How to write about yourself in an interesting way? A student’s portfolio as a tool for obtaining a promising job What is included in a portfolio

The word “portfolio,” which is still unclear to many, is firmly entrenched in our lives. Now it accompanies a person from early childhood. We will try to tell you what it is and why a student needs it. The term “portfolio” itself comes to us from the Italian language: portfolio in translation means “folder with documents”, “specialist’s folder”.

When to start creating a portfolio?

In recent years, the practice of creating a student’s portfolio has become widespread. Today it is compulsory in many educational institutions. Even preschool institutions include in their work activities to collect the child’s successes. The first grader now needs to start organizing his achievements folder. Of course, it is very difficult for a child who is in elementary school to do this on his own, so parents often prepare this folder. Parents' questions and surprises are quite natural, because at one time they did not encounter such a requirement. In our article we will try to answer the question of how to make a portfolio for a schoolchild.

Why does a schoolchild need a “folder with documents”, and what should be in it?

Tracking all the successes and results of any child’s activity is a good practice, because it helps adults reveal the versatility of the child’s personality. And it is important for a little person to be aware of his first achievements in order to develop further. Information about the child, his family, environment, academic success at school, certificates and diplomas received for participation in various school and extracurricular activities, photographs, creative works showing the child’s knowledge, abilities, skills - all this is a kind of presentation of skills, interests, the child's hobbies and abilities. The collected information will be useful when moving to another school or when further choosing specialized classes and when entering a higher education institution. The main goal of a primary school student’s portfolio is to identify all the child’s strengths and reveal his inner potential through a structural collection of his work, grades and achievements. This helps to form a child’s motivation for activity, teach him to set goals and achieve success.

Portfolio is a creative product

Having decided to start creating a portfolio for a 1st grade student, you must first think through its components, decide which sections or chapters will be included in it, and what they will be called. Very often, primary school teachers prefer a uniform structure for all students, and therefore, when informing you that you need to prepare a portfolio, they will also offer a rough plan for it. In this case, parents will not have to rack their brains over the components themselves. By and large, a student’s portfolio is a creative document, and not a single regulatory act contains clear requirements for it prescribed by the state.

Every parent understands that first grade is an important period in a child’s life: getting to know teachers and classmates, gradually growing up and increasing independence. When moving from the conditions of kindergarten to school, where everything is new and unusual, the child experiences a little stress; the student’s portfolio helps him get used to the new place faster. The sample for compiling it may vary depending on the class and school, but it must contain information about the child and his parents (legal representatives), about his interests and hobbies. All this data will help children quickly find new friends and common interests with classmates, and it will be easier for the teacher to organize the learning process and conversations with children.

General form - individual filling

Each school or even each class can develop its own student portfolio, a sample of which will be offered by the teacher to children and parents, but still this folder is something like a “business card” of the child, and therefore it should reflect his individuality.

Select a template

Children will not be interested in simple sheets, notes, photographs; they will be much more attracted to a cheerful colorful design. Therefore, first, select templates for your student’s portfolio that can be easily found today. And then, together with your child, choose the appropriate one. If you couldn’t find anything you needed, then you can create a template yourself that will best suit what you had in mind. Not every parent can create a template on their own, and even if they cope with this task, they will have to spend a lot of time. This is why ready-made templates for student portfolios, which can be edited quickly and easily, are so popular.

Characters adored by children can be used in the design. Boys, for example, love cars. Portfolios with racing cars are perfect for those who love racing and speed. Girls prefer princesses or fairies as a design element. You need to remember that pictures with your favorite characters should not distract from the content; their role is to set you in a positive mood when opening a folder.

What to tell about yourself

The first section of a primary school student’s portfolio, as a rule, includes personal data. This is the title page, where the first and last name are indicated, and also a photograph of the child is placed, which he must choose himself. This section may also include an autobiography, a story about yourself, a list of long-term and short-term study plans. The child must be involved in filling it out, encouraging his initiative. Let him write about the character qualities that he has, about his favorite activities and hobbies, talk about the city in which he lives, about his family and friends, about those with whom he is friends, about his first or last name, about school and class . You can also write a dream about what the student wants to become when he grows up. The student can even post the daily routine he follows. He must describe everything that interests him and what he considers important.

