Putting Together Your Portfolio

Tips for showcasing your talents regardless of career path

A portfolio, in a general sense, is a portable showcase of your work and talents. Historically, a portfolio has been closely associated with design professions, but a portfolio can actually be geared toward any career path. And if you’re looking to join the awesome team at EPIC, you want to showcase your skills and put your best foot forward! Below, are five tips on how to best present your work in a way that highlights your professional journey:

1. Make it digital
   Pretty straightforward: if you have a physical portfolio, digitize it to make it viewable online. Not only does this make it more accessible for your network and future employers, but it also increases the breadth of what you can include, such as websites or online press releases. You also have an opportunity to link directly to where your work lives in the digital world.
2. Share your personal story
   Employers want to know what sets you apart from the rest, and that doesn’t just include your skill set and work, but also your character and style. They want to see what makes you unique and personable, so share a picture of yourself and a little bio highlighting your hobbies and passions. In a creative industry like ours, it’s cool to see what makes you happy and energized outside of work!
3. Show the full scope of your talents
   If you have multiple skill sets you want to showcase in your portfolio, be sure to highlight them all in some capacity to show your versatility. There are many ways you can do this, and the majority of portfolio website builders have options on how to do so. “When there are various areas of work to showcase, having topic categories can help your audience navigate to the appropriate page of your portfolio. Keep the most up-to-date work highlighted or at the top of a page to show growth,” said EPIC Content Creator Elis Ramos-Garcia.
4. Choose a good format to display pieces
   It’s really a missed opportunity when you have a portfolio with good work that’s laid out poorly. Having links to your written work is great, but for your photography and design examples I recommend a small written excerpt to add more context. When asked about how he displays his work, EPIC Web Developer Andrew Von Haden said, “I like to keep it simple and straightforward. I want the work to speak for itself. Trying to be too fancy with the layout and design can often make it harder to navigate, or take away from the core of what you are trying to highlight—your work.”
5. Stay current; feature only your most recent work
   This is probably the most important tip, especially if you have had a handful of jobs in your career. A good rule of thumb is to not include work from more than three positions ago. Your high school side gig or summer college job may be relevant, but employers most often want to see what you’ve done recently, because they’re getting the most recent version of you! By limiting your work to your most recent positions, it will stay relevant to the most recent skills you have acquired.

Lastly, don’t forget to choose a good platform to host your digital portfolio. To help your work make the splash it deserves, here are some top portfolio-building websites that are easy to use:

• WordPress
• Wix
• Squarespace

Now that you know 5 great tips to build a stellar portfolio that’s geared for your career … let’s get that portfolio website up and running. And if you’re eyeing an open position at EPIC, or just want to get on our radar, send it our way!