Top five ways to build a visual portfolio that gets you hired

It was to be one of the best days of my life. I would be told to expect a flood of job offers in recognition of my graphic design and illustration brilliance. My work would speak for itself.

Unfortunately, it did.

One by one, the committee members smirked and yawned their way through my portfolio, giving me monotone feedback like, “It’s fine,” “Yep,” and “Looks adequate.”

After two straight years of slogging through school with a part-time job, arduous courses and plenty of sleepless nights, was this really the best my instructors could say about my efforts? “Go get ’em boss.”

I had earned very good grades. And it wasn’t like I hadn’t created some quality pieces (I received quite a few sincere compliments from potential employers at my school’s portfolio showcase). The problem was that my book only met the minimum requirements for graduation from the visual communications program. There was nothing unexpected—nothing that demonstrated just how far I could push my talents.

After school, it took me nearly five months to land a job. Not bad considering that some of my classmates ended up abandoning their dream career due to lack of employer interest. But a few people I went to school with had jobs lined up before they even graduated. I once thought they were just lucky. Now I know better.  

Having been a creative director for a number of years, I’ve come to realize just how exceptional it is to have a killer portfolio. I’ve bemoaned the sea of mediocrity, witnessing the same uninspired approaches—the ones I used for my first collection—over and over.

So to save you from the curse of being average, here are five tips for creating a visual portfolio—for graphic design, illustration or photography—that can help you stand out from the competition:

5. Kill your darlings

Sounds harsh, but this is an adage that many great writers live by. And visual artists can use it too. It means you shouldn’t grow too attached to your creations.

Don’t place ugly ducklings in your portfolio just because you spent five weekends, three cases of Red Bull and two bottles of aspirin getting them hatched.

I once included what had to be the world’s most poorly designed brochure on the basis that since I had spent more than $200 to make a worthy print of it, I was committed to showing it. Bad idea.

On the flip side, don’t automatically include your most amazing creations. If they seem very out of place with the rest of your samples, they’ll only distract. You love them, so set them free!

4. Take a timeout

It’s hard to be objective when you see your stuff everyday. The more time you spend with something, the more attached you tend to become to it—to the point of utter irrationality. But if you put your work aside for a few days, what looked good to you on Monday might look like a disaster by Friday—or vice versa.

I’ve passionately defended repulsive magazine layouts because I thought they were clever when I was working on them, only to open them two days later to find that I needed to go back to the drawing board. I’ve also cursed how inappropriate a logo design was turning out until I was able to give myself a break and see that it was actually the perfect solution.

It’s always better to take the time necessary to see your work objectively when you can. And there’s no better reason to do so than a portfolio that can get you your dream job.

Step back. Get away. Then see your efforts with fresh eyes.