If you haven’t thought about organizing your work into one place that can be shared with future employers or collaborators, you’ve come to the right blog post! Creating an online portfolio is crucial for those hoping to work in media related fields. Your portfolio is one of the few places, outside of a resume and cover letter, where you can showcase your personality and interests. When you have a completed and curated portfolio, it can be a great resource that will help you show what you can do for others, or get internships and future work.

Why an Online Portfolio is a Good Idea:

• Everyone has a resume and cover letter showcasing their great experiences
• Most employers nowadays assume everyone has the skills desired, so they’re looking beyond that:
  • Why you?
  • What’s your vision?
  • What’s the story you want to tell?

Building Your Website:

• Design a Landing Page
  • This is the MOST important page of your website
  • Design it the way you like it– it shoes who you are as a person
  • Make it authentic; this is the first page viewers will see and will trigger the assumptions they make about who you are
• Create Easy-to-Navigate Tabs
  • Make them efficient and succinct because people will want to click through them easily and effortlessly
  • Only have about 4-5 tabs max on your site
  • Keep your tabs organized and don’t oversaturate them with too much of your work; curate
• Don’t Forget an About Page
  • This is the perfect place for that candid (and authentic) photo of yourself
    • What are you wearing? Is it realistic to your everyday wear?
    • Is what you’re doing, how you’re posing or where you are show who you are and what you value?
• ALWAYS have a contact page
  • Set up an area where viewers can submit a form to contact your, or link your email, depending on your preferred method
  • Link your social media (Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)
    • You don’t have to, especially if your “brand” is more private
    • These links should be curated, not random
      • Link the accounts that will act as an extension to your portfolio depending on who you are as a creator (i.e. Photography Instagram account, Illustration/Design Instagram account, IMDB Page, Soundcloud, etc.)

As always, you may schedule an appointment with the Career Development Center to discuss the best methods for presenting your work. And don’t forget to check out our….

Portfolio Resource Guide