I have a number of placement and job applications each year from students (much more this year) and have noticed a common theme. After a batch of them this week I thought I would relay some thoughts;

1. Very, very few bother to find out a name to address the letter to - sorry but straight in the bin
2. People include huge PDF attachments (10mb) - 90% of the portfolio I don't look at
3. The best stuff is NOT at the font ???
4. Why the daft background? I want to see your really great sketch.
5. It would be good to see a progression of the design - not just the cool CAD rendering.
6. Show a understanding of material, assembly and production processes of your product.
7. PLEASE include something other than the same uni project that everyone else has shown (also in the same order!)

They do ask for constructive feedback... Do the universities give any guidance on portfolio etc now?

 

When I was at uni, the only portfolio/cv guidance was given as part of a second year option.

The general gist was:

1. Make it stand out.

- Surprise the reader with something physically about your CV. Some students made their CV etc into a old parchment, rolled up and tied with ribbon. Others printed onto plastic sheets, or made 'pop-up' CVs.

2. Make your CV represent who your personality

By the time of our degree show, these were toned down and refined (good thing or bad thing?), but you could still spot people who had gone through the module.

At this point I should mention that people did initially go too far and the CV package was so overwhelming that you couldn't see the work! We also found that the vast majority of recruiters were scared off by crazy CVs – it was a very very thin line between quirky and original and down right crap.

There is an ancient proverb which goes like this:

"You can't polish a turd"

Any actual guidance on CV structure etc was very rare and I only really had any help on CVs when I was redundant and got in touch with a specialist agency that helps people find work. This is where I found out about targeting your CV, structuring it, and making it actually readable!

Uni careers staff are great when it comes to English Lit or Media studies CVs, but are hopeless when it comes to something a little more off-beat like Industrial Design.


Partly due to qualifications and partly due to the job market, but my CV and portfolio now is much more work orientated and less about quirky presentation, and gets much more in the way of feedback from companies.

 

Excellent posts! Great work!

 

Good tips. Should motivate quite a few people.
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Dumitru
Industrial portfolio