Graduating after years of hard work is a massive accomplishment. However, once the celebration is over, it’s time to think about your next steps. What career are you interested in? Do you need a graduate portfolio?
Looking for a career after graduating can be daunting. Graduate schemes offer great opportunities for freshly graduated students to enter the workforce. Having said that, places are limited and competition is fierce. Many graduate opportunities in the UK, particularly creative graduate jobs, will expect graduates to present a portfolio of work.
A graduate portfolio helps you stand out amongst other applicants. It enables you to showcase your skillset even if you have no previous work experience.
We’ve put together a comprehensive guide on what a graduate portfolio is and how to make a professional portfolio with no experience.
What is a Graduate Portfolio?
A graduate portfolio is a cherry-picked collection of samples of the job seeker’s best work. It showcases knowledge and skills.
Since the graduate has little to no professional experience, a graduate portfolio contains coursework, overviews of relevant university projects, and other personal work.
A graduate portfolio usually contains the following:
- A written overview of projects you have worked on and each piece of work, including visuals where applicable
- A variety of pieces to show off different skills
- The outcomes and impact of the work
- Different methods and styles adopted in the work
- Insights and reflections, such as lessons you have learnt or improvements you would make to earlier work samples. This shows self-reflection and your interest in professional development
One of the best pieces of advice for graduates is to invest time in creating a graduate portfolio. It shows potential employers your skills and accomplishments. The key to building a great graduate portfolio is learning how to turn coursework into a professional portfolio.
Examples of Graduate Portfolios
Portfolios can be designed in different formats, depending on the profession. Most portfolios are presented in an online format, such as a portfolio website or a third-party site such as LinkedIn to collect and showcase work samples.
The content of a work portfolio also varies depending on the profession. For example;
- a web designer would show off samples of websites they have created (this could include projects they worked on as part of their degree)
- content writers would curate a collection of their best writing pieces (either from their personal blog, contributions to websites, or pieces they wrote during their degree)
- a graphic designer would present samples of their designs
Professional portfolios are especially important for creative jobs, however, they can be adapted for use in almost any profession. For instance, a graduate teacher could include sample lesson plans and classroom activities.
A graduate architect could share sketches they did during their degree and a marketing graduate could put together case studies with recommendations of how they would enhance marketing strategies in well-known companies.
They may also include other projects they worked on during their work experience.
What Jobs Require a Graduate Portfolio?
Almost every creative field will require a portfolio. Some common examples include advertising, web design, graphic design, photography, writing, and video editing. Even as a recent graduate with no experience, your new employer will usually want to see your skills and past projects that you have worked on.
While not all fields expect a graduate portfolio, it is a surefire way to get ahead of the pack. Creating a portfolio with samples of presentations, coursework, and projects you have worked on shows you’re committed to your professional development. If you aren’t sure whether your field requires a graduate portfolio, reach out to professionals in the field to ask for guidance.
What to Include in a Graduate Portfolio?
It’s important to personalise your portfolio to reflect your personality, career, and skills. Having said that, most graduate portfolios contain the following information:
- A personal statement that briefly summarises your experience, career goals, and inspirations
- Work samples such as published articles, artwork or designs you have created for clients, project overviews, and relevant university coursework
- Visual presentations, case studies, reports, or research summaries
- Relevant achievements such as awards and certificates
- Testimonies from personal or professional references such as university tutors and previous employers
How to Create a Superb Graduate Portfolio
Follow this step-by-step guide on how to create a graduate portfolio that will catch the attention of potential employers.
Step 1: Research the field
Before you start building your graduate portfolio, you will need to conduct some research into your chosen field and identify the key skills required.
Let’s say you are looking for graduate jobs as a web designer. The first step is to research active job descriptions for web designers and compile a list of skills that most companies list in the job posting. This will give you a clear idea of what skills (technical and soft skills) you should highlight in your graduate portfolio.
When it comes to the next step, planning and curating your work samples, keep in mind how you can demonstrate the key skills your dream job requires with the work you are displaying. For a web designer portfolio, you may want to choose work that demonstrates your technical skills with HTML, Javascript, or CSS as well as some soft skills such as problem-solving skills and visual design. This might entail detailing a problem you had to solve as part of your degree or examples of UX design work.
Step 2: Plan, plan, plan
A graduate portfolio is designed to show the skills you have developed during your degree. It’s important to plan this out carefully to ensure that you don’t miss important pieces or include information that is irrelevant to the career that you want.
Break your graduate portfolio down into categories so that it is organised and easy for potential employers to digest. Example categories include:
- Personal statement
- Education and Training
- Previous employment history
- Volunteer experience
- Testimonies and references
- Samples of your work
An organised portfolio will give a fantastic first impression and show that you are organised. It also makes it much easier to share your career history.
Step 3: Curate your pieces
Now that you know which skills you want to showcase and how you will organise your portfolio, it’s time to curate a strong collection of samples. Collect all of your strongest pieces, making sure that they demonstrate a range of skills, styles, and methods. Having too many similar pieces won’t show off your versatility. If you notice that your portfolio is lacking a certain style of work, you may want to create a piece to fill this gap.
For instance, when creating a writing portfolio, you should try to include different styles of writing such as long-form articles, short-form articles, technical writing samples, SEO optimised articles, and on-page copy.
If you have several pieces that showcase the same type of skills, select the best piece and set the rest aside.
Step 4: Edit your collection
The golden rule is quality over quantity. Potential employers want a quick overview of who you are and the skills you have. They won’t spend hours perusing every piece of work you have ever done.
Be selective and only include your best pieces that clearly show what you can do. The more creative you are the better when it comes to your portfolio. To make it stand out from the crowd, play around with mediums. For example, replace your personal statement with a short video, and use visuals to bring your portfolio to life and tell a story.
Step 5: Rejig the order
As you build your portfolio, shuffle the order of your samples to create a clear narrative. Your work doesn’t necessarily have to appear in chronological order, reshuffle your samples until they make sense and work together.
Step 6: Fine-tune as you go
Your graduate portfolio should evolve over time. Even if you land a job, it’s crucial to continue refining your portfolio and updating it over time. Use an editing eye to remove older pieces that don’t add value and try to incorporate new work into your portfolio regularly to show off your professional development.
As time goes on, your graduate portfolio will become your professional portfolio, so maintenance is essential.
Portfolio Tips for Graduates
There are lots of ways to build a graduate portfolio, here are some tips for success.
- Online portfolios are more accessible for potential employers
- Make sure you present your online in a user-friendly way
- Always include your preferred method of contact
- Use sites like WordPress, Muck Rack (journalists and PR), or Behance (designers) to show off your work and build an online presence
- Maintain your portfolio by updating work and checking for broken links regularly
- Promote your portfolio on social networking sites like LinkedIn, job sites, and other websites where you can promote your work
- Add a link to your online graduate portfolio in your LinkedIn profile, email signature, and CV
Final Thoughts
A significant number of jobs for graduates in the creative field require a graduate portfolio. Not only does a portfolio prove the graduate has the skills needed to do the job, but it also aids the graduate to stand out from the crowd. A well-curated graduate portfolio can propel your career forward and give you the best chance to land your dream job even if you have no previous professional experience.
