A graphic designer’s portfolio is vital for them to showcase their work and help their job search. Brand Digital and Creative receive numerous portfolios on a daily basis and are keen to share their expertise in how to set these out in order for a designer to find their ideal graphic designer job.

A portfolio is supposed to hold a selection of a graphic designer’s best work yet Brand Digital and Creative have found that often they are either full of out-of-date and irrelevant examples from the more senior designers or do not show junior candidate’s work in a succinct manner. Companies are paying more attention to portfolios and these play a major part in their decision to interview potential employees. These portfolios need to represent the graphic designer but also their main aim is to bag them their ideal job.

Graphic designer jobseekers should spend time choosing examples of their work which are relevant to the role that they are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a role within the beauty industry do not to include examples of work you have done for an automotive company. Another error graphic designers make is by not thinking about the layout of their portfolio. You want to show off your work in the best light so an overcrowded A4 PDF is not going to do this. Make sure you space your work out so you can see every design clearly. Descriptions are always good to include so that potential employees know what company you had designed the graphic for.

Sara McNaught, Consultant at Brand Digital and Creative, makes the valid point that ‘graphic designers are creative people and therefore their examples should be just that: creative. Recruiters and potential employees see many portfolios and you want to stand out so the more creative you can be whilst displaying your examples the better.’ There is a large pool of candidates all seeking graphic design jobs so competition is fierce. Anything that could potentially set you ahead of the rest is definitely worthwhile as long as they are not too absurd. Sara also suggests that ‘jobseekers should pay attention to the pixels they use. These can sometimes vary in each of their examples which does not look professional. Jobseekers need the pixels to be the same.’

Those searching for graphic designer jobs should take time and pride in their portfolios. If it looks poorly constructed and unprofessional then employees will not take a second look. Try to be creative whilst remaining clear and concise. Ensure your examples are updated and your own work and that ideal graphic designer job should be just around the corner.