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What Portfolio to bring to Interview?

ArgDS

So I have two interviews tomorrow in NYC, one small firm and one medium sized one. I had an internship last summer but this is my first time applying for a full times position. I was just wondering which portfolio to bring. I have one that is about 50 pages long and showcases most of my school work. My second one is a shorter, much more concise portfolio that ive been sending out while doing online applications. Its only about 15 pages and has 2-3 school projects and 2 work projects (from my internship). My intuition tells me to just bring the short one because it also has work examples, but should I also bring my extended school one just to give the employers a better idea of my work? Just want to get some advice on this, and any other advice for my interview in general!

 
Sep 2, 14 12:52 am
jll3

You could just bring both, go over the short portfolio quickly and offer the longer one if they want to see more content on a particular project.

Its been suggested to me to keep things as short as possible given the short attention span interviewers can tend to have, especially if you're going through tons of pages on one project. Though I think it would still be good to have that extra content handy if a project does interest them.

Some higher ups also suggested bringing a few small 'brochure' -like portfolios outlining a single project, that way you can control which project they're looking at and not have them wandering through to another project that you may not be talking about.

Sep 2, 14 9:08 am  · 
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subgenius

Brevity is the soul of wit

Sep 2, 14 11:15 am  · 
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Carrera

ArgDS, (employer) What to bring? Bring everything! And show up with a set of CD’s under your arm pit. We sell SD’s, DD’s and CD’s; what are you selling? Just starting out I need to see the full breath of your work, limiting it to a few selected things would be a mistake at this early juncture.

Selecting you to come into an interview already tells you that they feel you are qualified. Take in everything to reinforce their notion and realize that the interview has more to do with investigating whether you fit-in than anything else, at this point. Focus on what you wear and how YOU are going to conduct the interview. Sit up and take charge of the interview repeating everything in your resume and only use your portfolio to reinforce the facts….then conclude with telling them that you know you can contribute from the first day you start.

I can’t tell you how many applicants I interviewed that just sat back in their chairs and expected me to carry the day. Taking charge of the discussion shows you are proactive…I need you to make money for me and someone that sits back waiting for me to prime the pump isn’t someone that will bring me the water I need to survive.

Sep 3, 14 5:40 pm  · 
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