Using Pathbrite to Build Your Online Portfolio

By: Robert Vanisko
Part of the Career Toolbox Series 

While resumes are very crucial to getting a job, most of the time they do not tell the full story of who you are and what you can contribute to a particular job.  This is especially true for people with creative majors.  Don’t you wish there was a way for creative people to show off their writing and design samples without having to create an entire portfolio from scratch? Luckily for you, there is. 

Pathbrite is an online service that allows you to build an online portfolio in just a few quick and easy steps.  Pathbrite gives you different options for what type of portfolio you want, including Professional, Academic, and Freestyle.  When making a Pathbrite portfolio, you receive prompts that tell you exactly what to include in your portfolio.  For example, the first step in a professional portfolio is to upload your resume, followed by a prompt to upload something that represents your professional skills, which could include a writing sample, design sample, etc. 

Pathbrite takes you step by step until you have a completed portfolio full of diverse materials.  These materials should adequately represent the skill set that you want your potential employer to see.  As a Public Relations Major, my Pathbrite portfolio includes my resume, my design samples from Adobe InDesign and Illustrator, a Press Release, and a Backgrounder.  Therefore my own portfolio reflects my graphic design skills, writing skills, and work experience that shows that I have used those skills in a work setting before.

The portfolios are very easy to send to any employer and can go a long way in differentiating you from other candidates for a particular job.  This is also a very good networking tool as well.  If you are giving an elevator pitch to your dream employer and don’t have too much time to get all of your qualifications across, it is always good to have the URL to your Pathbrite portfolio ready to go so you can have all of best work available in an instant.

Overall, Pathbrite is a great tool to use and can be a key factor in separating yourself from the rest of the pack when applying for a job.  To view a sample Pathbrite, click here. For those of you looking for additional information on how a portfolio can help your job search, you can refer to this blog post.

Utilizing a Portfolio to Acquire a Job

by Rob Vanisko




When applying for internships, it is always good to have something that helps you stand out from the rest of the applicants. Quite often, the applicant that stands out from the crowd and catches the attention of the employer is the one that lands the coveted internship.

As a Public Relations student in the School of Communication, I have built up a collection of writing and design samples over the past semesters. After I would turn them in to my professors they would just sit around taking up space on my hard drive. It was not until my graphic design professor assigned my class to make portfolios full of these samples that I realized their true potential. Having a portfolio is the perfect way to stand out in a crowded pool of applicants applying for an internship. It gives students a chance to show off their skills and creativity in addition to their resume.

Here are a few tips to follow when creating your own portfolio:

Be sure to edit your samples
One of the biggest mistakes that students make when creating their own portfolios is not thoroughly editing their writing and design content. No matter how good your portfolio may look, potential employers will always be deterred by typos or grammar mistakes. Show off your attention to detail by eliminating any mistakes in your content, whether they are writing or design samples.

Be creative without being obnoxious
It is always good to be creative on your portfolio to show off your individuality, but be sure to do it in a way that does not distract from the actual content of your portfolio. You do not want you portfolio to be boring, but you also want to make sure your overall design highlights the content rather than overshadowing it. A simple color scheme and overall design should do the trick.

Highlight your different skills
When building your portfolio, you should include different types of writing and design samples. For example, if you are a PR student, you will want to include a Press Release, a Backgrounder, a Media Alert, and a Fact Sheet. For your design samples, you will want to use a mix of samples from InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. This will show off your versatility in different writing styles and different design programs, making you a much more attractive candidate.