Your portfolio is your most important tool to show your talents, abilities, and breadth of experience. We'll discuss different types of portfolios, what types of projects to include, branding through your portfolio, leveraging social media, and using your portfolio to get a job, project, or client.

1. Professional Portfolios
Louellen S. Coker Content Solutions

2. Finding Your Speaker
Web: www.yourcontentsolutions.com
Blog: www.yourcontentnotes.com
LinkedIn: louellencoker
Facebook: ContentSolutions
Twitter: @ContentNotes, @LouellenC
YouTube: ContentSolutions
Slideshare: ContentSolutions
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3. What we’ll discuss
• Purpose
• Options
• Selection
• Presentation
• Protection
• Case Studies
• Q&A
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4. Purpose
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5. What YOU want
• Intrigue
• Call to Action
• Showcase
• Get a Gig
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6. What employers want
Can you alleviate our
current need?
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7. Portfolio Options
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8. Archive
Coffee Shop
Elevator
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Presentation

9. @ContentNotes,
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10. @ContentNotes,
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11. Website or Blog
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12. Selection
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13. First steps, FIRST
• Know your audience
• Know your goal
• Know your work
• Know your capabilities
(and how you’re different!)
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14. What projects do I consider?
• Those that the hiring person wants to see
• Those for which you won an award
• Those created in your day job
• Those created for volunteer organizations
• Those created specifically for your portfolio
• Those created for fun
• EVERYTHING and ANYTHING
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15. What projects do I include?
• Pieces that speak for themselves
• Pieces that translate across platforms
• Pieces that show skills
• Pieces that show interpersonal skills
• Piece that is the product of a difficult
situation
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16. YOUR work
• Select pieces that are relevant to
varied audiences
• Reflect about process
• Blog in deeper detail about process
• Show level of professionalism
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17. Proprietary information
• GET PERMISSION
• Limit to outward facing information
• Redact if necessary
• Collect as you go
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18. @ContentNotes,
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19. Presentation
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20. Present your work
• Determine a presentation theme
• Organize your works in a logical
manner
• Compile your artifacts in a consistent
manner
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21. Essential elements
• Cover Page – must have name; may have
your mission statement, short introduction,
or bio
• Table of Contents
• Navigation – some method to guide a
reviewer through your artifacts
• Artifacts – your best (mostly)
• Reflection – optional
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22. Tools
• Software for capturing/creating pieces
– Open source
– Office products
– Adobe Suite products
• Wireframing/Organization tools
– Mindmeister for mind-mapping (www.mindmeister.com)
– Jumpstart for wireframing (www.jumpstart.com)
– Toodledo for project management (www.toodledo.com)
– Basecamp for project management (www.basecamphq.com)
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23. Tools, cont.
• Online services • Social Media
– www.elance.com – LinkedIn.com
– www.behance.com – Facebook.com
– www.qfolio.com – Slideshare.net
– YouTube.com
– Flikr.com
– Wordpress.org/Blogger
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24. Finding the Muscle
• Elbow grease • Training
– Blogs and Forums – www.lynda.com
– Use help – Blogs
– STC Community – Workshops
Help Desks
– Trial and Error
Hire
some
help
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25. Put your best foot forward
• Optimize your files
– Print = CMYK 300 dpi (.tif, .psd, .eps)
– Web = RGB 72 dpi (.jpg, .png, .bmp, .gif)
• Error FREE
• Professional
• Relevant
• Appropriate
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26. Best practices
• Keep it simple
• Keep it organized
• Keep it succinct
• Keep it optimized
• Keep it targeted
• Keep it consistent
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27. Protection
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28. Protect intellectual property
• Watermark
• Limit scope
• Low resolution
• Remove “copy & paste” ability
• Put your footprint in the metadata
• Copyright
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29. Protect yourself
• NEVER leave your portfolio behind
• Make copies of portions of the artifacts in
your presentation portfolio
• Organize your artifacts in a less expensive
presentation folder
• Consider including a thumb drive with soft
copies of included and/or larger works
• Maintain consistency when possible
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30. Case Studies
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31. Case Study: .pdf
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32. Case Study: HTML & .pdf
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33. Case Study: Website or Blog
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34. Case Study: Social Media
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35. Questions?
Wri7ng
Design
Web
Solu7ons
www.yourcontentsolutions.com | 972-987-0567
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