Work Samples and Portfolios: Your Why and Your Goals

By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady

Thinking Through Your Why

When creating an online portfolio, as with many tasks in life, it's helpful to think about your goals. Thinking it through now will help you to create a portfolio that meets your short and longer-term goals. 

Depending on your wants, needs, industry, and timeline for completion, your portfolio could take any number of forms and be the right choice for you. Until you identify your goals, you are at risk of making an ill-advised decision that could cost you time, money, and opportunities.

Identifying Your Portfolio Goals

Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you determine your portfolio goals:

• What is your main purpose for having a portfolio? Do you need work samples to show hiring managers? Are you interested in sharing examples of websites you've built to entice potential clients to want to work with you? Is your goal to start to gather and label what you have just in case you need a portfolio at some point? Is it just because someone told me I should have one? Figure out your why, then plan accordingly. 
  
  
• Who is your primary audience? Who specifically are you creating this for? Answers may include recruiters, hiring managers, potential employers, colleagues, or people who may be looking for a freelancer.

 

• Who are your additional audiences? Who else might you want to access your portfolio? Perhaps the main goal is to share this with hiring managers, but a secondary goal is to share it with a colleague looking for ideas.
  
  
• What would you like your primary audience to learn about you from your portfolio? Is your goal to show your wide range of skills? Are you trying to do a deeper dive into your whole work process by going deeper on one comprehensive project? Do you want to show how you've used project management principles by highlighting projects in three very different industries? Choose your focus, then create accordingly.
  
  
• How much context or positioning does each work sample need? Can your primary audience just look at a work sample and garner what they need? If not, what context is needed, and how can you provide that?
  
  
• How and when do you want to share your work samples? Do you want them readily available? Does a potential employer ask you to include a link when you apply? Can you share work samples as needed? Or with a URL not just anyone can access?
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• How fancy does it need to be? This will help you decide what technology to use, your budget, and your minimum viable product (MVP). 
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• What is your level of commitment?​ Consciously decide how much time, energy, brainpower, and money you are willing to dedicate right away and on an ongoing basis to creating your portfolio. Be sure to get good and honest with yourself. 

My Portfolio Lessons Learned

A few years ago, when applying for jobs, I realized I needed an online portfolio to show hiring managers supporting evidence that I could use the learning and development skills included in my resume. I looked at job descriptions for training leadership roles that interested me and noted the specific keywords and skills that were most often included.

From there, I chose work samples to showcase those identified skills. For each sample, I included a brief introduction to position the value of each artifact. I shared a project plan, a pitch deck promoting a company-wide change, a facilitator guide, and microlearning videos on technical, soft skills, and business-related topics. 

​From a technology standpoint, my portfolio was a hidden page on my existing website. That portfolio page was non-searchable and not listed in website navigation, but it was available directly through the page's web address. As needed, I could include that URL on my resume, email it to hiring managers, or include it in an online job application. 

What Do You Think? 

What are your goals for your portfolio? What kind of content do you think it makes sense for you to include? As you are comfortable, share your ideas in the comments. 

Learn More

• The Layoff Lady: Work Samples and Portfolios: Getting Started
• The Layoff Lady: Job Search Challenges - Job-Specific Assessments & Projects
• The Layoff Lady: I Just Got Laid Off--Now What? ​