I'm a recent graduate looking for work, and one of the offices that I'm sent a cv to has requested that I send them my full portfolio by email. I don't like the idea of losing control over my work, which seems more of an issue with a digital portfolio than a print one. With a digital portfolio, you never know where your material ends up, or how long it's held onto, whereas you can send a prepaid envelope with the print portfolio and simply ask for it to be sent back to you when they're done with it.
I don't mean to sound fussy, but that portfolio represents years of work and I would like to have some control over who sees it and how. I can understand the desire to see work samples in order to select potential interviewees, which is why I would usually send a one-page document showing work samples. That being said, I feel like if they want to see my entire portfolio, then they ought to be willing to talk to me in person (interview).
As employees and employers, what are your thoughts on this issue?
1. Why are you losing control over your work?
2. Where could it end up? In the hands of a terrorist that is inspired by your art?
3. How long it's held onto? Isn't that the point? They have it forever and can always call you if they have an position open?
4. Mailing portfolios is costly, it is a pain in the butt for the firm because they now need to mail it back.
5. I doubt they want to see your "entire" portfolio. And if they do, so what? What did you create it for to begin with if you're not willing to share it?
Sounds like you'd rather keep your portfolio safely hidden from view than show it to anyone who could actually reward you with a job for your hard work.
Sorry for the pissy response, but sending a PDF of your portfolio is very very very standard. And if you don't want to send the whole thing, send them pages of samples.
to be honest, it seems arrogant to be concerned with this issue. if an employer wants to see your work in whatever capacity, you show it to them. it's as simple as that, but if it's truly a concern, just add a legal disclaimer in the email within which the portfolio is attached.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER
The information transmitted is intended solely for the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of or taking action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you have received this email in error please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer.
OK, ok, take it easy guys. It was an honest question, no need to be nasty. I hadn't really given this issue much thought until I heard of someone (who is a talented designer and is generally intelligent) who actually sent some sort of disclaimer/"burn after reading" (well, in this case, delete) with his digital portfolio. So I was curious and started to doubt myself for having sent my stuff out before without anything like that.
If I received a pdf portfolio w/ any sort of legalese attached (and I never have), it would go in the garbage. Why? Because that person's almost certainly more trouble than their worth.
A polite "please delete this when you're done with it" would be fine, but as pointed out above, that just hurts you. Five weeks from now, when I need to hire someone, I can't go back and look at your work.
What will you do when a project you spearheaded is done, tell the principal "don't put in on the firm's website, someone might steal it."
What will you do if you're approached about having a project published...won't this expose it to more potential thieves?
What about the work itself, just sitting there facing a public street, where thieves can copy it?
I'd argue that all of our work it meant to be seen by as many people as possible. Does this mean there's a remote chance someone will copy you? Yes.
I wasn't intending to be nasty, but I admit I was a jerk.
I do wonder though...when you get some amazing work built, will you insist that it not be photographed or published in any magazines for fear another architect will be inspired by and steal your ideas?
FP, I got a good laugh at that one but then hey maybe its some new type of architecture nobody has ever seen and he wants to have it stay that way.
After all buddy, didn't you get inspired by some other project or somebodys ideas.
You are trying to get a job Eve, and if you want to get it you will do what they ask for. I mean they didn't ask you to give them your bone marrow or something like that. You did the work, now it's time to share and show them your talent.
Actually I'm sort of surprised that they asked for the entire portfolio, especially in e-mail etc. It's just pain to deal with the size of the file, but then it's also pain in the butt getting printed portfolios, taking up space etc.
I would agree with bk, I wouldn't want to deal with working with you!
dude or dudette, seriously, there is small chance you have anything your potential employer would want to make use of in your portfolio. i have a stack of digital portfolios that come into our office every week and we keep them all (almost). i have a special folder for people we really want to hire and will contact if enough work comes in, and then a folder of people we thought showed promise. the remainder we delete. if the cover letter is particularly bad we don't open the portfolio at all and delete the mail (it happens every now and again).
the thing is, we get a lot of them. very few stand out enough to keep, and none of them are sufficiently amazing that we would steal the content. never happended.
the reason it never happens is because we been doing this for years and frankly our portfolios look better than yours. if they didn't why would anyone be applying to us to begin with...it would be a joy to get someone who is years ahead of us and could teach us how to do things. i would so love it if that happened. we could use someone in office to kick our asses a bit.
Emailing a portfolio, yes or no?
I'm a recent graduate looking for work, and one of the offices that I'm sent a cv to has requested that I send them my full portfolio by email. I don't like the idea of losing control over my work, which seems more of an issue with a digital portfolio than a print one. With a digital portfolio, you never know where your material ends up, or how long it's held onto, whereas you can send a prepaid envelope with the print portfolio and simply ask for it to be sent back to you when they're done with it.
