Current European Higher Education Area demands for university degree programmes to focus attention on competence development have brought about the need for effective competence assessment tools. A professional portfolio is one of the tools that may be used by teachers to assess students' professional competences; besides, it may be used by students to search for a job once they graduate. This article analyses the use of professional portfolios in translator training. Details are given of the contents of the portfolio and the criteria used for assessing the outcome of activities designed to develop professional competence. The results of a survey conducted to find out the students' and teachers' opinions on the use of professional portfolios as a new assessment instrument are also shown. The findings show that students have difficulties in defining their professional profile; however, the professional portfolio turns out to have a number of benefits, as it helps students to identify their own general competences and to set future goals, and to become familiar with the market rates and taxation.