How to Submit a Creative Portfolio

By Ariel Phillips, eHow Contributor

updated: May 7, 2010

Contemplating a job interview, portfolio in hand.

The businesswoman holds in a hand a portfolio and looks upwards. image by Andrey Andreev from Fotolia.com

When searching for a job, every step of preparation is important--from the introductory paragraph of your query letter to what you wear to the interview. If you are looking for a job in which you need to present a portfolio of your work, then the portfolio is probably one of the most important parts of the application. Since there are often many people qualified for any given job, it's important to make your portfolio stand out from the crowd. You can accomplish this by being original and creative with your portfolio.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Work samples
• Computer
• Printer
• Design software
• Folders and other office supplies

1. Organize your work. Often times a person's portfolio will suffer simply because he accidentally left out some of his best work. It's always important to keep organized, but when preparing your professional portfolio it's especially important that you know where all your work is. The process of reviewing all your work will also help give you some ideas about how to best present it.
   
2. Select your best work. Include about eight to 10 items in your portfolio unless otherwise specified. If the projects you are including are very large, then you don't need include as many samples. A good portfolio will present a broad range of work but will avoid repetition.
   
3. Arrange your work in the order you want to present it. Often this will be chronologically, but if you would rather put your best work in front, this is fine. You can also organize the portfolio by type of project or company that the work was done for.
   
4. Come up with a layout scheme. This is where you get to really start being creative. If you are using design software such as Adobe InDesign to set up your portfolio, you can develop a style that will run throughout the portfolio consistently. Potential employers will notice the time and care that you put into this, so don't rush through it. Come up with a simple color scheme, a few fonts that you like, a creative layout style, and engaging and intuitive organizational elements, including heading, the table of contents, page numbers, descriptive text and even some sparse illustration or graphic design elements, such as borders or background.
   
5. Print out a copy of your drafted portfolio and make any corrections or adjustments that you see fit. A major part of being creative is going back through your work and revising it. Not everyone can work in creative epiphanies and it can take a number of drafts to attain your desired level of creativity.
   
6. Prepare your portfolio for presentation. Another important step, here is where you go to the office supplies store or shop online and find all the materials you need to present your portfolio in the most creative yet professional way possible. As with the layout of your portfolio, pay close attention to color schemes. Also make sure to purchase good-quality materials such as page sleeves, binders, folders and whatever else you need to present your portfolio.
   
7. Make a highly personalized label to attach to the front of your portfolio. A lot of people will overlook the label on their portfolio, which is really a key finishing touch. Print out a label with your name and other relevant info and adhere it to the front of your portfolio. This will serve as your first impression and should look sleek and professional.
   

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