Your portfolio presentation will be your first opportunity to make an impression. There
needs to be a fine balance between presenting your best work and overwhelming the viewer.
Pick only your finest examples and provide a good cross-section of work. Most often
portfolios are presented in some type of notebook presentation. Boards are cumbersome and
are difficult to transport, but supplying technical drawings is a plus. It is important
for a prospective employer to understand your abilities, which originals often convey
better than photographs.
Other techniques include fewer photographs, which are enlarged and mounted for
stiffness, so that each one is pulled out of a special portfolio case and individually
viewed, rather than flipping through pages. This adds to their importance.
PowerPoint Presentations are possible, but the equipment to display these types of
presentations is not readily available and expensive to rent. Presenting your work on a
laptop is a viable possibility. You can also save the information to a zip disk. Creating
a CD of a presentation is feasible. This method enables you to leave a sample of your work
with a prospective employer to view and generate a "Wow" factor. but
requires a professional. Consider eye-catching animation.
Creating an online version of your work is a viable option. This method allows prospect
employers worldwide to view your resume and your work. The key to success with this method
is keeping it extremely professional, not linking to any personal site if possible,
scanning only your best work and minimizing the size of each graphic, so the page loads
quickly. Creating a Web Portfolio enables you to provide 24-hour access to your work and
is a good promotional tool.
The best way to present your work is to find the most dynamic alternative available to
you. It is best to show a broad
base of abilities and styles. Technical drawings can be included. Photographs are common.
We would suggest the larger format to allow you to show horizontal and vertical images
without having to rotate the portfolio.
Often photographs are used, but elevations, renderings, floor plans, material boards,
or any tool at your disposal to show your professionalism and ability for a specific
project should be utilized. With this said, we suggest keeping it to a presentation that
might last 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the project, the scope of services
required, and the size of a potential project, it might well be far more extensive.
Remember selling yourself to a prospective employer is much like selling your services
to a potential client. Make the presentation as slick as possible, give it thought and add
your own personal style. A portfolio presentation that is easy to alter, as you develop
and projects change, is preferable.
Another thing to consider is how you choose to discuss the materials you present.
Descriptions of the projects including special circumstances in past projects, i.e.
problems solved, will add a great deal to the overall interaction you will have with a
potential client or employer.
