How To Create An Online Portfolio That Stands Out To Employers | Secure Your Dream Job

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In our new world of remote part-time and full-time jobs, it’s hard to make yourself stand out among the crowd. Everyone wants to land a work from home position now, which makes traditional freelance and remote writer jobs harder to find. An outstanding online portfolio will help employers find you first among the clutter.

To create a quality online portfolio, it should take some serious time and energy to write the best representation of you. An online portfolio is a tremendous upgrade from the traditional print portfolio model, because you can reach multiple employers within a fraction of the time.

Think of an online portfolio as a way to market yourself and prove you have qualified skills and experience. To make your portfolio work for you, consider the following ideas to make employers notice you first.

Just like the first step of any meeting or interview, start with introducing yourself. You may have heard the term “elevator speech” before in your job search process;  the same concept applies to writing your introduction. An elevator speech should be a quick and simple summary of yourself to “pitch” to potential employers.

A good elevator speech or introduction should include 3 components:

1. Who you are and your background/education
2. Your skills and experience
3. Your goals

A verbal introduction can be anywhere from 30-60 seconds. Your written introduction for your portfolio should be short as well. Try to keep your introduction to 3-4 sentences, and no longer than a paragraph. Your main goal with your portfolio introduction is to make a great first impression and start to outline the skills you can bring to the position.

Before you upload your writing content, it’s important to decide what  you want your writing to represent. Employers want to see content that will directly correlate to the position you’re applying for, or that at least will help guide you in the new position. If the content that you include doesn’t align with your goals, your intentions for your portfolio will seem unclear.

You’ll want to consider a couple of factors for your online portfolio. First, what writing showcases skills you will use in the potential job? Second, what writing is related and can be included together in your online portfolio? Once you’ve determined what pieces of writing are geared toward the job position, you have a clear focus.

If you have published work, include links or screenshots in your online portfolio of where your writing currently lives. Don’t just include a pdf or Word document of your writing. It’s important to show where your work lives to employers. This gives them a chance to see how it looks in a published format.

The original context of your published writing establishes more credibility in your online portfolio. When a future employer sees where your writing has been published, they can look into the blog or magazine itself.

Your published work is something to be proud of! Make sure any potential employers can find your work easily.

Lastly, make calculated decisions about the writing that you include in your online portfolio. If you include every single piece of writing you have, you’re not allowing the best pieces to shine. It also distracts employers when they have too many pieces to sift through, and without a clear path like idea #2.

Unfortunately, one bad piece of writing in the mix of a solid collection can leave a bad impression. Carefully select each piece of writing for the best representation of you and your qualifications.

If you follow these 4 portfolio ideas, you’re well on your way to creating your best online portfolio yet. The current job market may be crazy, but a strong and personalized online portfolio will make you stand out on job search websites.

Employers will find you easier and will see right away what your skills and qualifications are. Once you’re ready and have the time, sit down and start to build your online portfolio based on these portfolio ideas, and you’ll land your dream job in no time.