You might be asked to write an essay or two for your college English course, but did you know that your creative writing abilities could land you a job? A job at a marketing or advertising agency, magazine, journal, newspaper, or even TV station? Yes, with the right portfolio, you could be set for life.
What makes up a suitable portfolio for a creative writing job seeker? Let’s take a look.
The Portfolio
When it comes to a creative writing career, your portfolio deserves an important place. After all, it’s the only place you’re going to showcase your work. If you want to be taken seriously as a creative, improve your portfolio so that it can stand out. There are a few things that a typical college-level creative writing portfolio should include.
The Complete Works
This is the obvious one. You need to have a collection of your best work that you can showcase to potential employers. If you’re worried about where to start, ask for help from your English teacher or study buddy. They can point you in the right direction, no matter what stage you’re at in your writing career. Start small and make sure you expand as you progress. Remember: be selective about what you include in your portfolio. You don’t want to overload the reader or the teacher with a lot of content. Keep it to the essentials.
Diverse Activities
A broad spectrum of experiences is what employers look for in a potential ad or marketing agency employee. You might be asked to craft a pitch for a new product, write a description for an upcoming movie, or come up with an idea for a blog post. Having a portfolio that contains a variety of activities allows you to stand out from the crowd. If you’re searching for your first job, make sure you apply for roles that will utilize your creative skills. The more you can show off, the better your chances of being considered for the role.
A Good Catch-all
If you want to be able to showcase your creative work, but don’t yet have a collection of short stories or an essay you can show off, there is another option. You can write a quick and dirty blog post about your hobbies and interests. Everyone has hobbies and interests, so many people will have something to write about. Even if your blog post isn’t perfect, it will give you the opportunity to display your creative skills and make a good first impression.
Make It Stand Out
Blogs aren’t the only thing that can be used to showcase your creative writing skills. You could paste copies of your articles from reputable news websites or even journals onto plain paper and bind them together into a book. If you have a story to tell, write it down on paper and try to get a few of your friends to read it. If they liked what they read, perhaps they’ll want to help you sell your first book. Getting published doesn’t hurt either.
Your English teacher or study buddy can also help you to put together a strong creative writing portfolio that will land you an interview for a creative writing job. Bear in mind: you might not get the job you interviewed for simply because you don’t have a portfolio to show off.
As you can see, there are many possible ways to put together a successful creative writing portfolio. You just need to find the one that works best for you.