While I’m sure a lot of offices would be excited about your abilitiy to create a website, it’s nice to have a portfolio you can take to the interview. It may not be possible to visit your website during the interview. You may not have access to a computer in the room where you meet and you might not know about this until the last minute. While the company has usually looked over your work by the time you interview, having it in front of you to spur conversation is invaluable.
I found an 8.5 X 11″ portfoilio that could be printed on my own printer at a moments notice very practical. I used loose sheets formatted in similar ways that can be gathered together in a folder. In an interview setting with more than one interviewer, this allows you to pass the sheets around as you talk about them. You can also send it out as a pdf which the office can print out.
Putting it in a folder rather than binding it allows you to switch out projects to tailor it to different firms and update your portfolio easily over the years. Each project gets a single sheet- front and back. And I try to make sure each project tells a different story about my interests or skills unless I am applying for a job at an office with a certain specialty such as historic preservation or sustainable design.
I graduated in 2005. This portfolio has gotten me into some prestigious graduate schools and helped me get a few job offers over the past few years.
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