Introduction
Have you ever applied for a job, had them get back to you asking for a portfolio, and then wondered what exactly a portfolio is because you don’t have one? I’m going to show you my own portfolio, which I’ve used to secure multiple remote jobs, and walk you through how to create your own remote work portfolio.
This article may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you.
What is a portfolio for remote work
If I had to describe a portfolio in just a few words, it’s proof of your skills and your competence. A portfolio is not your resume or your CV. A resume tells people what you’ve done, but a portfolio actually proves the work you say you’ve done.
Remote hiring managers are scared of two things
Remote hiring managers are often scared of two things. Number one, hiring someone they have to micromanage, or someone who doesn’t really know how to do the job. Number two, hiring someone who doesn’t know how to use the tools they listed. Your portfolio needs to answer three questions. Can you do the work? Can you communicate without being in the room? Are you digitally fluent? If your portfolio answers those three questions, they are much less likely to doubt your skills or your experience.
When you actually need a portfolio
You might think a portfolio is only for marketing, creatives, design, architecture, engineering and similar fields. But if you’re applying for a customer support or customer service job, you might wonder if you really need one. The answer is yes. Even if they don’t request it, have it on hand and ready.
Remote roles where portfolios are commonly requested
It could be positions such as copywriter, virtual assistant, project coordinator, project manager, customer service or sales. As long as the job has an output, whatever that output is, you should show it in a portfolio.
My portfolio walkthrough
It’s my first name, last name, creative portfolio. I use it to apply for positions in marketing, social media, email marketing and similar roles. My color scheme is beige, brown and a popping orange, which I feel represents me very well. We have the cover page first, then my introduction, where I describe myself as a creative, results driven social media manager, with my little picture on there as well. After that comes what I’m good at, which is all my skills. I actually need to update this section, since I last updated the portfolio about a year ago and I have more skills to add now.
The clients that I’ve worked with
Next are the clients I’ve worked with, which is the experience part of my portfolio. Client number one is FiveStar Chemry. I introduce the client first, in this case a carpet cleaning and upholstery business based in Washington DC, and then what I did for them. I handled their Facebook, their Instagram and their Google My Business profiles. I also did blogging and Corora marketing for them, and drafted content calendars.
All the pictures you see here are screenshots I took while working with them, and I still work with them today. They are screenshots of my results. If I zoom into this one for this time period, I increased reach by 40.6%. I made the graphics you see here, and reach increased by 12.5%. Facebook and Instagram are the same story. For Google My Business, all the numbers you see are screenshots I took while actively working with FiveStar Chemry, to show my impact.
Contrast with my actual CV
We can contrast that with my actual CV, the one I made a video on that got me seven remote jobs. FiveStar Chemry is also on my professional experience as a social media manager. Here on my CV I said I created 200 plus Canva visuals and managed three Google My Business profiles.
If you then go to my portfolio, you will see those three profiles. I managed FiveStar Chemry in Borthl, in Everett and in Lynwood, and you can see this little tick that says you manage this business profile. You can’t see that unless you’re actively managing the page, so it’s already proof of what I’m saying on my CV. Screenshots are the proof we need to believe that what a person is saying is true.
Wherever you’re working now or have worked before, if you have access to platforms or software, take screenshots of your work to prove you know how to use them, and put those screenshots in a portfolio.
My other clients
My other clients include a real estate property management company, where I did their Facebook, ran a paid campaign and built a content calendar. Client number three is Vape Truth. I introduce each client, then show what I did for them with screenshots. If I have before pictures, maybe they had 8,000 followers before I started, and after four or five months of working for them they had 9,200. That’s a direct correlation between me working for them and the growth of their page. You definitely need those screenshots because they help build a testimony of your work.
I’m not going to go through everything, but that is my entire creative portfolio at the moment.
My contact details
At the end I put my contact details, because I send my portfolio not just on LinkedIn or Indeed, but also to people I want to try working with and on Upwork. Since it’s a PDF, the links are clickable. This link takes you to my LinkedIn, this one to my Instagram and this one to my Facebook.
That is my entire portfolio. It’s just a bunch of pictures, a bunch of proof of what I did. What I say on my CV should be exactly what you see in my portfolio.
