This Storify contains selected tweets relating to three primary themes I saw emerge from the first Twitter #chartership chat on 16/02/12.

Organisational objectives

When working on my chartership portfolio today, I had wondered about organisational objectives. Working for a small company, we do not have the same publicly available strategy documents that other organisations may. I had already asked on Twitter earlier in the day whether anyone else had experienced issues with this and had some discussion with @tinamreynolds. As a result I had contacted our Chief Executive to find out if any strategy documents existed or whether he could write some that I could use in my portfolio.

I was understandably worried when one of the London Candidate Support Officers stated that one of the common problems with chartership portfolios was people not evaluating organisational objectives.

However, within minutes of me having posted a reply asking for any tips or advice, several people had tweeted me to suggest that if there were no organisational objectives, then I should write some as it would benefit my chartership and the organisation.

This made me feel much more positive about this element of the portfolio and I felt empowered to take control of it. My employers are very supportive and would encourage this sort of proactive attitude, so I will suggest this to them. Also, the Information Team within my organisation has comprised only one person for some time prior to an influx of staff last year. Therefore it would be of benefit to put together some departmental and organisational objectives.

Reflection

A discussion that came up early on in the conversation surround reflection. I have found this to be a very important and valuable part of the chartership process. Reflecting on workshops has helped me to get more out of them and reflecting on activities at work has helped me in the work I do with clients on continual process improvement.

A fellow contributor had asked for tangible reasons why portfolios are rejected and I had replied that at my most recent meeting with my mentor, she had told me that descriptive, rather than reflective, writing was often the cause.

This contribution to the ensuing discussion was such a useful tip for ensuring writing is evaluative yet its simplicity means that I will implement it more readily than trying to remember theoretical models of reflection.

Portfolio contents

The complaint I have most often heard from fellow mentees is that we feel the guidance on what can go in to the portfolio is quite vague. I appreciate the flexibility this offers, in times where many CPD budgets have been cut it is important that it is not too prescriptive, for example focusing on attending courses, and reflects the varied nature of jobs within the library and information sector.

A lot of others echoed this feeling. Although there are sample portfolios available online, some commented that the variation in these actually made it harder in some ways. This discussion reassured me that I was not alone in this feeling.

I have found the example portfolios on the LIS New Professionals Network very inspirational in terms of widening my perception of what was suitable for inclusion as evidence (an experience I shared). At previous chartership events I've attended the emphasis has been on quality, not quantity, but I still feel that some more substantive advice would be useful (e.g. 2-3 pieces of evidence per PPDP objective). However, I recognise that I thrive working to targets and objectives whereas others will have different learning styles. Therefore the advice on portfolio contents has to be flexible to suit different organisations and individuals.

The organisers have confirmed that these chartership Twitter discussions will continue - I look forward to further, productive and useful discussions.