I don't mean to sound fussy, but that portfolio represents years of work and I would like to have some control over who sees it and how. I can understand the desire to see work samples in order to select potential interviewees, which is why I would usually send a one-page document showing work samples. That being said, I feel like if they want to see my entire portfolio, then they ought to be willing to talk to me in person (interview).
As employees and employers, what are your thoughts on this issue?
1. Why are you losing control over your work?
2. Where could it end up? In the hands of a terrorist that is inspired by your art?
3. How long it's held onto? Isn't that the point? They have it forever and can always call you if they have an position open?
4. Mailing portfolios is costly, it is a pain in the butt for the firm because they now need to mail it back.
5. I doubt they want to see your "entire" portfolio. And if they do, so what? What did you create it for to begin with if you're not willing to share it?
Sounds like you'd rather keep your portfolio safely hidden from view than show it to anyone who could actually reward you with a job for your hard work.
Sorry for the pissy response, but sending a PDF of your portfolio is very very very standard. And if you don't want to send the whole thing, send them pages of samples.
Good luck.
to be honest, it seems arrogant to be concerned with this issue. if an employer wants to see your work in whatever capacity, you show it to them. it's as simple as that, but if it's truly a concern, just add a legal disclaimer in the email within which the portfolio is attached.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER
The information transmitted is intended solely for the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of or taking action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you have received this email in error please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer.
and if your work is really amazing and they want to steal your ideas they could always scan your printed portfolio and take control muhhaha!
OK, ok, take it easy guys. It was an honest question, no need to be nasty. I hadn't really given this issue much thought until I heard of someone (who is a talented designer and is generally intelligent) who actually sent some sort of disclaimer/"burn after reading" (well, in this case, delete) with his digital portfolio. So I was curious and started to doubt myself for having sent my stuff out before without anything like that.
You can create a watermark in Adobe Acrobat and place it so it covers whatever is important to you.
If I received a pdf portfolio w/ any sort of legalese attached (and I never have), it would go in the garbage. Why? Because that person's almost certainly more trouble than their worth.
A polite "please delete this when you're done with it" would be fine, but as pointed out above, that just hurts you. Five weeks from now, when I need to hire someone, I can't go back and look at your work.
What will you do when a project you spearheaded is done, tell the principal "don't put in on the firm's website, someone might steal it."
What will you do if you're approached about having a project published...won't this expose it to more potential thieves?
What about the work itself, just sitting there facing a public street, where thieves can copy it?
I'd argue that all of our work it meant to be seen by as many people as possible. Does this mean there's a remote chance someone will copy you? Yes.
But that's the nature of the beast.
I wasn't intending to be nasty, but I admit I was a jerk.
I do wonder though...when you get some amazing work built, will you insist that it not be photographed or published in any magazines for fear another architect will be inspired by and steal your ideas?
FP, I got a good laugh at that one but then hey maybe its some new type of architecture nobody has ever seen and he wants to have it stay that way.
After all buddy, didn't you get inspired by some other project or somebodys ideas.
You are trying to get a job Eve, and if you want to get it you will do what they ask for. I mean they didn't ask you to give them your bone marrow or something like that. You did the work, now it's time to share and show them your talent.
Actually I'm sort of surprised that they asked for the entire portfolio, especially in e-mail etc. It's just pain to deal with the size of the file, but then it's also pain in the butt getting printed portfolios, taking up space etc.
I would agree with bk, I wouldn't want to deal with working with you!
Cheers!
just ask them to e-mail it back to you when they are done with it, and all will be fine...
Or you can just ask them to delete the email and the file!
lol usernametaken.
dude or dudette, seriously, there is small chance you have anything your potential employer would want to make use of in your portfolio. i have a stack of digital portfolios that come into our office every week and we keep them all (almost). i have a special folder for people we really want to hire and will contact if enough work comes in, and then a folder of people we thought showed promise. the remainder we delete. if the cover letter is particularly bad we don't open the portfolio at all and delete the mail (it happens every now and again).
the thing is, we get a lot of them. very few stand out enough to keep, and none of them are sufficiently amazing that we would steal the content. never happended.
the reason it never happens is because we been doing this for years and frankly our portfolios look better than yours. if they didn't why would anyone be applying to us to begin with...it would be a joy to get someone who is years ahead of us and could teach us how to do things. i would so love it if that happened. we could use someone in office to kick our asses a bit.
Don't dismiss the advice because of the sniping - the "nastiness" is actually a good lesson - don't be precious with your work.
I remember being protective about some "great ideas" several times - it's good to look back after a few years...
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