A child, while filling out a folder, can make small discoveries - for example, read for the first time about the origin of the first and last name.

It's not easy to describe your world

The first part may have its own subsections. Perhaps they will be included in the student’s finished portfolio, which you will create yourself, taking into account the child’s individuality. If your child is passionate about reading, create a “My Favorite Books” section. A passion for nature can be reflected in the “My Pets” section.

The portfolio is not filled forever; it will be replenished and changed over time. If a child writes answers to the question “What can I do and love to do,” then by the fourth grade the information entered by the first-grader will definitely lose its relevance. Therefore, regular filling work at least several times a year will bring more benefit.

Success and achievements section

If a child has already accumulated certificates and diplomas received for participating in various school competitions, then parents have no choice but to make a portfolio for the student. You can place them in chronological order or divide them into sections, for example, “Achievements in studies” and “Merits in sports,” although for a primary school student all his achievements are important. This part will contain information related mainly to studies and creative activities. This data will be gradually updated over the years of study at school.

You can add your first copybook, successful drawing or applique to your first-grader's achievements.

If the event in which the child took part was covered in the media, you can make newspaper clippings or print online pages with the message for the student’s portfolio.

Children choose their own activities and attend classes in clubs, sections and clubs. Information about them can also be included in a special section. There may be information about the institution the student attends.

How do I study?

Educational activities, as the main activity in the life of a child of primary school age, should be given a separate section. There can be not only a table like a school report card, but also successfully completed tests, first notebooks, a sheet with the first five. You can also include indicators of reading technique here.

In connection with the accelerated development of modern society and the long-standing transition of Russian education to a new level - the level of compliance with European educational standards and a complete reorientation towards the humanistic orientation of education, numerous reforms of school education have become a necessary necessity. One of these reforms was the introduction of innovative technologies into the secondary and higher levels of education in our country.

The main thing in these technologies is person-centered learning, and one of the auxiliary technologies is its psychological and pedagogical support. As you know, it includes a portfolio system - now a constant in the educational process of every self-respecting student, so that upon graduation, all information about his personality, educational activities and achievements will be collected in one folder.

A student’s portfolio is a kind of student’s dossier, which is maintained by the student himself.

Now it is known to almost everyone. But there is only one main question: how to properly prepare a student’s portfolio? Since there is no absolute template or standard in its design, everyone is free to find their own version of systematizing materials in this personal document. However, there are some rules regarding how to design a portfolio and the main sections that are required in it.

How to prepare a portfolio for a primary school student?

Of course, as with all documents, the portfolio contains a title page. And there is nothing complicated about how to design a portfolio title page. The student must indicate his first name, last name, age, name of educational institution and some other contact information. And, of course, don’t forget to paste/insert (depending on how you make it) your photo. You can also write a short message about your school, favorite teachers and subjects.
Next, the student, on the next sheet of paper, usually even the third in a row, writes about himself - an autobiography, like a short essay - a reasoning. Afterwards are placed various certificates, awards for achievements in studies and social activities, competitions and other insignia received during the study and maintenance of this document.

Then, after the “achievements” section there is a creativity section, where you need to indicate the child’s hobbies, sections or clubs that he attends. All creative works, applications, drawings, poetry or prose (if the child writes) and so on must be included there. In addition, you can prepare questionnaires for his classmates, where children will write reviews about each other.
And the perfect ending to the portfolio will be a section about the class teacher’s feedback and recommendations towards the student. This will complement the general information about the child’s personality and, possibly, help him in his further development.

As you can see, in general, there are no particular difficulties with how to write a portfolio for a primary school student. This is an easy type of this document, since it is designed for younger students. But a portfolio for a high school student will be much larger and a little more complex in design, although the components are almost the same.

