A resume is a career summary on paper. A portfolio shows selected work under controlled conditions. Reputation is what other people remember, repeat and trust when you are not present. At senior levels, hiring, promotion, speaking invitations and high-stakes assignments are shaped less by the polish of one case study and more by whether colleagues believe you can navigate ambiguity, improve decisions, work across functions and deliver when the stakes are real.
This talk explains why portfolios and resumes become necessary but insufficient as careers progress. It introduces the reputation gap: the difference between what you intend to be known for, what your artifacts claim and what your network actually says. Attendees will audit their reputation across craft, judgment, collaboration, consequence and reality, and identify the stories that travel with their name, including unhelpful ones created by inconsistency, invisibility, tone or overreliance on a single employer’s context.
The session focuses on ethical reputation building rather than personal-brand theater. Participants learn how to make impact legible, share useful points of view, create evidence others can relay and invest in relationships before needing favors. It also covers building credible third-party signals such as recommendations, invitations, referrals and repeated trust.
Finally, the talk addresses reputation repair: what to do when your reputation is outdated, too narrow or attached to a role you have outgrown. Attendees leave with a reputation statement, evidence inventory and 90-day plan for aligning what they do, what they show and what others say.

Talk Outline
Why the resume and portfolio loses power as seniority increases
The reputation gap: intended identity, displayed proof, and repeated story
Four reputation dimensions: craft, judgment, collaboration, consequence
Make impact portable: evidence, points of view, relationships, and third-party signals
Reputation repair and a 90-day alignment plan

Key Takeaways
A practical distinction between resume evidence and reputation capital.
A four-dimension reputation audit for senior professionals.
Ways to build visibility without defaulting to empty self-promotion.
A 90-day plan to align work, proof, and the story others repeat.

Why Jen Blatz Is Qualified to Speak on This Topic
Jen Blatz has built a visible professional presence through conference speaking, UX community participation, mentoring and a substantial LinkedIn audience. So it’s safe to say she understands the importance of getting her reputation out they beyond just a resume or portfolio case study. Combined with her senior experience and research leadership, this gives her direct experience with how reputation creates opportunities long before a portfolio review begins.