The No-No’s for Your Portfolio

There are hundreds of new jobs in advertising every year, but thousands of people are looking for one at the same time. What are the main weapons you can use to get the attention of the employer? First, your attitude is crucial because you are selling yourself. Secondly, of course, your portfolio is your greatest asset.

You must go about 50/50 in these realms, always trying to meet 100%. If your portfolio is not very strong, try to prove through your attitude that you have potential to fit the spot.

Let’s focus on some actions you might want to avoid, which we call the “No-No’s.”

1. Don’t fill it with stuff you don’t like. 
Quality is better than quantity. You will prefer to have just a couple of things that you can explain with enthusiasm rather than having to go awkwardly through a lot of boring pieces just “because you needed to fill your portfolio.

2. Don’t underrate your work or your persona.
You are asking for a job, not for something free. Don’t act like what you do is not worthy of payment just to get a “free shot” in the agency. Praise your capabilities. It is important to take criticism, but is laudable to defend your points with courageous logic.

3. Don’t take criticism personally.
On that note, don’t get too obsessed with the critiques you receive. Yes, I know those pieces are your babies, but in this industry, babies must grow. Portfolios will be by an agency, which can vary a lot. Some of them will be funny and some others will have a more conservative approach in their communication styles.

4. Don’t talk about your pieces as generic stuff.
Each one of your pieces is a story you’re telling; we are all storytellers with words, images or scenarios. This is what the business relies on: the capability of making people engage with stories, talk about them, share them and relive them every time they think of them. Understand, you must passionately describe your pieces?

5. Don’t forget to flaunt your work done for small brands.
The real power of a creative relies in the connections that make us come up with something great out of something small. It is much more impressionable to develop a great idea for a small brand than to create something great for a gigantic one, as you will always expect something big from the latter.Trust in the power of a small brand to make your portfolio more human and down to earth. Everyone loves to work with regular, creative people, not a diva who only works with Coca-Cola or Apple.

Bonus tips for copywriters:
You will surely love to have pieces or campaigns that are strongly based on lines. Just remember that less it more. Manifestos are a passion for most of us, but these are one of the more fragile pieces to show, because you must get the reader really immersed in the campaign concept to fully appraise the power of many linked words at the first shot.

Remember that the meaning of words can vary a lot depending where you are, so if your brand is not geographically widely known, be sure that the words you are using are recognized by your target audience. Consider having different pieces with varied word choices depending on location. This show your reliability to address miscommunication issues before they even happen.

Depending on the language of the agency and the market to which it appeals, think about creating different portfolios if you have writing proficiency intwo or more languages.

Most of all, be proud and have fun when you show your work. It is your life what you are showing, so prove that is amazing!