From grad to gig: Crafting your portfolio
Members share how they tailored their resume and portfolio to showcase their skills and experience to potential employers.
Your portfolio is your little virtual pet; always keep it in shape.
"Through a portfolio review with the RGD, I realized what I thought was a great portfolio was just a PDF showing final pieces of my work. In the session, I learned some essentials to building a portfolio and presenting it. I upgraded my portfolio from a basic PDF to a storytelling tool."
— Amjad Barbour
Personalization will set you apart.
"You might think, 'Do I really need to personalize my resume for every job? I don't have the time or energy for that!' But trust me, you should! It's the best way to demonstrate that you've done your research and genuinely care about a job. Customizing your resume, portfolio and cover letter for each company you apply to shows that you've taken the time to understand the company and its specific needs."
— Yas Fakhr
Do the research and let your portfolio reflect your core skills and interests.
"I purposefully forgot everything they taught me in school about finding a job. My first step was to find out more about the companies that I wanted to work for and take note of the areas where those companies excelled. Once I had a few companies in mind, I took a look at how they were doing work and the areas where I could contribute. I thought critically about how I could help and what I needed to learn to be able to provide value."
— Thiago Santarém Souza
Don't hesitate to share your portfolio with fellow creatives to get feedback.
"The more designers reviewed my resume and portfolio, the better it became. The more times I shared my work with people, the better I became at explaining my projects and process. When I had the portfolio interview for my Provisional RGD Membership, I was so anxious, my palms were sweating. But my reviewer was so kind and patient, asked great questions and gave me tons of feedback on my work. I took his advice and my portfolio was so much stronger when it came time to present it to potential employers."
