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In my experience, there are three things that really sell a portfolio
during an interview:
1 Each portfolio piece is professionally printed (i.e. color,
better quality paper, bound rather than stapled).
2 Each portfolio piece displays a different range of skills
(i.e. writing, editing, document design, document planning).
3 The interviewee has a good reason for presenting each
portfolio piece and can present that reason in a compelling manner.
Appearance is important but content is more important. Just make each
piece look as good as you can. It also helps if you can bring more than
one copy of each piece in case you are interviewed by more than one
person. If you only have one copy the interviewers will spend a minute
or two examining the piece before passing it on to the next interviewer.
If you have multiple copies EACH interviewer will be able to spend up to
five minutes examining the piece.
It's also critical to choose portfolio pieces that highlight as many of
your skills as possible. This job is not just about writing. Bring in
before/after documents that demonstrate your editing skills. Bring in
documents that look great to demonstrate your design skills. Bring in
project plans, schedules, and budgets to demonstrate your planning and
management skills. You should only bring in a narrow selection of pieces
if the job responsibilities are narrow.
Finally, the worst thing you can do in an interview is remain silent
while the interviewers are looking at your portfolio. TELL THEM why you
chose each piece, what skills are demonstrated in the piece, any
outstanding factors that made the project special, and so on. I call
this "telling war stories". If you can articulate these things you will
successfully "sell" your portfolio to the interviewers.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Rowena
> -----Original Message-----
>
> What I'd like to see are examples of what could be considered
> award-winning portfolios and how they're presented. Not so
> much of what's actually inside.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Julie
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