How to build portfolio as a student? (Communications/PR/Creative/Digital marketing)
Hi all!
I have found myself in a bit of a slump when it comes to creating and don't know where to start.
My previous studies in Fashion Media were very creative and visual, and was fully portfolio based work which we mostly worked as groups. It was very inspiring working with other creatives and doing things together.
I am now doing my masters in Public Relations & Digital Marketing in a different country. The studies are very different from previous, much more academic and theory based.
I know having a portfolio would be such an advantage, but I have struggled to find likeminded people to work with or who would be interested in same things. And honestly, I struggle to find ways to create a portfolio of work in communications, and I don't know where to start.
I have very broad skillset. I have done photo- and videography, video editing, podcast production, graphic design, as well as I have skills in marketing and communications. and I enjoy a lot concept development and overall project management.
Some of the possible career paths I am thinking now are in creative consultancy or direction, PR, Strategist, or other media producer jobs.
I want to start developing again my personal brand and work, so my question is how to start creating portfolio for this alone, as a student who currently doesn't have a job or projects to work in?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Replies4
- You can include projects that you did as part of a group. The Dots recently did a talk and answered this exact question. You can also do mock projects which shows your creativity just highlight it’s a mock project but great way to show off your skills.
- My advice would be:Use your masters in PR and digital marketing and your skill set to:· Define what you stand for· Develop your personal brand· Help like-minded people find you· Attract collaborators· Make a start and learn as you go· Turn these into projects and case studies for your portfolio
- Hello Elina,A good way to start is to research portfolios from leading designers or ones that inspire you, you may see commonalities that bind their portfolios together even if they may operate in different industries. Check out portfolios on places such as (Behance, Dribbble, Instagram, Pintrest, etc.) and build a list of things to use i.e. how many pieces should be in a folio, personal project to professional project ratio, and so on.Although having a great portfolio is essential I have acquired a number of clients without showing a single piece of work. The ability to market and sell yourself is essential, and hopefully your education as a communications student will have helped you a long way to get there. If you are confident and outgoing you should be going to events, meet-ups, conferences, lectures, gatherings to see what is going on in your desired industries. You must use every tool that is available to you.I’ll leave some more tips below.• Until you are in demand as a designer you will always need to initiate the first move and approach companies.• Do not be alarmed but cold approaches work about 2% - 5% of the time, so you must make each approach count. You must stand out from what other designers do and leave a memorable impression. No boring emails that say “gimme a job, I’m really good” because a great company hears that hundreds of times a week. Be clever and original.• If you do not have work then approach people in your immediate circle, friends, family, small local businesses to get some work for your portfolio. Play with your prices, offer discounts and bundles to get your foot in the door. Then you can use the work that you produced to get bigger clients.• Look internally at what you could offer a company, what is your niche? what can you do better than other designers? are you especially strong with concepts? technical skills? communication skills? software knowledge? - make sure that you show your best qualities when approaching new companies• Follow up consistently, but do not annoy companies by emailing every day, if you know that you have taken the time to research a company and made a connection with a contact it is a very good idea to keep following up so that they know you are still around. You do not need to be too pushy though, it is your job as a designer to be able to have more opportunities than you can handle, however you must put in the work of building relationships first to reap the benefits later on.• Follow companies that you like on social media, interact with their posts and when they post opportunities you will already be known to them. Sometimes getting a job has more to do with being ‘liked’ by the company than being the best… maybe it shouldn’t be that way but that is how many companies work.• If you have skills in video, you could create video presentations featuring yourself introducing projects if you are comfortable in front of the camera.• Keep going, be persistent about what you want, but also be flexible in your approach. If something is clearly not working then change your approach until you see positive results.• If a company does not want to work with you then do not take it personally. Keep your head up and remember that you only need one yes in order to completely change your results.Good luck!!
- Please email socials@taomarketing.co with your resume, website & examples of your work - we have some internships available to help you build your portfolio
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