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Freelancing is finding more favor among modern-day professionals even as you read this. Many employees who first adapted to working from home after the global pandemic grew to love their newfound flexibility. Although many organizations have now issued return-to-office mandates, not all employees wish to return to their former work lives.
Statista data from 2024 highlightsthe rising number of independent workers in the US. Around 64 million Americans have taken on freelance work in recentyears. It is 38 percent of the country’s workforce.
For freelancing professionals, getting the right clients depends significantly on their portfolios. Recruiters see these portfolios first, whether in online or physical formats, and base their opinions on what they see. Creating the optimal balance between your educational qualifications and your work experience is vital to attract the kind of attention you want.
Marie Kondo Meets Strategic Thinking
Marie Kondo from Japan has achieved immense love and fame for her groundbreaking decluttering ideas. If it doesn’t give you joy, you should get rid of it. In your freelancer portfolio, too, you can use her concept but moderate it with strategic thinking.
Consider the process of building a freelance design portfolio for a fashion house. You may be apprehensive about mentioning your work from a big-ticket past project. The dilemma? While the banner was huge, you are not proud of your work. You don’t believe it was the best you are capable of. In plain words, it does not give you joy.
Your portfolio should highlight projects that are the closest to your heart. The chances are high that these will reflect your unique strengths, setting you apart from other freelancers who apply for a position.
This is the point at which strategic thinking should come in. It does not make complete sense to include assignments that don’t relate to the role at all, even if they seem exceptional. Few recruiters have the time to go so far away from their planned interview structures and follow tangents.
For instance, you may worry about filling the portfolio gap when trying to return to work after being a stay-at-home mom. Resist from including experiences that show how you’ve ‘learned multitasking while parenting.’ It sounds judgmental, but recruiters have seen too many back-to-work mothers do similar.
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The same strategy can apply to education. Irrelevant courses, while a testimony to your learning ethic, are not as interesting to a future employer as a foundational program in the required field. So, when you must prune your portfolio to meet length or size limitations, you know what should go first.
As a thumb rule, it is best to keep your portfolio dynamic. It must adapt to the needs and brand identity of the current position you are interested in. For example, a luxury brand will be most interested in content you have developed for other premium clients, not mass-appeal ones.
Transforming Portfolios With Transformational Education
As your career as a freelancer grows, you will have more projects to showcase. Recent work experiences with verifiable material that a recruiter can pursue build a strong case for your future career. They may be more valuable than an academic program you were a part of at some point.
However, academic pursuits that are directly aligned with transforming or bolstering your skillset deserve to be highlighted. These could be a Master’s degree in your subject or an educational program that imparts leadership competencies in a specific field.
For instance, if you freelance as an educator, you could find excellent value in online Doctor of Education degree programs .These programs can help you become a change agent in educational organizations, improving outcomes for students and employees.
According to Marymount University, committed professionals must be attuned to the changing social demographics related to culture, race, and socio-economic status. The education sector should further the concept of social justice, transforming patterns that don’t serve the world anymore.
If you have pursued similar programs, it is a good idea to showcase them prominently in your portfolio. They exhibit your commitment to your field and interest in continuing your education to deliver your best to your professional role.
In general:
- Highlight educational achievements based on recency. Don’t give in to the stereotype of freelancers displaying every possible avenue as a “learning opportunity” they pursued, even if it was a one-hour trivia session at the local pub.
- Focus on including programs that prove your skills at sustainable development and ethical conduct. They are essential tenets of every field that are sadly often ignored or only mentioned in flowery magazines.
- Don’t hesitate to mention educational courses you may be pursuing but have not completed yet or taken a hiatus from. They can become interesting talking points during a potential future conversation with a recruiter.
Plan Portfolio- and In-Person Content Separately
Do you have an educational experience that changed your life significantly? This could be an anecdote a teacher shared that motivated you to relook at your plans. It could be a summer course you joined to appease your parents, but ended up loving immensely.
These experiences are best kept for in-person interactions. On portfolios, they may either come across as inauthentic or fail to reflect the full intensity of the event.
Similarly, you needn’t feel compelled to include every job you have had in your portfolio. You may have worked with some clients you’d rather forget. Or your role may have been in an entirely unrelated capacity. These details can also remain limited to in-person interactions, if the need arises for transparency or compliance reasons.
Being cautious about what you include in your portfolio has become even more vital in this era of artificial intelligence. Numerous freelancers and full-time employees embrace AI tools for portfolios and CVs. They may do so to save time or have the language and tonality feel right.
The New York Times reports that lately, AI-generated resumes have inundated organizations. (It is ironic since AI-created mass rejection emails have also been rampant.) Putting in the extra effort to create a portfolio that gets you invited for an in-person interaction is worth it to cut through the flood.
We hope these guidelines offer some support as you work on your freelancer portfolio. Regardless of your specific field, working as a freelancer demands sincerity and commitment.
A portfolio that shows a balance between what you have learned through formal academics and on-the-job experiences will help make a good first impression.
One more thing...
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