A great work portfolio is an amazing tool to present your work to potential employers and display the skills that make you a qualifying candidate for the position. But it is true that not every employer and not every position requires work portfolios, but they do help in distinguishing you from other candidates, depending on the industry. A demonstration of work may propel your career further. Here we can help you increase employability by leveling up your resume.
What is a work portfolio?
Often referred to as a ”career portfolio”, “job portfolio “ or a “professional portfolio” , a work portfolio is basically a sample collection of your best work from past employers. Your portfolio is a testament to your skills, sample and visual demonstration of your trade and letters of recommendation along with your resume. Portfolios are common while applying for jobs in the creative field like, art, design , tech and publishing.
There are some jobs for hic a work portfolio is necessary may be
- Photographer
- Creative writing
- Model
- Graphic designer
- Editor, etc.
What constitutes a work portfolio?
A work portfolio contains anything that demonstrates your accomplishments and abilities. As a fresher the assumption of having nothing to put in a work portfolio, is a lie. There are major project undertaken, during the school or college. Those can be selecteda testament of your skills. Some items that can be put into a portfolio are;
- Our resume or CV
- Diplomas , certificates gather after school
- Work sample relating to you trade
- Proposals
- Marketing materials
- Spreadsheets or reports
- PowerPoint presentations
- Graphics or layouts
- Database infrastructure
- Project plans
- Appraisal or performance evaluations
- Writing samples or published articles
- Thank you notes or emails from clients (client testimonials)
How do you build a portfolio?
There are four major steps to build your work portfolio
1. Collect your data
Gather everything you want to include in your portfolio and consult other sample portfolios off the internet to make sure you’re using the most relevant and current ingredients.
The essentials are
Your resume-
Your resume contains the most basic information about you. It is the first thing employers often refer to so you should tailor your resume to the field you’re applying to. The most basic of resumes should contain contact details, work experience, professional summary, educational details and licenses.
A list of viable skills
You should always consider the job description and try to include skills relevant to the profession. You can also consider dividing the skill into categories, hard, soft, and self learned.
Biographical information
An about me section can be included in the portfolio, it can help you answer the dreaded interview question “so tell me about yourself”. It can include your hobbies, achievements and work/student history
Proof of any degrees, licenses or certifications
Along With the information of your educational qualification you should include a copy of all the certificates, educational transcript, or seminars you attended. Including increases your credibility in front of the employer.
Letters of recommendation, references, testimonials or reviews
You should include a reference page in your portfolio and include contact details of clients/ previous bosses willing to testify your skills, professional skills and abilities . The ideal amount should be around 3 to 5 people.
Work samples
You can include samples of work to show a diverse array of skills. Your portfolio can contain a wide variety of documents ranging from written pieces to pictures or project summaries. If you are just starting out your school, college projects can fill the gap for you.
It is often suggested to include a reeve opf your work and maybe you can include a short description by your boss/teacher.
Awards and accomplishments
List more information about accomplishments from your resume. Scholarships, Academic honors or employee of the month awards are achievements you can expand on in this sectionL..
2. Organize your materials
Your portfolio can be arranged in such a way that an empl;oyer looking for information can find it easily. It is recommended that you start with your resume, biography and skills in the beginning and then arrange the document over what you think is most useful. You can also divide the information into categories and place content in that order. You can Create a title and a table of contents page for easy navigation, and add page numbers.
3. Make it visually appealing
One of the major benefits of creating a work portfolio is the ability to show visual demonstrations of your work. This is considered especially helpful for roles in the software development spectrum , where you can show original code authored and written, and UX/UI, where you can display graphic improvements you made to the user experience. Making your portfolio visually intriguing is especially important for any candidate in the arts or design fields. You can organize your portfolio in a way that best showcases your aesthetic sensibilities, personalities and work style.
For a physical copy of your portfolio you can use a binder, briefcase or folder for the same. For categories you can color code the information so it’s easy to locate. Protect the valuable information using a clear page protector.
4. Customize your portfolio
Once you have a master copy of your work portfolio, customizing it is recommended for specific job applications and interviews. switch your resume and skills pages to highlight the requirements listed on the job description.
Reasons you should have a portfolio
- Increases credibility in front of employers.
- Show initiative , and interest towards the job.
- Gives an idea of your skills
- Visually interesting : many people spend more average time on a portfolio than reading a resume.
- Gives employers a chance to see your work.
- Saves time to check sources
- Demonstrates consistency
Conclusion
Work portfolios are an essential part of the job seeking porches and doing that gives a leg up for the competitions.
