For my assignment I went to a workshop that taught me how to make a portfolio. A portfolio is similar to a resume but instead of giving a summary of your strengths and abilities it shows the work you can do. A portfolio is usually kept on a file or on a disk and you never stop adding your work to it. You can think of a portfolio as a tree. In a portfolio you take out the old work that wasn’t as successful and you bring in the new work that was successful. When you do this your actually building a package with your resume and portfolio that shows why you are the best candidate for the job. During the workshop there were many speakers that came in and discussed the importance of having a good portfolio. In Adams speech he discussed the aspect of presenting yourself as a media professional. He explained that when you present your portfolio you want to highlight your work by explaining what it is your good at. He also mentioned the importance of keeping your portfolio organized. When you organize your portfolio you want to make it easy for your interviewer to find what they are looking for. For example, if you are applying for a job as an editor your work of editing should be the first thing your interviewer finds when looking at your portfolio. Another thing that’s important when presenting a portfolio is being honest about your work. If you work on a project with a group then you have to explain that it was a group project and what your piece of the project was.

The next speaker in the workshop was Tom and he explained the importance of branding yourself. The part that caught my attention in his speech was when he said “the public has no patience for you.”If the interviewer is even the slightest bit confused on your portfolio they will tell you no.”What this means is that you have to make your work clear enough so that the interviewer isn’t questioning what you were trying to accomplish. You also have to get straight to the point on your work because as Tom said “the public has no patience for you.” Tom also mentions in his speech that you have to use a consistent look with your portfolio. You have to make sure to not over design your portfolio with too many things going on at once. He explains that it’s okay to have white space in your portfolio as long as you get the point your making across to the viewer.

The next speaker was a former graphic design student named Char. She explained her job working in the media field and ways that you can showcase your work. When you work on a portfolio you have to show your own creative style to it and also make it look professional. She also explained that it’s good to show a variety of work you can do in your portfolio. For example, if your specialty is in graphic design and you also do photography make sure to leave a space in your portfolio showing those skills. You also have to be passionate about your work and showcase it by explaining why your passionate about it. Overall, I’m glad that i went to the portfolio workshop. I learned valuable skills that I can use when I start making a portfolio like how to design, present, and organize it.