What is a portfolio and how to choose a theme for it

Before every freelancer who starts working on the vast expanses of the Internet, the question arises, what is a portfolio? After all, almost all employers demand it, threatening otherwise simply not to satisfy the application.

Everything is explained quite easily. The concept of "portfolio" is applied to people of creative professions, and, speaking directly about remote work, then, in fact, it is a collection of those works of the freelancer, in which his best qualities are most clearly presented. And the customer needs it to make a definite impression of the candidate.

How to make out and where to spread

If we describe what a portfolio is for different spheres of freelancing, then each direction has its own specificity.

For copywriting - these are examples of the best texts; For layout and web design - this is a good example of sites, rendered or decorated; For a photo - these are the best works and so on for all kinds of activities that the current remote workers are engaged in.

Usually the portfolio is in the author's profile and is made in accordance with the requirements of the resource. Naturally, it is desirable to submit those works that have already been published on popular sites. On some exchanges, screenshots of these works are practiced, on others - links to already posted materials, on third - just text works. There are also combinations. And the location of the materials may be different. Recently, more and more often it happens that such a portfolio of highly experienced professionals have their own blogs.

It is clear that it is more difficult for novice freelancers, who do not even know how to design a portfolio, and who do not have the experience behind them. In such cases, almost all start equally: they offer their masterpieces on the freelance exchanges for a small fee or in general for free. The main thing for them is to get feedback and a link to the posted material. But before that, we must also decide on the topic.

How to choose a theme

Optimal choice, for example, for a text portfolio looks like this:

- First, on one of the freelance exchanges, the most popular directions of the sold articles are selected;

- Then from all categories are selected industries in which you feel most confident;

- a number of specific topics are selected;

- Well, finally, the presence of similar articles is seen from their colleagues, and from their list they are deleted.

So gradually, and complete the list. It is clear that you can choose a popular topic, create a work and put it immediately in the profile. Many people do it. However, without checking a third-party specialist, this action can end badly.

What else would you need?

It should be borne in mind that such a portfolio should be accompanied by a resume, which usually contains basic information about yourself. It is also advisable to attach a short explanatory note, which briefly outlines your abilities and capabilities.

As a tip, let's say that you must pay attention to the ratio of resource administrators to the availability of direct contacts in the information. Most often, communication and payment takes place through the website of the exchange. Direct contacts entail a minimum decline in the rating, maximum - an exception to the membership of the participants. Therefore, before you make a portfolio for a particular presentation, you must first inquire about the procedures in place there.

One more remark. It is known from practice that for many experienced customers the portfolio serves as a guide only, which helps to determine the approximate level of competency of the performer. Therefore, you should always be ready for the test task. This method is used very often and works almost unerringly.