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I've lost out on two jobs (that I know of) because my portfolio was too big.
In both cases, the employer feared that I was so great that I would
a. Demand more money than they were authorized to offer, and
b. Go after their job.
Like the resume, the portfolio needs to be customized for each application.
It is okay to use the shotgun approach, but only if it can be done in such a
way that each target thinks they are The Only One.
Some of my examples of work from 1978 helped to land my current position.
It was important to them that their writer be able to create decent layout
with a typewriter and scotch tape since they didn't have a huge budget for
graphics and software. (I was able to convince them to spend a not-huge
amount and we're all happy and technologized.)
Never throw anything out, and be intense about researching the company and
determining what it is they need and want. Read between the lines of their
website and brochure. Find out how those were produced (in-house talent or
outsourced). Talk to people who know people who work there. Do they have a
culture into which you would be a good fit? If you think you can be happy
there, and you can make them happy, edit the portfolio to show that.
We gotta get in the door before we can lead them dancing and jubilating into
the 21st Century. Or drag them kicking and screaming, whatever.
As a final measurement, I never allow the portfolio to be larger than my
3-day Emergency Pack.
Dori Green
Technical Writer, QMS Project
Associated Brands, Inc.
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