You, On Paper (and Online)

Constructing a public relations portfolio

What is a portfolio?
Its a compendium of materials that demonstrate your expertise in public relations Its used to show potential employers that you know what youre doing

What should it look like?

Clean and crisp is more important than new or expensive

Let your career goals guide you

A portfolio for someone working in the arts should look quite different from on for a person in banking
Both exterior and interior Color choice Font Elements included
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What does the employer expect?

Review basic skills required in job postings to see what employers are looking for Emphasize basic PR tools that you will actually use in your first job

What goes in the portfolio?

Resume (CV) Generic reference letters from employers, teachers, volunteer supervisors, etc. Writing and design samples
Its okay to include items created in class We know theyre students.

Documentation of work
Anything can be documented Club newsletter showing your activities Special event on paper:
Checklists Event planning materials Fliers or invitations

But most importantly

RESULTS: Not just that you wrote or designed PR materials, but what happened because they were distributed
Pictures of a special event to document attendance News stories resulting from media relations Evaluation materials (survey results, etc.) Web copy (links from blogs or Web sites, etc.)
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Selecting items
Try to include a variety of materials, preferably in their original form
Print, Internet and broadcast Research, strategic thinking/planning Variety of publics targeted, positions held

Choose only your best

One great news release is better than one great one plus two okay ones
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How should I organize it?

Room for creativity By job/position held By item type (i.e., PSAs in one section, events in another) You can also customize it for each interview

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Organization is vital
Organize it so someone could figure it out if you werent there to explain Most employers just skim, so you should highlight whats most important
Tabs/section breaks, table of contents First page of each section Headlines, attention-getters
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Appearance is also vital

Do:
Clean, crisp pages (use protectors) Clean copy

Dont
Poor design Anything that will detract from skimming Crazy fonts, clip art, frills
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Electronic portfolios
Show off your online skills Convert writing/design samples to PDF files Links to news coverage based on your media relations activities Remove personal information such as address and telephone numbers (yours, references, etc.) Social media resume
Links to blog, Web site, Twitter account, podcasts or other online activities
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What do I do with it now?

Take it with you on every interview
If you have an electronic portfolio, bring a paper version to the interview

Ask the interviewer if they would like to see it

They wont necessarily ask you to see it They assume you will bring one if you have one
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Showing it off
Dont just shove it at them and sit silently Use it as a chance to link your experience with their needs
Narrate what theyre seeing You were asking about my experience with newsletters. Heres an example of an article I wrote for my clubs newsletter. I also took the pictures.
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Takeaways
Make photocopies of the very best items, put in a packet that you can leave behind Can include a page with link to your electronic portfolio or other links

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I got a job!
Now what do you do with your portfolio?
Keep it Keep adding to it Reorganize as needed the beauty of page protectors PRSA suggests using it for
Negotiations (raise, promotion) Scholarship, grant, bonus applications
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