can even include a picture of yourself receiving the award.

5. Conferences and workshops
List any conferences you’ve participated in. You could also include any classes you’ve completed.

6. Transcripts, degrees, licenses & certifications    
You could include report cards, your diploma and any certifications you have earned while in school. For example, an aspiring IT professional may earn a Microsoft certification during high school.

7. Military records, awards & badges
If you have them, include them. They can demonstrate skills such as leadership, communication and technology know-how. If you’ve been involved with JROTC or another such program, include that information in this section.