RE: portfolio again - clarification
I'm a little leery of accepting portfolios as showing me anything useful
about a candidate because I believe I was burned by an alleged writer who, I
believe, faked or stole his portfolio. When he got on the job, he quickly
established himself as someone who knew far less than I expected based on
what he passed off as his work.
[snip]
Has anyone else had this experience?
No, but I *have* gotten calls from interviewing managers who recognized something I had written in someone else's portfolio. It happens.
My defense? I now watermark each page of my portfolio copies. When I present the portfolio, I mention a few project details---budget limitations, issues considered, problems solved---and make it clear that I'm ready to answer specific questions about each piece. Sample-nappers usually can't do that.
I also give client contact information for each piece, and encourage the interviewer to call or email my client if they have any questions about the stuff. I have cleared this with my clients, of course. I only include samples from people who are willing to provide references as well. In cases where my client contact has disappeared/died/developed Alzheimer's (I am not making this up), I either remove the piece from my portfolio or provide an alternate contact--another manager or a senior co-worker who was familiar with the project.
Kat Nagel, MasterWork Consulting Services katnagel -at- eznet -dot- net
"The transformation of calories into words, of words into money,
and of money into calories again are the three basic cycles in
a freelance writer's metabolism." /Mary Kittredge, _Poison Pen_
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