Selling yourself how to Build a Professional Portfolio
Developing your portfolio is not an easy task. Initially, it can take hours of work until your eyes strain to see the computer screen, your wrists feel like someone has beaten them with a hammer, and the tips of your fingers are tired of pounding. But all this work is worth it when you land a job because of the quality of your samples. To make that initial foray into portfolio planning easier, I've put together some tips that have helped me build my portfolio.
Hardcopy or Online?Of course hard copy portfolios are very much needed today, especially when you're going to an interview, job fair, or an STC meeting. In my opinion, it's always best to have a multitude of ways, including hardcopy, to get your portfolio to prospective employers.
The Web is probably the cheapest, more convenient, and fun way to design and publish your portfolio. You can use graphics and colors without worrying about how much it's going to cost for a color print job; you can even add animation if you'd like to dazzle your prospective employer. There are some concerns about graphics, however. You cannot be sure what type of system your end-user (prospective employer) is operating and the extent of its graphical or Java capabilities. So, for now, as with hardcopy portfolios, I recommend taking a conservative approach online.
"Show" Don't "Tell"When designing a professional portfolio, I like to take the approach that I am my own company selling a product. That "product" is me. And one of the best ways to sell a product to a potential buyer is to provide realistic and exciting evidence that your product is the best one. You never know when that "goodie letter" you got from your boss through email will come in handy.
For example, when I get commendations through email (or any other visual medium), I like to strategically include those in my portfolio as a selling point. Callouts work well for this type of communication. Remember, you have to prove to a prospective employer that you are the best person for the job, and that means selling yourself and your skills.
Acknowledge your limitations, but be sure to counteract any negatives by offering a solution. This means turning those negatives into positives. For example, let's say that your online documentation experience is negligible and the prospective employer wants to produce online documentation, but hasn't the first clue as to how the department should begin.
Plan your answer in your portfolio and reiterate it during the interview. Research some of the more popular online documentation software packages (RoboHELP, Doc-to-Help, etc.); download trial versions and begin teaching yourself-in other words, offer your ambition and initiative as a solution. Prospective employers will admire this.
You Need More than One PortfolioMost of us know the importance of writing to a particular audience. Designing your portfolio is no different. Depending on what professional field you're in (or trying to get into), you need to tailor your portfolio to that specific position based on the job description/advertisement. Having worked in several key departments, I know how frustrated I got looking over generic resumes and portfolios. As a potential recruiter, I wanted to know specifically how a potential candidate would help my company. Unfortunately, many applicants don't take the time to tailor their information.
You can use just about any type of desktop publishing or word processing program today to produce a professional-looking portfolio. My preference is Word because it's easy to use and easy to manipulate columns. I never delete portfolio files. Chances are, if you applied for a particular type of position once, you'll do it again.
Eventually you'll have enough portfolios that you can print them almost immediately with only minor textual revisions. I like to produce a portfolio that's bound (comb binding works fine) and that I can leave with the prospective employer. I've gotten several calls months after the initial interview (even though I didn't get that particular position) from employers who want to talk with me about a different position because they were rummaging through files and found my portfolio. Still others have called me months afterwards because when they have a position opening, they immediately go to their file of previous candidates who did leave them a portfolio.
So, remember, part of strategic selling is to leave something with the buyer (employer) whereby they can remember your product (you).
