1. Show them what you’ve got © 2008 Marrietta Reber
Portfolios
Show them what you’ve got
© 2008
Marrietta Reber

2. Overview - Portfolio About Portfolios Building Your Portfolio
Presenting Your Portfolio
Maintaining Your Portfolio

3. About Portfolios – What Is a Portfolio
A collection of your best work
Organized and annotated for presentation
Used to showcase your writing and other skills to potential employers

4. About Portfolios – Types of Portfolios
Hardcopy portfolio
Digital/Online portfolio

5. About Portfolios – Hardcopy Portfolio
An attractively packaged collection of printed writing samples
3-ring presentation binder
Leather attaché case
Leather portfolio case
Printed on heavy, high-quality paper

6. About Portfolios – Advantages of Hardcopy Portfolios
Portable – easily carried to interviews
Tangible – a physical representation of your work
Traditional – expected by potential employers

7. About Portfolios – Disadvantages of Hardcopy Portfolios
Individuals in remote locations can not browse through it

8. About Portfolios – Digital/Online Portfolio
A non-traditional, web-based format
Easily copied to CD
Ideal for free-lance writers

9. About Portfolios – Advantages of Online Portfolios
Convenient for a potential employer to view prior to or after an interview
Showcases your website development skills
Capacity for more writing and other samples than a hardcopy portfolio

10. About Portfolios – Disadvantages of Online Portfolios
You may not have digital copies of some of your best work to include
You are not there to provide context
You must be conscious of the potential impact of other information available on your website besides the portfolio
Once your documents are publicly available, you lose control over them

11. Overview - Portfolio About Portfolios Building Your Portfolio
Presenting Your Portfolio
Maintaining Your Portfolio

12. Building Your Portfolio – Portfolio Supplies
3-ring presentation binder or leather case
Dividers and labels
Page protectors
Pockets
High-quality paper (at least 28 lb.)
Business cards

13. Building Your Portfolio – Portfolio Contents
Cover Sheet
Table of Contents
Resume
Writing Samples
Extra copies of resume
Personal business cards
Extra copies of 1 or 2 writing samples

14. Building Your Portfolio – Selecting Writing Samples
Choose your best quality pieces only
Tailor your portfolio to the job
Include a variety of document types

15. Building Your Portfolio – Handling Long Samples
You don’t have to include the entire document
Limit the sample to just a few of the best pages

16. Overview - Portfolio About Portfolios Building Your Portfolio
Presenting Your Portfolio
Maintaining Your Portfolio

17. Presenting Your Portfolio – Planning Your Presentation
Review your portfolio and decide which samples to highlight during your interview
Prepare some presentation comments
Rehearse with a partner

18. Presenting Your Portfolio – At the Interview
Don’t just hand the portfolio to the interviewer and let them flip through it
Walk the interviewer through your portfolio
Point out specific items in your portfolio to show you have skills of interest to the interviewer

19. Presenting Your Portfolio – Don’t Leave Your Portfolio Behind
Your portfolio might get lost or damaged
Pages might be removed
Be prepared with alternatives
Hand them copies of one or two samples
Hand them a CD containing your online portfolio
Give them the URL for your online portfolio

20. Overview - Portfolio About Portfolios Building Your Portfolio
Presenting Your Portfolio
Maintaining Your Portfolio

21. Maintaining your Portfolio – Updating Your Portfolio
Keep your portfolio fresh by adding up-to-date writing samples
Whenever possible, retain copies of your best on-the-job work
Obtain permission to include on-the-job writing samples in your portfolio
Do not include documents that contain proprietary or confidential information

22. Maintaining your Portfolio – Expanding Your Portfolio
You may need to write additional pieces to fill out your first portfolio or to target your portfolio to a new industry
Consider writing
Manuals for open source software
Instructions for operating a TiVo, a digital camera, an iPod, or other gadgets
Articles related to your field of interest