Put yourself in the shoes of a recruiter or a company’s HR professional. It is much easier for them to choose someone who presents their work in an organized manner for the job opening. Therefore, knowing how to put together a portfolio makes all the difference when it comes to getting job opportunities .
A clear and organized portfolio shows your main projects and allows the person responsible for the selection process to quickly understand what you do and what your greatest skills are . It can also be forwarded to other professionals, as a form of networking, making it easier for you to get a job or freelance work.
Understand what a portfolio is
A portfolio is a way to gather your most important work in one place, either online or in print , so that recruiters can have a more complete view of your work. Printed portfolios are useful for in-person interviews. However, digital versions can be included on your LinkedIn and in your job applications .
This allows recruiters from different companies to have a more accurate idea of the work you do. If you are unsure about how to put together a portfolio, remember to include a variety of work, be practical and succinct, and organize the information in the best way possible.
Portfolio or resume?
It is worth mentioning that a portfolio and a CV are different tools. A CV shows all of your training and professional career , as well as showing a little about your profile, as it can describe what you are like at work.
On the other hand, the portfolio presents the practical part of what you produce. Let’s say you are a developer: this document will list your projects, the languages most used in your work, etc. For web designers, it is worth including websites, digital pieces created, among others.
So, portfolio and resume are complementary — your portfolio can be linked to your resume or contain your resume, for example. We’ll cover more ideas on this later!
Do all professionals need a portfolio?
Although it is an excellent tool, there are professions that do not require a portfolio to understand the professional’s performance, such as in Law and Social Services. The employer will probably be more interested in knowing the person’s profile and the techniques they know –– that’s what a resume is for.
So, our tip is to value your portfolio mainly in performances that demonstrate your creativity and experience in creating visual, written, artistic content, etc. This is the case for journalists, photographers, architects, designers, advertisers and so on.
Discover how to build a portfolio
If you have any doubts about how to put together a portfolio, we would like to point out that this task is very simple, all it takes is a little organization. Follow each item below before starting to practice.
1. Define your goal
For example, if you are studying to be a copywriter and want more freelance work, it makes sense for your portfolio to have a variety of pieces, such as blogs, social media, radio texts, YouTube scripts, etc.
Now, if you want a job at a certain agency, understand its profile and put together a portfolio that meets these specificities, making it easier to get the job. If possible, show more professional and strategic pieces. For more traditional companies, print is worth it, while for the more modern ones, digital is the best option.
2. Introduce yourself too
Some portfolio templates allow you to do more than just include your work. There is space to introduce yourself and talk a little about your main characteristics and skills. Take the opportunity to show that your pieces are created by someone very competent.
Just as there is an “about the author” section in books, use this idea for your portfolio. It doesn’t need to be too long. It’s just so the recruiter can associate your profile with the work you’ve done.
3. Choose the ideal tool
To build an online portfolio , you can use the various free tools available on the internet. The choice should be made according to the templates available and the ease of each one — there are simpler ones, great for those with little skill, for example.
Below, we list several very common tools for those who want to build a portfolio:
- Wix ;
- Adobe Portfolio ;
- Pressbooks ;
- WordPress .
These options work well for designers, photographers, writers, engineers, and many other professions. The basic thing is to look for software with templates that best fit the work you want to gather, okay?
4. Bet on a functional design
Research portfolios of colleagues and other people who inspire you. This will help you understand which template and design will work best. Create a portfolio that is easy to navigate and loads all the information quickly .
Also pay attention to the typography used. The idea is to make it enjoyable and easy to read. If there are any captions or even long text (in the case of journalists and writers), the recruiter needs to read it without any difficulty. Otherwise, they may abandon your portfolio and there goes your chances.
It is also worth considering the layout of these texts . They should be inserted in a fluid and organized way so that the reading makes sense. You don’t want the recruiter to be confused by what they read, right?
5. Be careful with your color choices
In fact, investing in innovative models can make your portfolio stand out in the eyes of recruiters. Not to mention the potential this practice has to highlight your work in a strategic way. In this sense, it is important to keep an eye on the colors used.
There is a study on color psychology that indicates that different shades convey different feelings and impressions to people. Black, for example, is widely used in the luxury market because it conveys the idea of power and, at the same time, softness. Orange, on the other hand, can represent a call to action –– which is why it appears on sign-up buttons, form filling, etc.
With this in mind, think carefully about your color choices. Strong tones can be intimidating, as can mixing colors that don’t complement each other. If possible, use lighter backgrounds and be careful not to make it difficult to see information.
6. Define which jobs will be included
If you have a lot of experience in projects, you don’t need to include absolutely all of them, because few people have the patience to look at them one by one, do you agree? The ideal is to select those that demonstrate diverse skills and that are a reflection of your talents . In other words, only include the best ones.
Want an example? Let’s say you work in marketing : present your campaigns focused on social media, others made with printed materials, and so on. This way, the recruiter realizes that your skills are quite varied.
7. Be objective
Once you have decided which projects you want to include, write a brief summary explaining what each one is and how it was executed. If you have feedback on the results, it is worth including that as well. Avoid long texts , because the idea of a portfolio is to be more visual and very practical.
Have you ever heard that less is more ? That is very true here. Be objective when selecting images, so as not to bring experiences from the beginning of your career or your first years of college. The focus is always on different skills, without more of the same.
8. Maintain your portfolio regularly
The great thing about an online portfolio is the flexibility it brings. So, don’t update it once a year. Do it frequently, whenever new work is completed. After all, the more you invest in your techniques, the better your work gets, don’t you agree? And they can’t be left out.
Again, the idea is to gather your best work, the work that will count for you in the selection process. So, when you finish one that you consider excellent, don’t forget to include it in your portfolio, okay?
9. Use social media to promote your business
Have you updated your portfolio? It’s time to promote it. Use your social networks, such as LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, for this purpose. Another good tip is to ask colleagues to do the same, helping to expand the reach of your work .
After all, after understanding how to build a portfolio, allowing people to access it is step number two to your professional success. This will allow for greater visibility and even a salary increase, with more job opportunities.
10. Add your resume to your portfolio
Your portfolio can contain a tab for your resume, and it’s also worth linking your portfolio to your online resume . It may seem basic, but this makes recruiters’ lives much easier, since all the information will be in one place.
Having a well-worked and updated portfolio makes all the difference in bringing more visibility to what you do — after all, having good experiences is worth even more when they are shared.