Portfolios and Websites

CORE CONTENT | 3.2 min read

If you’ve read our other articles in the “Personal Branding” section, you’ve seen us say, “There’s no right way to do XYZ” a few times. Yet again, that sentiment applies (probably more so than before). At its core, a career portfolio is simply a collection of samples of your work usually intended to secure future work, and there are several tips and guidelines for making your portfolio as effective as possible.

What Goes in a Portfolio?

We recommend taking a multimedia approach. Beyond just text and images, a digital portfolio allows you to implement videos, links, presentations, animations, the ability to teleport through and around the site, and more. Of course, you may not need all of these features. It is better to tastefully incorporate than to overwhelm. Simply housing a copy of your standard picture and text portfolio online can already drastically improve your reach. Nonetheless, the internet places an endless array of tools at your disposal, and which you choose to implement can make or break your portfolio.

Goals and Structure

Communicating your skill level and versatility/range is paramount. Keep this in mind when selecting examples of work and ordering them. The structure of the portfolio should facilitate easy navigation. Ensure visitors are presented with the most critical information first, and guide them through your work from there. Beyond this, use your portfolio to express your unique style, showcase your accomplishments, and appeal to your target audience.

Correctly identifying purpose and audience is the cornerstone of creating an effective portfolio. There is no one-size-fits-all way to create a portfolio. From computer science to art, modeling to creative writing, photojournalism to architecture, advertising to cosmetology, and so on, there is such a diverse range of fields in which a portfolio is necessary. Yes, you want work, but do you want it from large corporations or indie artists, for example? Consider what a potential client—your ideal client—would be looking for, and cater to them.

Tools & Platforms

Professional Networking Platforms

These platforms showcase work experience, skills, and accomplishments in a digital, resume-like format. Outside of storing a document file on a drive somewhere, this is the simplest way to host a digital portfolio (with the bonus of discoverability). These platforms often allow you to incorporate links, posts, and multimedia content onto your profile and connect with other professionals and employers.

>> Examples: LinkedIn, Handshake

No-Code Portfolio Platforms

These platforms offer pre-designed frameworks, making it easy to display creative pieces professionally. Users can curate their work using built-in tools for images, videos, and other multimedia elements. Your portfolio also becomes discoverable within the community of that platform.

>> Example (Visual Art & Design): ArtStation, Behance

No-Code Website Builders

These platforms allow individuals to create professional websites without having a coding background. They provide various customizable templates and drag-and-drop features to streamline the website creation process.

>> Examples: WordPress, Squarespace, Wix

Embracing Code: HTML & CSS

Whether it be to allow for maximum creativity or to save money, many opt to build their websites entirely from scratch. At its core, all web development requires is two markup languages: HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). HTML forms the structure of a webpage, and CSS allows you to style it. For instance, you’d use HTML to put text on the screen, and you use CSS to make it green. Beyond the most basic interactions and animations, more complex interactivity (e.g., clicking and routing links, submitting forms, pausing videos, etc.), will require the use of a programming language, namely JavaScript. Visually, though, you can achieve just about anything with these introductory languages, and countless free online resources will teach them to you.

A Living Portfolio

A portfolio is not a static entity; it's a dynamic representation that should evolve alongside your career. Set aside time for continual maintenance, updates, and strategic enhancements as you improve. It’s better to do this often so as not to forget details or let your website grow stale. If you feel older projects no longer represent you, you may choose to reorganize or remove them entirely. A proactive approach to displaying your work will significantly bolster your professional journey, setting the stage for success in a competitive landscape.

REAL WORLD EXAMPLE | 1.4 min read

Let’s say you are a programmer and have just decided to build a portfolio website. Depending on the type of work you do, how long you’ve done it, and who you’ve worked for, your portfolio will look entirely different from a different developer’s.

Cedrick is a freelance front-end web developer (i.e., clients pay him to build the visual part of their websites. This is what a user sees and interacts with). He’s built a few small web pages for personal projects and wants to include those, so he embeds the code directly into his portfolio website. Voilà! Professionally, though, his main clientele is small, emerging businesses. He doesn’t own that code (he sold it to the companies), so instead of embedding it, he links directly to the sites. However, understanding that his clients’ organizations tend to evolve and are liable to rework their sites in a couple of years, he records a video walkthrough and takes a few screenshots of each website to accompany the hyperlink.

Now, let’s flip it! Amara is a backend app developer who’s worked primarily in large teams at large companies. She contributes to the code that makes apps run under the hood, working with databases and servers. Her portfolio resembles a CV mixed with a “Greatest Hits” album. She’s got a couple of project synopses interlaced with graphs of the impressive metrics her projects created…not to mention the logos of those Fortune 500 companies.

Or maybe you’re still a student, like Austin. He hasn’t had any clients yet, but he’s got a few class projects under his belt. If they’re nice enough, he incorporates them into his website. He’s also focusing his energy on a capstone project to become the centerpiece of his up-and-coming portfolio. He’ll dedicate some time to building something impressive with the knowledge he’s accumulated and maybe look for an internship in the meantime.

KEY TAKEAWAYS | 0.4 min read

• There’s no “correct” way to create or structure a portfolio. Your portfolio should be specifically catered to your career goals and audience.
• There are a number of tools at your disposal for creating digital portfolios (e.g., professional networking platforms, no-code tools, and coding languages). Such online tools allow you to take a multimedia approach to your resume.
• Porfolios require continual maintenance, updates, and strategic enhancements to stay competitive and representative of you and your work