What does a high school student's portfolio look like?

As in the previous version of this document, a portfolio for a high school student must have a title page with first name, last name and contact information (telephone, e-mail, home address). Added to everything else is a column about the purpose of compiling a portfolio. The child himself must realize the importance of this issue and, in his own opinion, formulate the purpose of the compilation.
Next comes a section about the child’s plans and interests, where he himself predicts how and in what direction he will develop, what he will achieve in five, ten, fifteen years, and thinks through the means to achieve these goals, that is, what he must do for this. Essentially, this is the section: “Who would I like to see myself as, and what should I do to become that?” Here, the entire emphasis falls on analyticity, which is not present in the portfolio of a primary school student, since reflection is inherent to a greater extent in the rapidly developing personality of a teenager.
The next section provides for the student’s autobiography, which is much less like a “small essay”, like that of a junior schoolchild. Now almost all texts written for a portfolio about yourself should be as common as possible, with the same emphasis on analyticality. He must write about all the years of schooling: preschool life, schooling and up to the present moment.
Then there will be a section of your own achievements with the attachment of official documents: diplomas, certificates and thanks - as well as copies of them for participation in olympiads, competitions, sports competitions, etc.
Afterwards there is a section with the attachment of documents, certificates and diplomas on completion of various additional courses that expand existing subject knowledge or develop in some other necessary area (creative, scientific, technical).
The next section will be a section of creative works: poetry, prose, fine art, another type of art in any conveniently offered form, design work. The meaning of this section, as in a similar block of an elementary school student’s portfolio, is preserved throughout, only the base itself is expanded and supplemented.
The document ends again with a section of reviews and recommendations from the teaching staff, where again a comprehensive analysis of the individual takes place, and recommendations are drawn up taking into account the psychological qualities and orientation of the individual. Everything is the same as for a child in primary school, but in a more official form and in a more common format.

Here, however, are all the tips on the topic: “How to properly prepare a student’s portfolio.” You know the main sections and their necessary content, but how to arrange it on paper and then in a folder when compiling it is an individual decision for everyone. You can do it manually, or you can, to save time, compose it in a graphic editor, of which there are plenty in our time. Next, it's up to you. And remember: the one who walks will master the road!

Student's school portfolio - video

Getting to know each other is an obligatory stage of communication with people around you. Of course, it is easier to contact old friends: these people are aware of your character, habits and other individual characteristics. And the new ones have to tell everything again. It’s also good if we are talking about a casual conversation in the company of friends! But you often have to talk about yourself in writing, sometimes even in official documents. All kinds of profiles, resumes, accounts and interest clubs can’t wait for you to tell them information about yourself. For some, this is a mere formality, limited to a couple of standard sentences. But it happens that a lot depends on your description. In this case, you need to write about yourself not only honestly and competently, but also as interestingly as possible, so that your story does not get lost among other similar autobiographies.

Telling a story about yourself, whether spoken or written, is not easy for everyone. There are people for whom self-presentation is a habitual and even pleasant thing; they willingly share facts from their biography and present them in an exciting way, like a literary work. But for most, the need to write about themselves, and even in a special, non-standard style, is a serious test of their natural shyness, creative imagination, and simply their writing talent. For such people, we have prepared a kind of “cheat sheet” with hints and small tips on how to start, build and design your work, so that readers would be interested in reading about you even if no outstanding events occurred in your life, the description of which can become the basis of an adventure novel. In fact, everything is much simpler: even the biography of an average person who leads the calmest and most peaceful life can be read avidly if it is written in an interesting way.

