» Students, Nothing is Perfect Especially Your Portfolio

Before I get too far I just want to clarify that I am not saying that you should not strive to achieve the highest level of quality within your portfolio. Rather, this article is about the opportunity costs associated with perfection. I have been talking with some recent graduates who are convinced that their portfolios must be utterly perfect in order to begin looking for jobs.

QUALITY MATTERS BUT SO DOES DOING

If you are watching a number of great jobs come and go because your portfolio just isn’t ready then you are bound to be waiting for a long time. The reason I say this is because in most cases the portfolio is not the actual problem. It is a great excuse that is being used to mask the fear of failure. By saying the portfolio is not ready they can avoid the rejection of not getting the job and feel productive at the same time by working on something. Here are some great reasons why going ahead with the portfolio you have may be more lucrative in the long run.

The competition is applying

There may be a number of less qualified individuals out there actually doing job interviews while you are at home obsessing over something like the kerning pair of an A and V. It may be a legitimate concern, however in a job interview is the person doing the interview really going to look that close. Chances are no, but that is a decision you will have solve on your own.

Expertise is for experts

Unless you are applying for one of the most competitive and sought after positions in the country, then most employers realize that you are entry level. This means that they are looking for good fundamental and an ability to think creatively. They are willing to look past the small stuff and see what potential it is that you hold.

You may be focusing on what’s wrong

One of the best pieces of advice that I was ever given in regards to job interviews is that you should be focusing on what you did right. By nitpicking the small things in your portfolio that you don’t feel 100% comfortable about you soon forget what it is about the pieces that went right. If you can’t explain how a piece met the unique challenges facing it then all the work went to waste.

Portfolios evolve

Your portfolio is not something that will stay the same for an extended amount of time. As you continue to do new work it is going to change, and possibly could be different depending on the type of employer you are going to approach. How much time are you going to devote to your portfolio only to have it be outdated within a month? Also, when you finally do land a job, you are going to pick up a ton of new skills within the first few months. You are definitely going to want to showcase these new skills in your portfolio as well.

Clients equal compromise

Never again will you have so much control over the work in your portfolio. Once you start throwing clients, budgets, and time lines into the mix things can become compromised very quickly. The things you may be obsessing over now may not even be a possibility in work that you do outside the academic environment.

So think very closely about the things that are holding you back from applying for a position and consider whether they really matter. This is a decision that can only be made on a case by case scenario but hopefully the items listed above can help you make that next move towards becoming a full-time design professional. Also, if you recently graduated and landed a new job, why not share your experience here with the readers?

05/11

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15 Responses to “Students, Nothing is Perfect Especially Your Portfolio”

rey ruiz
May 11th, 2008 at 8:55 pm

my sentiments exactly. employers are objective, anyone can do brilliant design but the prospect of delivering results for their requirement is their major concern and this they have to confirm by interview/discussion with you personally. the employer’s assesment of a candidate goes beyond the things he possess, they can further perceive the skills of a candidate by personal interaction.
rey ruiz
May 11th, 2008 at 9:04 pm

the reason i know this is because i have recently applied for a job and was hired not only on the merits of my portfolio but by personally discussing with the company about my professional objectives. since i have limited online space, i could not fit everything i wanted to show on the web and yet i made sure the conviction and passion for whatever skills and knowledge i have gave me the confidence to make myself clear on my stand.
Sigit
May 11th, 2008 at 11:51 pm

Thank you for sharing this.

I’ve been reading your writings for quite a while and as an entry-level designer many of your thoughts just fit in to my experience.

I graduated in July 2007 and got hired as a creative designer for an international educational non-profit. This is a remote position which means that the staffs are actually spread throughout the world, and I have to work alone with direction from my manager who is in another country. I was very thankful that he would trust me by offering me this position although he could have easily hired an experienced designer with better qualification and located in the same place as his. I know the consideration might be cost as I am from a developing country, but there’s just this level of trust that I appreciate.
Lauren
May 12th, 2008 at 11:58 am

Man… this really spoke to me! I am just about finished with school, but have been working at a public affairs company doing a few web projects. My portfolio will be a good mix of client constraints as well as freedom-school projects…

My problem is just finding the time to put it all together. I have been doing some freelance work as well.. and spend almost every night working until 2:00 am. I would like to move on from my current job because we don’t get much web/graphic design work here. I’ve been telling myself to get it done, but I end up focusing on other things. I think I’m just afraid of putting myself out there.

This article is very inspiring… thank you!

^__^
David Sparks
May 12th, 2008 at 6:11 pm

i have to agree. its more important to do than to get the port just right.

i actually just got a new job and the first thing they saw was my portfolio. if you need proof of this go check out my port. its hideous. i had no direction or goal in the design and while it was cool to experiment, the site is laid out horribly, to much going on, slow, hard to use, and overall just not to cool.

you could possibly even say i got the job bc my port is so ugly they had to notice me haha. idk that i would go that far but it does come into play at some point. granted im not designing there, im programming. but still.

all that being said.

the redesign is about half way done and this time im doing it right. and now that i have a job and i dont need the port out there as much as i did… i can spend some extra time focus on it.

so sometimes just throwing something up there isnt the worst that could happen.
Zinni
May 12th, 2008 at 7:18 pm

David,

Ever since I attended the SEED Conference a couple of months back, my whole outlook on design and practicality have changed. Jason Fried and the 37 signals crew were the ones that made me realize that there were soo many projects (including my portfolio) that never got finished because I was focusing on the small stuff way too long and not finishing my projects. The thing quote that Jason said that has really stuck with me was: “The longer it takes you to do something, the less likely it will get done.” Not rocket science, but insanely insightful.

After you have got something done, you have the time to go back and address the things that are imperfect.
Lemon
May 12th, 2008 at 10:53 pm

Wow, excellent post. I almost feel like I just got called out because I’ve been doing exactly that for the past couple weeks. Let me see if I can follow that advice because I know I really should.
liam
May 13th, 2008 at 3:44 am

Another great topic, and another well written post. Great points, and so, so true. I spent so long telling myself that I couldn’t apply for a job until my portfolio was perfect. But in the end I just set up a simple flash gallery & flickr account and just used them as “temporary portfolio” - They done the trick, got me some contract work, and then a full time job.

I think as long as you have somewhere where people can easily navigate your work, it’s not really important how it looks.

Of course though if you do have a great portfolio, which looks & functions well, and on top of that you have great work in the portfolio, then this is going to give you a slight edge, but I’d say in very few cases.
Jacob Cass
May 13th, 2008 at 7:59 am

Zinni,

Good points you have outlined… I actually wrote a similar article about how to get your first job which outlines some of the points you have mentioned and goes a bit more in depth.

But I did like the fact that you mentioned “other people are applying”. I am actually on a mailing list for design jobs that come up in my area and I get about 1 a week and I always shoot off a quick email saying here is my portfolio and resume, have a look if you would like.

9/10 times I get an interview to discuss things further (usually because they loved my blog) which is pretty good for writing one line saying “here is my portfolio and resume”.

I do this as I am always looking out for quality part time well paid jobs however so far only two have suited me.

Jacob Cass’s latest post: How To Design A Movie Poster - With An Example
Raul
June 5th, 2008 at 9:57 am

I am freshers in the field of graphic designing.Please tell me that how can i grow my creativity and visulization sense.I want to be a succesful graphic designer.
Margarita
June 13th, 2008 at 12:10 am

Ouch… why do i feel hurt after reading your article! it hurts heaps… i think i’ve been shot badly >< THanks though i needed something like this