Live Your Brand

By: Teri Grimes

Alright… I’ve spent all semester blogging about the steps you can take in your professional life to build a brand and put together pieces that really represent you as a person. We’re getting even closer to the end of the year and for us December grads it’s come time to finally showcase what we’ve learned and dip our feet in to the waters of our chosen field. The most important thing to remember when showing recruiters your portfolio is to live the brand that you’ve created for yourself and be authentic while doing it. Nothing kills your credibility more than trying to be someone you’re not when talking to someone who could potentially be a future employer. The following is a list of tips to use when showcasing your print portfolio to an audience:

-       Be yourself. Live your brand, but make sure the brand you’ve created is true to who you are both personally and professionally.

-       Know every document that’s in your portfolio, and how to find it without stumbling around and flipping through a ton of pages

-       Introduce what you’re going to be taking about first, then ask if the recruiter would like to see an example of this, and then pull it out of your portfolio. This keeps the recruiter from just flipping through the rest of your pages while you’re talking and not really listening to what you have to say.

-       Explain why each piece is relevant to the talents you have to showcase. It’s great if you have an impressive work in the binder, but it’s better if you can explain its creation in a C-A-R story that applies back to the position you’re up for.

-       Be confident in what you’re presenting! You chose to put it in the portfolio for a reason, so make sure you let them know that this is a collection of work you’re proud of.

Print portfolios are greatly underutilized in interview situations, and can really give you a leg up on the competition if you build it correctly. Continue your professional branding on to the pieces you’ve created, and arrange everything in the binder with a specific order in mind that you can explain to anyone viewing it. Once you have developed a print portfolio you’re proud of, show it off! It could really help you land that first job.