Potential employers sometimes ask candidates to submit work samples along with their job applications. It’s important to have work samples available whenever this situation arises. Creating a simple portfolio for yourself in advance has never been easier.
The type of samples you choose to share will largely depend on your industry. However, as a rule of thumb, samples should show the range of your abilities from a stylistic and formatting perspective. If you choose to keep the documents on your personal computer until someone requests them, be sure to give them appropriate titles such as “Newsletter Example” or “Sample Presentation”. You can attach individual documents to your applications, or you can prepare a summary document with links to many different samples of your work.
Numerous Web sites allow you to upload free documents and share them with others. Well known examples include Google Docs and Box.net. These sites provide Web addresses for you to share with others looking at your work. You can add the links to your cover letter by saying, “For a portfolio containing samples of my work, please go to (link address)”. You can also organize the Web links by category on a summary document like the one mentioned above. Additionally, Linkedin allows you to display your Box.net files on your profile. If you’re submitting applications via e-mail, adding the Web address of your Linkedin profile to your signature can direct potential employers toward the work samples you have available there.
If your work has been featured on your previous employers’ Web sites, bookmark the link for yourself and share it with potential employers. Having your work displayed in a public forum adds instant legitimacy to the accomplishments listed on your resume. It’s also a good idea to download documents such as newsletters or reports; and save your own copies so that you’ll still have them if the company goes out of business or takes your work off its Web site.
With so many free document storage Web sites available today, you don’t have to rely on other people to share your work on the Web. Creating a portfolio is as simple as choosing excellent examples of your work, uploading them to a document sharing site, and adding the Web address of your portfolio wherever you choose.
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