Building Your Portfolio: A Complete Guide to Showcase Your Skills

Portfolios are increasingly becoming a necessity to employers, and now, it is almost as important as the resume. People who provide their portfolios are more likely to be hired than people who only present their resume, even if they are on equal skill levels. So what are portfolios? Are they for you? Why exactly would you have them? How and where? This and more will be discussed below so keep on reading!

What Are Portfolios?

A portfolio is a collection of your work; a visual representation of your work persona. A portfolio is proof of the skills you have and it shows how well you employ these skills. A portfolio can either be physical, as a book or a binder, or digital, online with links and files.

What Is the Difference Between a Portfolio and a Resume?

Portfolios and resumes do not compete, they complete each other. A simple way to put it is that a resume is the written statement of your skills and experience, and a portfolio is the proof of it. Anyone can say that they are a "professional graphic designer" on their resume. A portfolio shows how much of a professional you actually are, it shows your vision, style, capabilities and range.

Why Should You Have a Portfolio?

Portfolios are a preview that tells your client or employer what to expect when working with you. No matter the field, portfolios show your service, and the way you present it is the way you make your service purchasable. Portfolios are your key to winning trust in interviews, proving your capabilities when asking for a raise or promotion, and a digital review of your performance.

Who Is It For?

Essentially, portfolios were a necessity to careers like:

• Photographers
• Videographers
• Architects
• Graphic Designers
• Artists
• Advertisers
• Web Developers
• Writers
• Teachers

Or "Visual Careers" in general. Nowadays, all careers are portfolio-material, you just need to find out the right way to show off your skills. A great advantage of a portfolio is that it can fit all types and formats of your work. Portfolios are also great for people who are their own business owners, to show clients your skills, and convince them to choose you.

Digital or Physical?

To choose between online portfolios and physical books or binders, reflect on your industry. What is preferable to your employers? How often do you need to update your portfolio? What do other people in your career field use?

A safe choice is having an online portfolio, and a hard copy of selected items that stand out in your portfolio to leave behind after an interview, which should also give them a way back to your full online portfolio.

What Goes in a Portfolio?

The short answer: everything. The long answer:

• Your current resume or CV
• Diplomas and certificates
• Reference letters and awards
• Samples of your work
• Appreciation letters or thank you notes from clients or coworkers
• Published work and links to published projects
• And everything in between

How to Make a Portfolio? And Where?

Start by looking up sites for portfolio making or portfolio building, try your hand at some quick drafts, and then choose one site that you feel most comfortable interacting with. If you want to keep it simple, you can always use Google Drive.

Then look for inspiration; what will it look like? What categories are you using? Look for templates and find one that matches your style.

Pro-tip: If you are a web designer, make your website from scratch and mention that you did; the whole site will be a part of your portfolio. But be careful as this is a double-edged weapon, and if your website crashes, it will leave a bad impression on employers and clients.

Best Practices for Your Portfolio

Use high quality images and content. Keep your portfolio looking fresh, and alive with high quality color. Low quality pictures make your work unpleasant to look at, and will decrease your chances of getting the job.

Choose your best projects and present them first. Make sure links take you where they are supposed to take you, and that files have the right content inside. A neat and clean portfolio increases the chances of an employer spending more time exploring, and therefore increasing the chances of them seeing something they like.

Test and experiment with your portfolio, sites, and layouts until you are satisfied with the result. Make sure your portfolio is on a site that runs smoothly, and is mobile friendly, to avoid crashes.

Ask for feedback and opinions. Send your portfolio to people you trust, professional people, and maybe random people who represent your future clients. Listen to both the positive and the negative. Adjust what needs to be adjusted and get another round of feedback.

Once you are all set, be sure that a portfolio you feel good about will boost your confidence and it will definitely show. Your attitude towards your work will be more open and positive when dealing with employers or clients.

Final Thoughts

Finally make sure to keep both your resume and portfolio updated, and remember that you are the core of all these files and pictures. Your mindset, your skills, and hardwork are what brought you here. Keep growing, and keep making great things and even greater other things. And make sure that you have created a portfolio that does not underestimate what you are truly capable of.

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Sources: Capella.edu, Themuse.com, Differencebetween.com, Collegeinfogeek.com, Wix.com