i am dusting off the resume, but it has been 23 years since i last looked for a job. new management where i work has forced my hand here…im still employed but wanting out…possibly
but i have no idea at all what type of portfolio is common nowadays.
can someone please share with me the current process?
do i need:
a physical portfolio? what type and how big?
a digital portfolio and what type? or my work on a website somewhere?
physical and digital?
anything else you can share would be great
Are you located in the US?
Start with, do you have a Bachelor’s degree?
Have a look around the web on how to write a resume when you are “older” and/or possibly considered too experienced for the job market. How to deal with dating your work experience. How to negotiate pay rates. There are far too many people out there that think they can hire a kid fresh out of school, pay them peanuts, and get Quality work. You’ll probably have to do a hard sell and that’s where a very strong portfolio comes in.
Also look around the web on the plus or minuses of having a social presence online (if I ever have to look for work, I’m screwed as I think most of that TwitFace stuff is a waste of time…)
As for a portfolio, depends on your field, but in most cases people are going to expect your work to be online somewhere. A physical portfolio depends on what you do. For instance, the stuff I build (signage and wide format print) doesn’t fit in a portfolio, would only be photos so an online presentation would probably be fine, with a tablet/laptop presentation as a backup for interviews. Same for web design. Show live sites. For a print designer doing marketing collateral, actual printed pieces that the interview er can see in-hand might be helpful. Et cetera.
Absolutely you need an online portfolio. And your own website.
Also, LinkedIn is currently a strong tool for employment. Hiring managers and HR use it to learn about a candidate. So I keep it fairly current with examples of my work, recommendations, I post articles, etc.
My resume includes qr code links to both my portfolio and my LinkedIn profile. They’re also in my email signature.
And a facebook business page too.
It’s a whole different hiring world, these days.
thanks …yes i have a bachelor in commercial art (old term for graphic design) and yes im in the u.s.
any suggestions for a website to use or what website to create one with to put my work online?
and thanks again for the great advice. i have a lot of research to do…my work is mostly print with dabbling in web graphics but not much web building. sure i can create a free type website and landing pages…but thats about it. im 48…so im probably a designasaur. may just have to ride it out here unless they fire me or the co. goes under (with our management that could happen)
Are you willing to pay for a decent site?
My portfolio for both design & photography is with zenfolio.com. About $140 a year, but I use my domain, has templates to start with and is completely customizable. Works with SEO, and lots of goodies.
I’ve been with zenfolio for seven years or so.
An online portfolio for sure. It’s been a long time since I hunted for a job but I have hired designers. Physical portfolio doesn’t seem to be as important these days as usually they’re just repeats of what the interviewer has already seen online.
It doesn’t have to be a bespoke website, a portfolio hosted on Behance should be fine.
If you’re looking for freelance or setting up your own shop, you’ll need a proper website.
If I’m meeting a client I might bring some printed examples if I have relevant work that may suit.
Yes, nowadays it is better to have an online portfolio. It is more convenient and most people use Internet to find information. If you haven’t chosen a way to create yours, I can recommend to take a look at the website builders for online portfolio. They are easy-to-use and don’t require special coding skills. I hope, this information will be useful and helpful for you!
As part of my job, I interview quite a few designers looking for work.
From my perspective, what seems to work out best are online portfolios where I can get a good idea of applicants’ skills before deciding to interview them. It’s also impressive when someone brings a few physical examples to the interview of what I saw in the online portfolios plus a few surprise pieces that were not online. Some things are just more impressive when seen in person The in-person part doesn’t need to be a full-blown portfolio in a book — sometimes just a few loose piece of printed work work really well.
The bottom line is to make a positive presentation that demonstrates knowledge, enthusiasm, education, skills, attention to detail, creative and critical thinking plus general smarts. How you do that doesn’t matter as much as figuring out a way to make that impression. like I said, though, an online preview portfolio plus a few physical pieces brought to the interview is a good start.
It seems that designers have much more chances to get a job with an online portfolio. Even if you don’t impress HR, your works can do this for you.