Creating an Effective Portfolio for Creative Industries: A Comprehensive Guide, Study notes of Journalism

Download Creating an Effective Portfolio for Creative Industries: A Comprehensive Guide and more Study notes Journalism in PDF only on Docsity! BU COM Career Services Portfolios | 1 Portfolios Your resume tells what you’ve done, the basics. But in a creative industry, your work needs to speak for your abilities. A portfolio is a compilation and selection of your best work. It’s a curated collection of your work, designed to prove your abilities and show you in the best light. With an e-portfolio, your portfolio’s always there, even when you’re not. Since it’s on the internet, whatever site you choose it’s easy (and essential) to be dynamic and current. WHAT TO INCLUDE Bio: show your personality, your background, your niche interests, what drives you to do great work. If possible, use your medium to tell your story. For example, broadcast journalists and film students can use a video bio. PR students and journalists could write a compelling narrative for their bio. Selection of your best, strongest work. Contact info: At the very least, include an email address. Include links to any relevant social media accounts, and additional contact info as appropriate. Resume: Embed as a PDF for people to download. List career highlights as text and provide a brief overview. For broadcast journalists or TV/film students, a video resume can be appropriate (but still include the text highlights). Domain name: Purchase an individualized domain name and find the option or upgrade that allows you to use that instead of the site’s URL. PLANNING Before you start posting material, consider what your objective is. Are you trying to get a job? Sell material? Become more visible? Everything on your profile should advance that goal. Consider the types of opportunities you’re looking for. If you have tons of strong long-form article examples, but you really want to be a photojournalist, be selective about what you include. Though your writing may be stellar and help you pay the bills, if your writing outshines your photos, you’re not cultivating opportunities where you want them. Consider longevity. How established are the sites you’re considering? Hopefully your site will stay in business and you won’t have to worry about it disappearing into the ether if the company goes under. BU COM Career Services Portfolios | 2 PUTTING YOUR PORTFOLIO TOGETHER Ideally, your portfolio comes up first in a search of you. With your portfolio, you determine the first thing someone sees, what people learn about you, so create a strong first impression. By putting all your best work together in one place, you take the guess work out of attributing the proper bylines to you. Portfolios promote your work and show the breadth of your skills and experience. Include different types and formats of your work, but let your strengths shine. Portfolios aren’t chronological (though they can be). As you gain experience in your profession, your site should grow and evolve with you. Arrange things by category, interest, or aptitude. Regardless of the configuration, include only your very best pieces. A huge variety of average pieces won’t get you a job, but a few stellar pieces might. Everything must be the highest possible quality. Obviously, include your strongest writing, designs, stories, or photos. But this also extends to how material is presented. Images and videos should be high- enough resolution that they can be viewed full-screen (but not so high that they’ll take forever to load). Links to stories should be current, functional, and not buried behind paywalls. Include a call to action. Give people a reason to contact you, then include your contact info. Make it easy, make it seamless. Feel free to include a contact form, but also include a direct method of contact (at least an email address). SITES The medium you use most often (text, videos, images, sound) is the biggest factor in choosing your portfolio site. Some portfolio sites exhibit images best while others are better suited to words. For film/TV and broadcast journalism students, make sure your site allows you to embed or post videos. Some limit the number of items you can include—consider costs and posting limits. Check out examples on the sites for ideas and an understanding of the site’s capabilities. THREE TYPES OF SITES UNIFIED WEB PRESENCE These are best for anyone who uses social media professionally—they gather posts from any relevant social media sites and put them in one place. • About.me