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?WebsiteBlogCDPaper

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!)HobbiesCommunity 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