Telling a story about yourself: rules, nuances and tips
An interesting feature of autobiography as a genre is that the same person can have any number of descriptions of his life. Moreover, life also remains one, and all the events that happened in it are true. But, depending on the style, purpose, and writing conditions, these works turn out completely different. As in any text, while maintaining one plot, an almost infinite number of plot development options are possible, where the narrative will be chronologically sequential or artistically distorted, logically correct or creatively adapted. As they say, there is a time and place for everything, and an autobiography when applying for a job has little in common with self-presentation when applying to a theater school. The only factor that unites them is you, or rather, the actual events of your life. Therefore, let’s first determine why and for what purpose you needed to write about yourself. The most common options are:

When applying for a job, study or service. This is the shortest, essentially formal and therefore simplest option. It is not difficult to cope with it even without special tips, especially since in such cases the autobiography, as a rule, is written according to, right down to filling out the fields of the questionnaire. But even if you have a blank sheet of paper in front of you, you are only required to present in chronological order basic information about the time and place of your birth, education received, professional experience and, briefly, marital status. Formal autobiographies do not require more. An exception may be biographies of representatives of creative professions: journalists, copywriters, editors. They are more demanding in terms of vocabulary used and possibly examples of work. But a portfolio is a separate task and it is also formed according to its own standards, independent of the autobiography.
When joining a thematic organization/club/section More detailed information about the candidate may be required. Depending on the direction of the establishment, include the relevant data in the list. For example, tell us about the sports awards, diplomas, medals and certificates won for participation and victories in Olympiads, intellectual games and competitions. If we are talking about a creative workshop, then it would not be amiss to talk about your preferences and tastes, favorite genres and techniques, idols and role models. The task of your life story in this case is to reveal your own character to people who still don’t know anything about you, and to join their formed team. Therefore, the more friendly and open your written story is, the more likely it will resonate and you are more likely to receive an invitation to an in-person oral interview.
When registering on a social network/dating site There are not and cannot be any hard and fast rules. But there are certain techniques that can be used to make your story about yourself interesting and attractive to other users. For example, many representatives of the fair sex use poems, lyrics of their favorite songs or quotes from literary works for this purpose, which, in their opinion, correspond to their character and worldview. This tactic should be considered quite ingenious, because, in the absence of confidence in your own literary talent, you can take advantage of the win-win creation of a recognized genius. One way or another, your task is to create the image you need in the eyes of strangers, and even invisible to you, people. And for this it is not at all necessary to adhere to documentary accuracy. Allow yourself a little invention, complete your own image in your imagination so that you like it - then others whose tastes coincide with yours will also like it. But don’t get carried away with fantasizing - you are still writing about yourself, and not creating a fictitious image of an ideal, but, alas, non-existent person.
When creating your own blog and/or literary work It’s interesting to write about yourself, it’s easy and difficult at the same time. On the one hand, for a professional writer, telling a story about yourself is not even work, but a pleasant relaxation bordering on subtle intellectual pleasure. And, since you have dared to become the independent “parent” of an entire book or mass media (and a blog can easily be equated to an information publication), then writing an original and fascinating autobiography should not be a problem for you. On the other hand, it is self-narrative that takes many professionals by surprise. Because it’s one thing to analyze and present information within the framework of a well-studied and interesting topic. And it’s quite another thing to reveal yourself to readers as a person, to demonstrate to them not only your fundamental knowledge, erudition and talent, but also the traits characteristic of mere mortals, sometimes far from the qualities of an ideal creator. Plus, not all creative individuals are the same in their desire to speak publicly. And for writers, unlike actors and musicians, this causes many internal barriers: embarrassment, fear of excessive frankness, etc. In this case, it is advisable to call on your sense of humor to help. A successful joke can disguise unsightly facts and even turn them into advantages, or it can simply fill a pause or fill the content with unexpected meaning.

These recommendations were not invented yesterday or even last week; biographies have been created according to similar canons at all times, starting with the most ancient events in human history. Depending on the incidents and cultural values of that time, not only and not so much facts of personal life were documented, but socially significant achievements. Thus, the eastern kings wrote down stories about their military victories, the ancient military leaders took over the baton from them, and Julius Caesar subsequently created “Notes on the Gallic War,” which are both a manual on military affairs and a fascinating story about the events of those times.

