PORTFOLIO PREPARATION

As a creative, your portfolio, be it on-line or in-hand says most about what you can do. Here are some tips which you may find useful.

ON-LINE

Many creatives put their portfolios on-line to give potential employers instant access to their skills.  If you decide to do this, remember the following:

1. When sending an e-mail resume referring an employer to your on-line portfolio, always preface the link by "http://" for instant viewing.

2. The more professional the website the better. Don't combine your pet and baby photos with a site designed to attract an employer's attention.

3. Make sure it works!

PRINT

1. Practice what you will say about your work, succinctly: what was the problem and how did you solve it?

2. Organization is important. Place your most recent work at the beginning of your portfolio.

3. Less can be more. Fewer pieces of your best work are more impressive than everything you've ever done since and including school.

4. Focus! If you've done a wide range of work, think about who you are interviewing with and include accordingly.

5. There are many ways to present your print work...a portfolio with plastic pages, a box with loose work, or transparencies. One may be most appropriate for you.

6. If you are just starting out, it's OK to include school projects or create your own work to show what you can do. Any volunteer work you can do will provide a useful way of getting real work into your portfolio.

7. Make sure your book is in good repair, clean and neat.