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RE: Providing Samples (Was RE: Why they don't ask for candidates by technology skills.)
Subject:RE: Providing Samples (Was RE: Why they don't ask for candidates by technology skills.) From:"Lisa Wright" <liwright -at- earthlink -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 19 Feb 2003 22:40:44 -0800
Samuel,
It sounds like you had an unfortunate experience. I've asked for
permission to use confidential materials in my portfolio several times
and I've always gotten it. For my last gig, I removed the company name
and logo and got a signed letter saying that I can display the samples
but they cannot be copied and they can't leave my control. I've always
been sure to pick things that don't reveal too much about the company.
Other things I've done include taking the title page and TOC and then
talking about the document if asked.
I also have a lot of different stuff in my portfolio, so there are many
things to share, including a couple of creative pieces, just to show
some variety. That said, I do think I need to come up with some sort of
generic, technically related sample that I can send out. I've had to
pull the "I can show it to you in person but I can't send it to you"
line a couple of times recently and it's probably hurt my chances. I'd
like to think they're so eager to see my work that they can't wait to
schedule an interview, of course! ;-) But I think they probably just
pass on to someone who actually included a sample.
You might also check the archives. I think there was a discussion about
this last year that generated some good suggestions for handling
confidentiality. That thread also brought up some good reasons for not
letting just anyone make copies of your portfolio.
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