Medieval philosophers, travelers and even skilled craftsmen described their lives for students and descendants. The genre of autobiography then gained such popularity that it even became an independent literary movement, the classic and witty parody example of which remains, for example, “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” by Rudolf Raspe. It is difficult to remember at least one writer who did not publish a description of his own life in his books. It was possible to find out a lot of details about even the most mysterious personalities through their personal diaries and correspondence. By the way, the epistolary genre is an inexhaustible source of inspiration when writing a story about yourself. After all, people try to be sincere in letters and trust the recipients with a lot of secret things. This can serve as a good school and a storehouse of ideas for you. Therefore, do not be lazy to read the biographies of famous people, feel free to borrow interesting techniques and speech patterns from them.

An example of an interesting story about yourself
So, we have dealt with the theoretical aspect of writing a story about ourselves, it’s time to move on to practice. Because no one but you will write a biography about you in such a way as to reveal to readers all the facets of your character and bright individuality. Don’t forget that the most difficult thing is to start, to overcome the resistance of a blank sheet of paper. And then, word by word, the story will flow by itself if you allow yourself to surrender to creativity. You can gain such emancipation gradually; to do this, start with something simple: first write a formal autobiography, then expand it with introductory phrases and artistic vocabulary, and then completely color it with beautiful images and literary devices. Moreover, save each next option separately, it will be useful to you in the appropriate situation. This way, you will receive the blanks of several stories about yourself at once and will be able to use and modify them as necessary.

Example of a formal autobiography:

“I, Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich, was born on June 13, 1980 in Kiev. In 1987, he was admitted to the first class of secondary school No. 13, from which he graduated in 1997 with honors. In the same year he entered the Kiev National University. T.G. Shevchenko to the Faculty of Philosophy, majoring in Political Science. During his studies at the university, he completed full training in the reserve officer training program and received the rank of junior lieutenant. He graduated from the university in 2002 with a degree in political science. Immediately after completing his studies, he began working in a news agency as an analyst and consultant to the editor-in-chief. In 2008, I took the position of editor of the politics department, which I hold to this day.

I am married and have a 7-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter. Wife, Anna Valentinovna Ivanova, born in 1986, a journalist by training, works for a monthly publication. I am interested in photography and painting, and love to travel. I lead a healthy lifestyle, regularly go to the gym and ride a bike. I don’t have any bad habits; I prefer to spend my free time from work with my family and on active recreation.”

Now let’s imagine that this person, already a little familiar to us, decided to join the ranks of the club of travel photojournalists. The club is virtual, the main communication between its participants takes place on its own forum on the Internet. And now our friend will have to register and greet the old-timers of the club, at the same time explaining to them who he is, why and why he came to the forum. The text of the story about yourself in that case will differ significantly from the one given above. It could be, for example, like this:

An example of an interesting autobiography:

“Dear friends, allow me to introduce myself! My name may seem funny to you at first glance, but believe me: it is real. That’s exactly what my parents named me, thanks to their sense of humor, and that’s what it says in my passport - and this, by the way, is an official document! In general, my name is Vanya, my last name is Ivanov. You can start making fun. But it will be even easier to remember me this way J

I have been interested in photography for quite a long time, for about seven years now. But, unfortunately, I only recently learned about your community. I really hope that you don’t have hazing and that newcomers are not barred from entering the club. Because your work and accumulated experience interested me extremely. I had the courage to look through the photo gallery presented on the site, and I am ready to take off my hat to the authors of these photographs. The accuracy of the reporting, the quality of the photographs, and the artistic flair of the photographers are very impressive. For my part, I promise that I will make every effort to meet this high level and adequately present my creativity.

