Building Your Portfolio

Building Your Portfolio
STC Atlanta Employment Workshop | January 23, 2010

A little about me…
Technical communicator since 2002
2009/2010 Second VP for STC Atlanta
Loves scrapbooking, travelling, and reading

Why do you need a portfolio?
Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/devoinregress/3505849421/

What goes in a portfolio?

Only your BEST work!
Yes!
Uh, no.
Good cake: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9329630@N03/4102372852/
Bad cake: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2009/07/love-is-in-air.html

Tell “how” not “what”
What was the problem?
How did you solve it?
What was your role in the project?
What tools did you use?
What did you learn?
Where did you fail/succeed?

A simple page layout

How do you present a portfolio?

Presenting your portfolio
Can it speak for itself?
Website
Blog
CD
Paper
Be ready to talk about it.
Match the format to the work.

My presented portfolio
Created in Evernote (www.evernote.com)
Is meant to be presented in person
Can access from anywhere with Internet connection
Requires no coding

My website
Good for personal projects
Book reviews
Articles
Anything you write, read, or think about that’s related to your field
Uses Wordpress with a “portfolio” category

Online portfolios made easy
http://www.carbonmade.com/

But what if I have no experience?

But what if I have no experience?
Borrow from your personal life:
Presentations (like this one!)
Hobbies
Community work
Show off school projects

Personal websites
Writing
Layout
Content strategy
Information architecture
Wordpress
Design

School projects

Hobbies: Scrapbooks are like help systems…
Brainstorming
Content strategy
Page layout
Organization
Writing
Design
Scrapbook image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/obd-design/2374177769/

Remember…
Tell “how” not “what”
Only include your best work
Pick a format that works for you
Don’t be afraid to show personal work

Questions?
Email: rachelhpeters@gmail.com
Twitter: @rachelhpeters
Web: http://www.rachelhpeters.com

Building Your Portfolio

by Rachel Peters

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