For a lot of us, blogging is a great creative outlet that also utilizes (and improves) our creative skills–writing, design, photography, social media etc–so it makes total sense to me that a lot of us would eventually have a career in one (or if you’re me, all) of those things. Whether you’re freelancing, offering creative services, or looking to land that dream job, you’ll probably want to have an online portfolio, or at least a PDF version, ready to share any time an opportunity comes your way. I’ve come a long way since my first portfolio, and even now there are a ton of things I want to add to it. Being in both writing + design, Jenn and I thought we’d offer up our best tips!
Be strategic about how you present your work.
Don’t just spill everything. Unlike a resume which often feels restrictive to creatives, a portfolio is where you get to include everything you want. You can format it in chronological order, separate projects based on skills used (i.e., writing projects, design projects etc), overview clients, or even just divide everything according to personal preference. Obviously the work you’re most proud of should shine!
Don’t feel obligated to share everything.
We have all had projects that weren’t faves for whatever reason. If your portfolio is sparse at first you can always briefly add these things and take them off when possible. When I was building experience, I had some writing gigs I wasn’t proud of. They either involved writing on random subjects or were heavily revised by awful editors who made a negative impact on my work. Of course I didn’t want people to think that was how I wrote, so I had to strike a balance between what would fill it out and what didn’t need to be shared. We also all do work to pay the bills but that doesn’t necessarily represent our style. Jenn designs just shares the ones that really rep her design style. This helps you create a portfolio that feels sincere.
You’ll attract clients or job opportunities based on what you present.
So when crafting this, you really want to focus on what you want future projects to be. A portfolio isn’t just about sharing where you’ve been, the whole goal is to get you where you want to go! If you have a certain design, writing, photography style etc, be sure that comes across, not just in your work examples but in the layout and look of the document/web page itself. If you’re tired of designing X type of websites, for example, you need to have a few projects in there that aren’t that.
Make it easy to navigate.
Those of us with many projects will have a lot to display, or wear many hats in certain positions and want to share details. Try to find the best way to organize this info by thinking of how someone unfamiliar with the project would view it. For example, they probably don’t want to read huge blocks of texts, scroll for hours, or get lost as to which project you’re referring to. A lot of this can be taken care of by designing a user friendly portfolio page and editing down your descriptions to be more concise!
…And make it easy to find and read.
Some jobs will want a link to your portfolio while others ask you to attach a document, like a PDF. Not only that but you have to consider size. Many application forms and some emails can’t accommodate large files. When I started looking for my second editorial position, I put a ton of experience I’d gained from my first ever writing job into a really pretty PDF document, but was so disappointed to find that many job application forms don’t have a space for extra attachments besides the resume and cover letter. That’s why I needed to make sure it was online too. Currently, Jennifer and I both have condensed portfolios on our websites (here + here) which helps.
Do you have a portfolio up for future employers or clients to see? Having one you continually update makes it so easy when it does come time to move on from jobs!
Sara says
I feel really strongly about curating my own portfolio. I could have a bunch of projects there but I only choose to showcase those who represent me as a designer and the work I want to keep doing in the future! Great tips :)