Building Your Professional Portfolio: It's Easier Than You Think

by Mike Taylor

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Building Your Professional Portfolio It’s Easier Than You Think! Mike Taylor

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Mike Taylor Eternally curious | Honorary Canadian Exploring the intersection of learning, technology & social media mike-taylor.org

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mike-taylor.org

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gettalk.at/portfolio https://gettalk.at/portfolio

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HOUSE

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Minute of Minutiae Follow your natural genuine curiosity

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Chat

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Where do you send people to show them your best work?

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Building Your Portfolio WHY? you need one WHAT? to include HOW? to build one

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you need one

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Highlight your best work and achievements Not everything you’ve done nor anything you don’t want to do anymore

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Standard resumes aren’t sufficient if you want to stand out from the crowd. Prove you can do what your resume says

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Be Prepared! Waiting until you need it could be too late.

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Attract Opportunities An online portfolio helps people FIND YOU!

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Show vs Tell

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Who Would You Choose? Dave or Olivier?

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Building Your Portfolio WHY? you need one WHAT? to include

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to include

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TARGET AUDIENCE? THINK LIKE A MARKETER Who Is Your Audience? GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION SUPER EASY TO USE

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TARGET AUDIENCE? THINK LIKE A MARKETER Think Like a Marketer GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION SUPER EASY TO USE

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TARGET AUDIENCE? THINK LIKE A MARKETER Great First Impression GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION SUPER EASY TO USE minutes

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TARGET AUDIENCE? THINK LIKE A MARKETER Make It User Friendly! GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION SUPER EASY TO USE

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Portfolios come in all shapes & sizes

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No content

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It’s never been easier!

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1 2 3 4 5 Elements of a Good Portfolio Project Samples Your projects should be front and center. Contact Info Make is SUPER easy for people to contact About page A little bit about you & your background Testimonials Ask for these. They are valuable. Your Photo Optional but recommended

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How much work to show?

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Three projects feels like the perfect amount…because it enables the designer to express some range whilst not demanding too much from a reviewer. José Torre Shopify

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Tell Your Story About Each Project Project Description What the project was about? What was your involvement? What was the outcome? Project Details Who was the client? When did the project happen? What skills & tools did you use and why? Images & Multimedia Screenshots, video, link to actual course or content

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Tim Slade

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Chat

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If you don’t have a portfolio, why not?

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Common Roadblocks Proprietary Content Work that you are not able to share publicly. Not Enough Work Whether you’re new or you’re unable to share your work. Time/Technical Skills Don’t know how or where to create a portfolio site.

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Proprietary Content Work that you are not able to share publicly. Ask! Select Excerpts Scrub it Show the process

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Not Enough Sharable Work Articulate Weekly Challenge Volunteer Projects Create Your Own Do a makeover

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Time/Technical Skills Quick & Easy Options For Any Skill Level

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Building Your Portfolio WHY? you need one WHAT? to include HOW? to build one

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to build one

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Start Offline

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Take Inventory & Write Copy

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3 Questions to Answer Need Course Hosting? Will you share any published courses? If so, you’ll need a web server so they function properly. Don’t worry, it isn’t difficult!

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Want to Share Published Courses? Requires web hosting to function properly.

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cloud.google.com Google Cloud ~30 minute setup Free *

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tiinyhost.com Tiiny Host No Setup Password Protect Free *

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Web Hosting

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3 Questions to Answer Course Hosting Getting your own personal domain name is the best way for people to find your portfolio. It is inexpensive, fast & easy! Where will it live? There are many options for creating an online portfolio.

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Choice often driven by time available

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It’sbetter to share a well crafted slide deck than a janky website. José Torre Shopify

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Questions to Answer Domain Name Getting your own personal domain name is the best way for people to find your portfolio. It is inexpensive, fast & easy! Web Server Will you share any published courses? If so, you’ll need a web server so they function properly. Don’t worry, it isn’t difficult! How will they find it? Getting your own personal domain name is the best way for people to find your portfolio. It is inexpensive, fast & easy!

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Everyone should get a domain name Gives you instant credibility & visibility

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domains.google Google Domains Point Anywhere Email Forwarding $1/mo

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Domain Names Many tools offer domain name services

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Types of Portfolio Tools Something from Nothing Fast & Easy Portfolio Specific Website Builders DIY & Misc

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Something From Nothing

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No content

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Make It Visual!

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Link or upload images, docs & presentations

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Header image Contact info Portfolio Items

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Visual content Visual content Visual content

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Recommendations Endorsements

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What does this tell you? Michael Scott

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What does this tell you?

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Who has the advantage?

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Point your domain name to your LinkedIn Profile

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BE ACTIVE!

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Get active. Stay active! Try the 3-2-1 strategy 3 LIKES Like at least three updates. 2 COMMENTS Add a comment to at least two items in your news feed. 1 SHARE Share at least one article or update.

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Super Fast & Easy

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You need it WHEN?!

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HeyWith Fast & Easy

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Consolidate Links solo.to solo.to Best for creating an online home when you already have things online in various places.

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Collect Testimonials heywith.com HeyWith Great if you only have images or screenshots to illustrate your projects.

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Customizable by Audience muralapp.io MuralApp Best for customizing unique views for different audiences.

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Portfolio-specific

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Portfolio Sites Predefined Layouts Watch for limitations & ads

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Portfolio-specific

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Contact Form devfolio.io devfolio Great option for your first try or if you need something quickly.

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Dropbox Sync, Analytics & SEO krop.com Krop Good for Dropbox users and if you’re interested in analytics & SEO.

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Nice Designs & Easy to Use journoportfolio.com JournoPortfolio Nice balance of professional design options and ease of use.

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Website Builders

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Website Builders

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Could not be any easier! Surprisingly, professional single page website given how easy it is. canva.com Canva

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Flexible Layout Options strikingly.com Strikingly Great looking single page site with lots of content flexibility.

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Lots of features even in free version wordpress.com WordPress My favorite. Allows you to start small and grow without changing platforms.

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DIY & Misc

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DIY & Misc

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Like a Google Doc on steriods notion.so Notion Lots of free and paid templates that are fast and easy to customize.

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Use existing content glideapps.com Glide Generate a website and/or mobile app from spreadsheet content.

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Interactive sort & filter feature Great option if you have a number of portfolio items and you’d like the ability to sort and filter them by type/category. spreadsimple.com SpreadSimple

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Use existing content articulate.com Articulate Rise Easy to use but be aware if your license ever exprires you’ll love the ability to update/edit.

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Top Tips

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Get a domain name Use it for your email too! Collect Your Content Write your copy first! Save as you go, going forward Be Social & Share Stay active on LinkedIn and a good community First Things First

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Start Now!

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Done is better than perfect!

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A portfolio is like an elevator pitch. The goal is to generate a spark and to create a good first impression. Jose Torre Shopify

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Ready to launch!

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Create a site on Wordpress.com (Consider adding future blog post) 1-2 days Use HeyWith or Strikingly to showcase your best work 1-2 Hours Point your domain to your LinkedIn profile (Stay Active) 15 minutes 1 2 3 Instant Favorite Fast