What kind of story does your portfolio tell?
You’ve assembled the perfect creative portfolio and believe it speaks volumes about your skills and experience. But does your portfolio tell the right story about your experience and how it can translate to your next job? Even the most well-assembled portfolio doesn’t speak for itself: You need to be prepared to effectively present your work to prospective employers. In fact, how well you communicate your skills and talents during portfolio reviews can make or break your chances of landing that job.
As someone who has conducted many interviews, portfolio presentations are sometimes even more important than the actual pieces presented. If a candidate can effectively describe the reasoning behind his or her work during portfolio reviews, he or she oftentimes has the best chances of landing the job. Without a doubt, employers place enormous value on a candidate’s ability to communicate vision and strategy. It’s not just your work on display during a portfolio review; your ability to express yourself is in the spotlight, too.
How Are You Telling Your Story?
Expressing yourself will be a lot easier if you fill your portfolio with samples that have good stories behind them. Think about situations in which you were able to solve business problems, overcome creative challenges or otherwise generate positive results. As you consider which pieces to include in your portfolio, ask yourself the following questions about each one:
- How relevant is this piece to the prospective employer’s needs?
- What was the business objective, and how did this piece solve it?
- How were the results measured? Is there any quantifiable data I can share?
- Are there any aspects of this project that make it especially memorable or interesting?
Overall, as the interviewer, I want to walk away from our discussion knowing what kind of skills you bring to the table, and how I can see those being applied to the position and my company.
Get Your Story Straight
When you’re trying to sell yourself as a conceptual person, you need to be able to validate your decision-making. Interviewers want to see how you think and that you understand the purpose of design from a business perspective. Stories that show passion also strike a chord with employers, so consider the factors that excite you about a particular project: Was it that you were able to learn a skill, work with someone you admire or tackle a new challenge? When you talk about what inspires you, your enthusiasm naturally shines through.
Adapt Your Presentation
So, you’ve strategically selected relevant samples that invite conversation about your strengths, and you’ve thought of compelling anecdotes to describe them. While the essential groundwork is done, you need to be prepared to present your portfolio in multiple formats.
While you’ll typically do most of the talking when presenting your work, don’t forget the listening part. Pay careful attention to what the interviewer says to gain insight into the organization’s “hot buttons” and how you can best address their needs. This leads to perhaps the most essential part of your portfolio presentation: describing how your skills and talents can benefit the prospective employer. Samples and past projects are simply a jumping-off point, helping you make a smooth transition into a conversation about what the organization needs and how you may be able to help.
Leave on a High Note
Once you’ve concluded your portfolio presentation, be sure to thank the person you interviewed with for his or her time. It’s also smart to send a thank-you note showing appreciation for the interviewer’s time and reinforcing your key qualifications. E-mail is timely and acceptable, but in my opinion, a handwritten message has more impact.
If you don’t get the job but you feel like you established a good rapport with the person you interviewed with, consider contacting him or her to request her feedback on your portfolio and how well you presented it. For me, this signifies someone who is really is interested in growing as a professional and is mature enough to handle feedback. Finally, keep in mind that practice makes perfect. As you participate in more of these meetings, your delivery skills will improve—and so will your chances of landing that next position or project.
