Build a clinical research portfolio without prior experience
A portfolio can make selected capabilities visible before your first clinical research role, if every item is labeled honestly and kept within its assessed scope.
Direct answer
Build a clinical research portfolio from fictional or de-identified role-relevant tasks, not fabricated employment. For each work product, state the scenario, your role, the competency addressed, the conditions, the date, the rubric or feedback used, the review status, and the limitations. Keep practice work separate from human-reviewed verified evidence.
Useful portfolio artifacts by role
Choose a few artifacts that reveal judgment and communication, not a large folder of generic notes. Never include participant identifiers, confidential sponsor information, or records you are not authorized to share.
- CRC: visit-preparation plan, source review notes, protocol-deviation analysis, safety escalation draft, or query response.
- Clinical trial assistant: tracking log, document-quality review, meeting follow-up, or escalation map.
- CRA: monitoring preparation, finding classification, follow-up letter, issue escalation, or action-item review.
- Regulatory support: submission checklist, document reconciliation, change-impact review, or inspection-readiness tracker.
How to label simulated work
Use a visible label such as 'Simulation work produced in a fictional study scenario.' Name what the exercise covered and what it did not cover. Do not place it under employment history or imply that a fictional sponsor, site, participant, or supervisor was real.
Show how the work was reviewed
Practice feedback, course feedback, baseline assessment, and verified assessment are different states. If a reviewer used a rubric, show the rubric version, review date, result, and reviewer role. If no formal review occurred, say so.
What a portfolio cannot prove
BORAKA does not certify legal or regulatory qualification, guarantee job readiness, employment, salary, promotion, or employer acceptance. Simulation is not employment experience. Employers remain responsible for their decisions.
Questions readers ask
- Can I put simulation work on my resume?
- You can describe relevant project or simulation work if it is clearly labeled and never presented as employment. Use precise language about the task, conditions, and result.
- Should I include real patient or study records?
- No. Do not include identifiable participant information, confidential trial records, or employer material you are not authorized to share.
- How many portfolio artifacts do I need?
- There is no universal number. A small, coherent set tied to a target role is usually easier to interpret than many unrelated files.
Read the governing and credential sources
External sources establish their own guidance or requirements. None endorses BORAKA or validates a BORAKA outcome.
- official guidanceU.S. Office of Personnel Management
Work samples and simulations ask candidates to perform tasks that resemble work and are most appropriate when the measured competencies are expected on entry.
This is general federal selection guidance, not clinical-research-specific validation and not an evaluation of BORAKA.
Work Samples and Simulations (opens in a new tab) - official guidanceInternational Council for Harmonisation
Good Clinical Practice provides an international ethical, scientific, and quality standard for trials involving human participants. The current guideline emphasizes proportionate, risk-based approaches and reliable trial results.
This is a governing practice framework, not a curriculum or evidence that a particular person can perform a role. ICH does not endorse BORAKA.
ICH E6(R3) Guideline for Good Clinical Practice (opens in a new tab)
Figures are reported only for the population each study measured.
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