When you are an awesome agency, you get a ton of people trying to get a spot on your team by sending their resumes or portfolios, which is rad. Honestly! We love to see what other creatives are working on and how they can fit in with our ragtag group of creative heroes. We have seen the great, the good, the bad and the ugly. Which got us thinking that we are in a perfect position to help recent graduates step up their portfolio game!
When you work in the creative field, having a killer digital portfolio is a must. Simply sending a well-thought-out resume is an ok start, but if you really want a good job in a cool culture you’re going to have to rise above the crowd and stand out by showing off your coolest work. If you don’t already have a portfolio, you really should create one, especially if you have designs on a job in an advertising agency Calgary.
Keep It Up to Date
Whether you are a recent grad or you have worked in the industry for a long time, keeping your portfolio as up to date as possible is not just necessary, it is mandatory. Just because you graduated not so long ago doesn’t mean that you should be using projects from your first year of school. From first year to fourth year (and fifth and sixth year), you learned a lot; show off your most recent work so that clients and employers can get a better idea of what you are capable of.
Play to Your Strengths
If you want a job doing social media marketing, don’t showcase your work from graphic design classes until the end of your portfolio – if you put them there at all. Prominently display the work you do best. If you are highlighting the kinds of work that you don’t really care for, you could get a job you don’t like and wind up quitting. Which means you will wind up having to update your portfolio again sooner than later. Skip the crappy quitting part and stick with playing to your strengths.
Sometimes, Less is More
Putting your best foot forward is important in everything you do, especially in your portfolio. We have seen a lot of new grads who think that because they were students not so long ago, they have to jam every piece they ever worked on into their online presence. That’s really not a winning strategy. Take an honest inventory on the work you have done and the projects you have worked on to find your best. Take everything out of your digital portfolio that you can’t say is your best work or that doesn’t truly represent who you are.
Tell a Story (but don’t get too wordy)
Telling a short story about who you are can really help grab the attention of HR people or whoever is doing the hiring. But don’t drone on and on about every step you took to get into school. Especially with digital media, brevity is the soul of wit, so keep it short, sweet and to the point. If writing isn’t your strong suit and you are hoping to get work as a graphic designer, try illustrating your story – now that is going to grab attention!
Here is one commonly made mistake that is never going to stop getting on our nerves. If your online portfolio has links to your work, please please please make sure those links work before you send it out! Follow these steps, add your own creative flair and you’ll be getting your job at a rad marketing agency in no time!