Whether you’re a freelancer, gainfully employed, or on the job hunt, this should be your mantra. This country is heading perilously fast to recession mode and you need to be especially prepared if you’re working with clients that are going to be most hit (Detroit is not rockin’ it with auto; homebuilders nationally, not so much). I’m no economist but I have spoken with a lot of candidates that have found a new acronym within their agency acronym (RIF—reduction in force) and if you find a pink slip in your cubby, you want to make darn sure you’ve got it together now.We recruiters prefer the minibook in a PDF but you’re the creative one so do it where it feels comfortable. If you’re selling yourself as interactive, you better have a URL to contain that work of yours—this is an absolute must for most hiring managers. My mentor once shared that a website should be a vehicle to highlight a candidate’s work but if it’s like driving with square wheels it becomes more of a hindrance and quickly frustrates. Sticking with the acronym theme, every website should live and flow by UI. It’s all about usability and how your potential “customer” maneuvers through your work with ease. Whichever format you decide to commit to, I suggest following some of these tacit rules clients and recruiters already know:

Presentation is Everything
• Great work to capture at the start, some decent filler, and of course, ending with your BEST to leave a lasting impression.
• Show all that you can do: This includes your breadth of knowledge and your specialties

The Best Portfolio

• Neatness and careful organization are essential no matter how you present your work
• The samples should be of high quality

• Do not include everything you have ever done in your portfolio. Choose only your very best work and select pieces that are relevant to the employer you are approaching

• Demonstrate consistency in style and skill

• You may want to include a sample of work in different stages to show your progression of ideas and how you solved design problems

• Include alternate solutions to demonstrate creative versatility

It’s irrelevant if you’re passive or aggressive in your career, we’ll find you and you better be ready to move quickly, especially in this aforementioned economic climate. Updating your book to highlight you, in your best light possible is the sure way that you’ll get the play you deserve. Ready?

p.s. The majority of prospective employers are not interested in your blog rant so I would suggest staying away from presenting your work in this particular format.

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