Canva
To make yourself a portfolio, you’ll want an application called Canva. It has lots of templates you can use to build a resume, posters, posts and pretty much anything else you need. I’ll be using Canva to walk you through how to make your own remote work portfolio.
How to make a portfolio using Canva
Go to the template section, type in portfolio and press enter. You’ll see plenty of templates to choose from. The ones with a crown are only available on a paid Canva Pro plan. If you don’t see the crown, it’s a free template and you can use the free version. Because I have Canva Pro, I’ll take you through one of the paid templates. Click on one you like and select customize template.
Customize template
Here you can take what you already have on your CV and put it into your portfolio. We start with the cover page, which you can set up however you like. I made mine simple and just wrote creative portfolio. A table of contents is also up to you. You could list introduction, education, experience, projects, skills and about me.
Choose a color scheme
One thing I’d note is that you should choose a color scheme or theme for your portfolio, for example black with a pastel yellow. I used three colors, orange, beige and brown. Pick a scheme and carry it throughout your portfolio.
Write your introduction and experience
Next comes your introduction paragraph, where you introduce yourself professionally: who you are, your skills and your experience. Education is fine to add, but personally I don’t think you should, since it’s already on your CV. You can add personal skills if you have some, and images for a nice contrast and layout. Then comes your work experience. The template has a project manager 2019, a designer 2019 and a CEO 2019, but those are just examples and you can edit them as much as you like.
Show the proof of your work
A template is a good place to start if you don’t want to create a portfolio completely from scratch. Your CV says one thing, and your portfolio shows proof of it. This could be your work experience, the projects you did, images, screenshots and emails if you have them, along with a detailed explanation of each project. My portfolio is mostly picture based because I want the pictures to do the talking for me.
If you’d rather have a text based portfolio, that works too. At the end you can add a thank you page or a contact me page, as I did. I won’t be editing this in real time because this is going to be a long video, but this is basically how you would do it.
Sales position or retail
If you were in a sales or retail position and don’t have pictures of social media accounts, you can take pictures of emails instead. Say there were 10,000 emails before you joined, and after three months you cleared them down to 500. That before and after is proof of what you did and the impact you had.
A free template
That was a paid portfolio template, so let me look at a free one. You can use this if you don’t have Canva Pro. The cover page has the name and details, and the color scheme here is black and white. You can choose any colors you feel represent you and carry them through the whole portfolio.
Then come the introduction, education, personal skills and work experience. After that is the proof section, the project portfolio: first project with a screenshot, second project with a screenshot, and lastly a thank you page. You can add a contact me page too. It’s that simple. You don’t need to overthink portfolios. It’s just parts of your CV with the proof of what you’re saying attached.
Portfolio tip #1: use clean fonts
As much as a good color scheme helps keep recruiters scrolling, you also need good, clean, readable fonts so they can see what you’ve written and there’s no confusion.
What to put in your portfolio if you have no work experience
If you want a portfolio but don’t have any work experience, this is where you can place volunteer work, personal projects and freelance or community based work. Maybe you solved a problem using Notion or Google Sheets. Take screenshots of that Notion page and add them to your portfolio, since that already shows you know how to use Notion and Google Sheets. That’s the kind of proof that backs up what you say on your CV.
Where to build your portfolio (apps & platforms)
I personally like using Canva because of its templates, and I’d recommend it. If you can’t use Canva, Notion works, and so does a Google Doc, with your pictures uploaded to Google Drive. Just make sure any links you share are set to public so recruiters and hiring managers can actually view them.
Portfolio tip #2: link it in your CV
Once your portfolio is complete, save it to Google Drive or Canva and take the direct link. You can put that link in your CV so they don’t have to ask you to send your portfolio, because they can just click through.
For this to work, your CV has to be saved as a PDF, and your portfolio needs to be saved as a document or PDF, so the link takes them straight to it. They get your CV and your portfolio in one place, without having to reach out and ask for each one. You’re giving it to them before they ask, which shows you’re organized, and in my experience remote employers really appreciate that.
Final thoughts
That’s my full portfolio and how you can build your own. Keep in mind that what you say on your CV should match what your portfolio shows. If you have any questions about portfolios or résumés, put them in the comment section and I’ll get back to you.
