When you’re trying to promote your work, there are a lot of things you need to consider. What makes you stand out? Who is your competition? What do employers want to see?
In the creative industries, having an online prescence gives you a place to answer these questions before you’ve even spoke to the employer. Whether you work in animation, art, film or games, an online portfolio can show not only what you can create, but also your style, skills and how you’ve improved.
However, simply uploading everything you’ve ever made won’t stand out. Your prescence needs to be kept up to date
Building your Online Prescence
When creating an identity online, you need to think about things like how easily people can recognise you. Are you using your real name or a username? If the latter, then will someone know you as that? You shouldn’t be afraid to show that it is you.
The best way to do this is by separating your personal accounts from ones you use for work. When you intend on showing an employer, you’re always better setting your name to something that can be found easily by typing it in the search bar.
Employers hire not only for your skills, but also your judgement and your background. Things like how you act online can affect what employers think about you. It is important to think about this, as around 91% of employers across the UK will review your social media profiles. If you want the employer to see the best of you, show it here. If you’re careful about what you post, social media will strengthen your chances of a good career.
Choosing the right platforms
Now, there’s no specific platform that everyone agrees on for this question. Everyone you meet will give you a different answer. An illustrator might tell you Instagram. A film maker might tell you YouTube or Vimeo. Employers will tell you that LinkedIn is the best option.
There’s also always the option to create a website of your own. You don’t need to learn JavaScript or HTML to do this. Platforms such as Canva, SquareSpace or WordPress will work perfectly to make a professional, good looking website. Adobe also has a software available for this called Adobe Portfolio, which is connected directly to Behance, so if you already have an account with them, you can sync it with Adobe.
There are many options, it’s just a matter of picking what works best for yourself, while thinking about what employers want to see. If you want to set up a website, or simply post your work on social media, it’s up to you. But do keep it separate from your personal life and work.
What should you actually show?
This will always vary by your profession. But something that’s always good to note is it should be short and focused on your best work. Your portfolio should be a piece showing off your best work, not all of your work. So perhaps 3-4 projects with 15-20 images spread across them equally. The last thing you want to do is leave your employer with too much to look through, as they’ll be too busy to dig too deep.
Your portfolio shouldn’t just be a storage space for your work. Make it look good. Your strongest pieces should be front and centre. What some employers appreciate too is seeing the work in progress. Show early drafts, show sketches, storyboards, drafts or anything else. These can show that the work is 100% yours, and show how you solve creative problems, rather than solely how good the final product is.
That part applies to any creative job. You never go from the first stage to the final product instantly. Employers would be glad to see that you’re a competent worker from start to finish, not just at the end.
Getting noticed and staying active
It might be obvious, but having a portfolio that nobody can find… it won’t help. The best way to get yourself out there is to just keep going. The goal isn’t for fame, the goal is to be noticed. People can find your work, compliment it, criticize it or otherwise. That means people from the industry, or just people with a general interest.
This method is better for LinkedIn, because so many people across the creative industries use it. With people noticing your work, it’s better to talk to them as well. Get in contact, ask questions, form a connection. It will help in the long run.
But also, you don’t need to post every minute of every day. The idea is you will have work that stays good or keeps improving with each post. You shouldn’t be posting for the sake of posting. For the portfolio specifically, your best case is to update it once every 3-6 months.
Overall, creating a good online prescence is about making it easy for people to understand who you are, what you create and what you could bring to the industry. There’s no direct answer to this query. Just start sending your work out there, and keep doing it. You’ll thank yourself later.
Sources
How employers really see you online – and what to do about it | Prospects.ac.uk
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