As for me personally, I am a very ordinary person and practically not outstanding in anything. I make a living doing what I love most and what I know best: building hypotheses and making forecasts about the political situation in our country and beyond. It’s a troublesome and thankless task, but someone has to do it. But at home, waiting for me is an almost adult son, a first-grader, a sweet daughter, and, of course, my beloved and only wife, Anya. All three of them, by the way, also know a lot about travel and beautiful photographs.

In general, if I have not yet tired you too much with my biography and can be at least somehow useful to the respected community, then I will be very glad to be accepted into its ranks. I promise to be disciplined, polite and obediently follow all the rules of the club. A special greeting to all Kiev residents and an invitation to Sunday bike rides. To everyone else - just my immense affection and best wishes J"

Do you feel the difference between the first and second text? It is completely justified and caused by the specifics of communication and the purpose of the story about oneself. Analysis of the features of the given texts will help you understand the nuances of presenting information and in the future can be used by you when writing your own biography:

In both cases, the author did not sin against the truth and provided truthful information about himself. But in the second story, he deliberately omitted those facts that were not relevant to the case. But I included in the first paragraphs what might be of interest directly to this group of readers. A very correct tactic from the point of view of self-presentation - it takes into account the interests and characteristics of the audience’s perception.
The same goes for presentation style and vocabulary. In the first case, it is dry and official, as required by the documents. In the second, it is replete with colloquial expressions, figurative expressions and other means of language that are unacceptable in business correspondence. But for a group of friends with similar interests, this language will be the most understandable and pleasant.
Unlike the first, strictly text, in the second story the author makes full use of humor and personal charm, expressed through language. He verbally paints before the readers the image of a kind of joker and an easy-going person who is endearing to himself. This is a great way to make talking about yourself interesting because it takes away the rough edges of writing with the ease of friendly chat.
In the second story, the author constantly maintains contact with readers. Talking about himself, he managed not to get hung up on his beloved self, but to always address the audience. Use this technique to interest the reader, because every person enjoys being given special attention.
The author even took into account the fact that his story about himself would be perceived not aurally, but visually, and on a platform intended for interactive communication. That is why he allowed himself to use graphic symbols that were unacceptable in printed correspondence or a handwritten note. You can do the same: if you need to write about yourself on the Internet, then feel free to use emoticons and Unicode characters. But use them sparingly, do not overload the text, because an excessive number of pictures irritates the reader.

As you can see, with the right attitude and preliminary theoretical preparation, writing about yourself in an interesting and not dry way is not at all difficult. Finally, let me give you one final piece of advice. Before you start your story, make a list for yourself in which you list several of your most striking and characteristic features. These could be personality traits, outstanding achievements, or just fun facts from the past. By describing each of them, you will be carried away by the memories and involuntarily make the text fascinating and expressive. And it will be much more interesting for readers to learn about non-standard situations than about the average “born/studied/worked”. In general, write in such a way that it would be interesting for you to read about yourself, as if in front of you was the biography of some other, unfamiliar, but witty, cheerful and friendly person.

A portfolio is a great way to show your creative and professional abilities to future employers. The components of a portfolio vary greatly depending on your industry, but there are a few universal aspects. First, you will need to gather materials, including work samples, references, and a resume. Then create a portfolio online or in print (or both).

