Portfolio 101
A strong portfolio is arguably the most important thing a creative person needs in order to get a job in the advertising industry. Yet, it’s one of the most daunting, difficult, and frustrating things to build. It doesn’t seem to matter what you do, something always feels slightly off; whether it’s in the “about me” or you’re questioning whether or not you have enough work, maybe you spent hours designing your host site just to decide you hate what you’ve done. It’s difficult. It’s time consuming. It’s hard to know what’s right.
The truth is, it's subjective and there is no “right” answer to how you do it. However, there are certain things you can do to increase your chances of getting noticed. The first thing to note is that it is a reflection of yourself, your work should reflect your thinking and abilities, your “about me” should be honest, and you should list your accomplishments and accolades somewhere in there.
Another key component is to make sure your work is diverse. This means the mediums in which you are working should be different (print, OOH, digital, etc), but also the type of work that you’re doing. You should show that you’re versatile and your tone on each piece should be different from one another. If you do a lot of comedy work, switch it up and add something serious.
When looking at some of the top creatives in the world, their portfolio’s often contain a passion project or their creative hobbies. This can be photography, drawing, screenwriting, or anything to show that you are a creative individual and you are immersed in that world. It shows that you're passionate and multidisciplinary.
The last piece of advice I have is to look at portfolios online. My favorite ones to look at are Wieden+Kennedy because of how diverse they are (but any and all are amazingly helpful). You will see some art directors code their websites and incorporate moving elements and animation, but you will also see some more plain portfolios that are black and white written in Times New Roman (mostly the copywriters). Again, your host site is not the most important element, it’s important that it’s organized and easy to navigate, but at the end of the day your work will get you noticed. Your ability to create will get you hired. Your knowledge of the company and industry will get you hired. Your passion and work ethic will keep you hired.
Good luck creating!
