How to create a portfolio for a job?

Nowadays, when you are interviewed for a potential job in most cases you will be asked to show your job portfolio. Job portfolios play a major role in applying for a job and therefore need to be well-formed.

But first, what is a job portfolio? In this article we will share all the tools and everything you need to bear in mind when creating your personal job portfolio even if you have no work experience.

» FREE TRIAL: Get Started with LoopCV & Send Out 100s of Highly-Targeted Job Applications in <10 Minutes

After reading the article you will know:

• What is a job portfolio
• How to create your own job portfolio
• Which are the best online tools to create a portfolio for a job
• How to create your own job portfolio with no experience

What is a job portfolio?

Firstly, we need to clarify what a job portfolio is. A job portfolio contains your best work, it is a showcase of your work meant to be seen by possible employers. It also displays your training and education. Within the job portfolio you share demonstrations of your work, samples, skills as well as recommendation letters.

The demonstration of your work can be audiovisual, written and generally any form that serves your work best. Job portfolios can be sent to the potential employer or can either be shared online on your personal website. It is important to understand the difference between your resume and your job portfolio. Your portfolio justifies the information you have shared on your CV, it shares more details about your work ability and skills.

A recruiter will expect to see evidence of the information you shared on your resume. A potential employer will look for justifications on your education and work experience.

How will I create my own portfolio for a job?

Education and training

To begin you need to collect your materials. First of all, your resume should be included for. It is an introduction of yourself that also includes your address and contact information. Moreover, you need to collect your certificates or diplomas that you have acquired throughout your education and training.

More specifically gather:

• Certificates and licenses
• Awards
• Scholarships
• Detailed account on workshops you have attended
• Competition participations
• Volunteer work
• Projects and coursework done for your university
• Teacher evaluations or recommendation letters

Work experience

Moving on, you need to gather information regarding your work experience and performance. Depending on your profession you will display your work achievements in a way that compliments your job best. Your portfolio should include a wide range of images, photographs, written samples, videos, reports and project summaries.

Generally, you have to collect items that justify what you have achieved at work. Some examples are the following:

• Visual/Audio material of your work
• Descriptions about your past and current work
• Evaluations from your superiors
• Ways that you have been recognized such as promotions, awards etc.
• Example of projects you have worked on
• Examples of ways you solved tough problems within a project
• Satisfaction surveys from customers

» FREE TRIAL: Get Started with LoopCV & Send Out 100s of Highly-Targeted Job Applications in <10 Minutes

Technical skills

In this area you should share all the technical skills you acquire. Depending on your profession you will share any technical ability you obtain. For instance:

• Computer language
• Equipment operation
• Software using

Communication skills

Furthermore, display your communication skills and include samples of your writing, video materials, web design or other media skills. Include anything you created or contributed to promote and communicate your job such as:

• Presentations/lectures
• Articles
• Marketing campaigns

Soft skills

In addition, present your soft skills. By soft skills we mean the personality traits that benefit your interaction with your co-workers and help you succeed in the workplace. So, by soft skills we focus on the non-technical attributes an employ has and are extremely important to the potential employer.

Such skills can be teamwork/cooperation, problem-solving, communication, adaptability and more.

Organizing / designing your job portfolio

After collecting all the material you will include in your job portfolio you should organize it in a manner that is easy to read and follow. You should keep in mind that any information written on your job portfolio needs to be easily identified. A concise way to organize your portfolio is to firstly display your resume since it works as an introduction.

Moving on you can categorize the rest of the information in means of importance. You may keep the arrangement we used above, starting with your education, work achievements, technical skills etc. Next, you can categorize your achievements from the most recent to the oldest. Moreover, you should design your portfolio in an esthetical way that represents your style and personality.

In order to aesthetically enhance your job portfolio focus on the visual way you will display your work. Remember we underlined above that it is significant to include images, videos, photos and generally visual material. Finally, you must customize your job portfolio depending on the job description you wish to apply for. Highlight the skills and attributes that are most important for each job position.

» FREE TRIAL: Get Started with LoopCV & Send Out 100s of Highly-Targeted Job Applications in <10 Minutes

Which are the best online tools to create a portfolio for a job

An easy way to create your personal job portfolio is to choose a website which offers templates and structures that provide a simple way to organize and display all your material. We propose the following free websites; Journo Portfolio, PortfolioBox, Vizualize.me, WordPress, Wix, Clippings.me, Behance, Adobe Porfolio, Fabrik, Crevado, Pixpa, Dunked, Krop, YouPic, Format.

Additionally, the following two websites carbonmade and semplice also offer you the chance to create your personal job portfolio, but they do not force any template for it. Therefore, they provide a base, and then you are free to personalize it in any way that you imagine. These websites are not free however, carbonmade offers a free trial. Each website offers instructions that you may follow in order to create your personal online job portfolio.

Having an online portfolio allows the individual to send the job portfolio to the job recruiter and potential employer anywhere and everywhere. Therefore, we advise you to create your own portfolios online. The portfolio you will create must be accessible and straightforward. Keep in mind that the employer does not personally know you so, make sure that the job portfolio is easy to navigate as it is a representation of yourself.

Read more: check out some of the best portfolio websites here:

How to create your own job portfolio with no experience

What happens when you want to make a job portfolio, but you have no work experience? It is not as hard as it sounds, and we will share a few strategies you can use in order to create your job portfolio even if your work experience is very little.

A smart way to enrich your job portfolio is to focus on one project you took part in either during your education years or a workshop you attended. It does not matter that it is not a client oriented project; the importance is to present it with confidence and pride. You should pay attention to the way you are promoting the project. Share the story behind it, the difficulties you faced but eventually overcome. Use images, visual materials, photos to enhance its appeal.

Moreover, create strong headlines that will grasp the reader’s attention. After filling the page with the above information add your resume and contact information.                                                                      

Another option to enrich your job portfolio is to participate in workshops and courses either online or not based on the field that interests you. Also, you may attend a boot camp that is similar to a study/training program but lasts for a shorter period of time.

Participating in such programs or workshops even though they do not replace the work experience you do not acquire, yet they show the depth of the research and training you have done. They are significant because they present that you work hard for what you are passionate about and the time you have consumed in learning and studying.                                                                        

Finally, use personal projects to represent your skills. Even though you do not have any projects that are client oriented you may use personal projects to display your skills. You will showcase your technical skills as well as your soft skills. Share anything important regarding your projects such as the idea, the difficulties you faced, the technical requirements.

Additionally, if the projects involve other people make sure to ask for recommendation letters. By mentioning personal projects in your job portfolio you justify the fact that even though you have no professional experience you are a professional and therefore, you are more than ready to take on duties.

» FREE TRIAL: Get Started with LoopCV & Send Out 100s of Highly-Targeted Job Applications in <10 Minutes