Steps

Part 1

How to collect materials

Select 10–20 high-quality samples of your work. This is the most important part of your portfolio because samples demonstrate your work ability. There is no need to overload your portfolio with a complete list of your past works. It is enough to limit yourself to the best 10-20 examples, from which you can judge not only the breadth, but also the depth of your abilities.
- Specific work samples depend on your industry. Thus, a model should choose high-quality photographs, while a writer should prepare a variety of examples of articles or other written materials.
Do high quality photos their works. Original work may be too valuable to risk handing over to employers along with a portfolio. Take photographs of 3D and 2D work, as well as photocopies of written work. Photograph subjects with a tripod to prevent accidental camera movements, and position your lighting assembly to avoid glare.
- If you are attaching an article published in a newspaper or magazine, then in addition to the text of the article, also make photocopies of the first page of the publication and the contents page.
Collect documented evidence of achievements. If your achievements were featured in articles, please include copies of newspaper clippings. National newspapers and magazines will be the most compelling sources, but don't shy away from articles in local, university, or online publications.
- If you served in the military, please include your service record. Include information about awards, titles or distinctions.
- If you have recently completed your studies or are enrolling in an educational institution, you can include a diploma or certificate supplement in the kit.
- Include any relevant awards or certificates.
Ask 3-5 people to give you recommendations. You should prepare a list of professional and academic sources who can confirm your skills and abilities if contacted. Choose wisely and get permission from each person to be included in such a list. Please include your full name, title, email address, mailing address, and telephone number. Also briefly describe how you relate to the person.
- Such a list should take no more than one page.
- This type of information should not be posted online, but it will be useful in a printed portfolio or in an email to an employer who has seen your online portfolio.
Write a personal statement. Write a paragraph with brief personal information, long-term and short-term goals, and your approach to work. Depending on your industry, you may also want to include your creative, management, teaching, or similar philosophy.
- If you are going to show your portfolio to a large number of employers, then your personal statement should be broad enough to cover all the necessary aspects.
- Use specifics instead of generalizations. For example, write: “My experience producing a feature-length student film has taught me the perseverance needed to succeed in the challenging independent film industry,” instead of: “I have worked on various film sets and would be a good candidate.”
Update your resume. If you haven't updated your resume in a while, now is a good time, as your resume can be made part of your portfolio. Your resume should reflect your current work experience, skills and academic achievements.
- If you don't have extensive work experience, you can bolster your resume with academic awards or volunteer experience.
- Don't forget to update your resume on online platforms.
Part 2
How to create a website with a portfolio
1. Create a website based on the template. There are many companies that will allow you to create your own website. Some platforms may charge for advanced features and additional services, but a simple portfolio website can be created for free. There are also convenient sites with payment every month or every year (Squarespace).
  - It is best to choose a template with a simple design and minimal animation, rather than overloaded pages with flashy effects.
2. Create a home page with examples of work. This should be the first page that site visitors see. Experiment with different sample placement options and find the most attractive solution. Arrange examples in a grid, frame-by-frame slides, or scrollable list. Use brief captions or job descriptions. You can also add a concise subheading indicating your type of activity on the main page, but the bulk of personal information should be provided on the “About Me” page.
  - Upload small files to help the page load faster.
3. Create a Contact page so people can contact you. You can create a form that allows people to send you emails, or you can simply enter your email address. If you don't already have a work email address, now is a good time to fill that gap.
  - It’s better not to list your phone number online to avoid becoming a victim of spam. You can provide your phone number to people who contact you by email to clarify details.
  - Please understand that once you publish your email address, you will receive a lot of spam emails.
4. Experiment with the settings to find the best design. Most website creation services allow you to change the font, colors and layout of elements. Choose a simple, legible font because examples of your work, not headlines, should grab attention. Choose a color scheme and website theme that best reflects your professional goals.
  - For example, if you want to become a children's book illustrator, then you can use pastel colors on your website, but for a financial copywriter, a dark color scheme would be more suitable.
5. Collect feedback on the site before launch. Show your site to a friend, family member, teacher, or colleagues. They will help you make the necessary improvements and correct any mistakes you may have made.
  - For a general rating like “good site,” ask for more specific feedback and explain that you won’t be offended by criticism. Ask clear questions like: “Should I change certain text? What do you think about the arrangement of examples of work? Can you get the right impression from the “About Me” page?”
Part 3
How to Create a Print Portfolio
1. Use quality printing paper. You will need quality paper and a color printer. As a general guideline, glossy paper is best for displaying fine art, while for business, teaching, or writing, matte paper is better suited for printing work. Some creators choose matte paper for their creations, so it's up to you.
  - Make sure that the orientation of all portfolio pages is the same (either horizontal or vertical). It should be convenient and easy for a person to view portfolio pages without having to expand.