As a creative professional, you’re at one of two phases in your creative career. Either you’ve been in the industry for years (some more than others) or you’re fresh out of school / an immersive course. No matter what your current occupational status is, though, one thing should be constant: you should put your best foot, or work, forward.

Throughout my time in the creative community, I’ve reviewed well over 10,000 portfolios and interviewed upwards of 4,000 creative candidates. Each candidate is unique and each portfolio – and the presentation of it – is just as unique. Putting together and showing off your portfolio can be a large undertaking, but here are some tips that are sure to make the task less daunting.

Be selective.

You may have terabytes upon terabytes of work that you want to share, but be sure to limit the amount of work in your portfolio! Ideally, you will have 10-12 top quality pieces that highlight the best work you’ve produced in recent years. If you’re just starting out and don’t have that many portfolio-worthy pieces, show as much work as you can, even if it’s spec work – as long as it’s high quality. There’s no reason to showcase lesser quality work for the sake of a bigger portfolio.

You’ll also have a very short amount of time to grab someone’s attention, so reel them in with stunning work! Lead with the absolute best piece that you have. Moving beyond the first piece, your portfolio should show that you have range and you can solve a variety of design problems. Hold off on showing multiple executions in the same style or genre. You’ll want to diversify and allow your portfolio to speak to different viewers.

Be you.

Your portfolio is meant to be a strong representation of you, so it should explain who you are, what you do and what you’re looking for. Show your personal brand, and let your personality come through a bit. Set the stage for your work to wow!

In my opinion, every creative professional should have a personal brand. It’s important to extend your brand beyond your portfolio and resume and include any professionally relevant social channels. Having a personal brand doesn’t necessarily mean developing a logo or a suite of collateral, it can be as simple as making color and font choices that remain consistent across your portfolio and resume. Not only will personal branding allow your portfolio to stand out, it will show the world that you’ve got yourself together!

Be detailed.

When your newly refined portfolio lands you an interview, you’ve got to be prepared to talk through the work. Think of it as an addition to your elevator pitch – know it inside and out, backward and forward. Since the work is yours, you should be able to speak casually about and defend the choices you made. Your color choices, type treatments, layout, copy tone and voice are all subject to questioning – even down to whether the piece is parallax vs. responsive. Sharing process documentation can help convey your creative process, but even if you don’t have it, at least be able to talk about various iterations that you went through and why the previous versions didn’t make the cut.

If you have a project in your portfolio that was a collaboration, call out what part you contributed to. Did you handle the conceptual / ideation process or did you flesh out the copy? Were you responsible for the User Experience research or the Interface / Interaction design execution? Be honest about your abilities: you don’t want to misrepresent your creative prowess.

Be up-to-date.

Remember, your portfolio is ever-evolving and will continue to grow with your career. Finding a balance between working and updating your portfolio may prove to be difficult over time, but you’ll always want to keep your portfolio current. Pro tip: don’t go too far back into the archives searching for good work. Keep your portfolio filled with fresh executions that go back no further than 4-5 years.

Also, go digital! I love quality paper selections, spot varnishes and debossing, but let’s be honest, with mobile representing 65% of digital media time, it’s clear that to be relevant, you must be digital / mobile friendly. Building your own website to showcase your portfolio is always great. However, for those of us that are “front end development averse,” there are a number of platforms that support creative portfolios – Krop, Behance, Dribbble and Artrepreneur are all great options.

If you’re looking for an even more comprehensive resource, take a look at our Portfolio Guide for further tips and best practices. Most importantly, be confident in yourself and your work!

Engage. Evolve. Create something great!

Brian is the Lead Creative Recruiter at Creative Circle New York. He and his team represent and place digital and creative talent in New York City and the surrounding areas. Brian brings over ten years of experience in the creative staffing industry, leading recruitment efforts and partnering with creative professionals and agencies, start ups and companies in need of creative solutions.

If I ask my friends about their dating deal-breakers, I get a long, hilarious, and highly specific list. One friend won’t date a guy if his car has a spoiler (and in case you’re wondering, this friend is not 19, but 35). I have a guy friend who’s ghosted on smart, cute, funny girls for what he felt was the gratuitous, non-ironic use of “LOL” in written communications. (As a thinking, feeling human being, I hate it. Yet as a writer, I get it.)

But if I were to ask that same group of friends about their professional deal-breakers, they would give generic answers: the job must pay X dollars and offer benefits, give them the opportunity to work with people they enjoy, and not much beyond that.

Unfortunately, many of us believe that, when it comes to what we expect from our employers, we’re there at their pleasure and convenience, and beyond a paycheck, we shouldn’t be too picky. Not only is that a recipe for personal unhappiness, you’re setting a prospective employer up for mediocrity: if you’re burnt out, annoyed, or constantly watching the clock, you won’t do your best work.

Take stock of your deal-breakers

The same way you inventory your talents and then polish them into talking points, you should articulate (at least, to yourself) the things that would make an employment opportunity a no-go. Think back to jobs you’ve enjoyed, and also jobs you hated. Was there something specific that made it a slog?  Maybe the job itself was fine, but you just couldn’t deal with the commute. Or you felt like you didn’t have a life outside of work. Or there was an annoying cubemate who wore nauseating cologne every day.

Below are common deal-breakers, as well as calculated yet diplomatic questions that will help you find out the truth, and look like an engaged, eager candidate, too.

Deal-breaker #1: cube life or open spaces

We all have different working styles: some of us enjoy sequestering ourselves in meeting rooms with a team, while others—myself included—would choose to work in a closet if it meant getting some privacy. And for many of us, this is really important.

Solution: If workspace is a deal-breaker for you, make sure you’re as observant as possible of the office layout. It at least merits a casual inquiry during the interview.

Deal-breaker #2: long, unpredictable hours

I’ve worked at advertising agencies where everyone was out the door by 6 p.m., but I’ve also freelanced at a few that were as busy at 9:00 p.m.as they were at 9:00 a.m. Working on a product launch or a pitch may mean late nights at the office and 6:00 a.m. conference calls with clients in another time zone. If you have pressing obligations outside your job (e.g., kids, schooling), this is something to ask about. Often businesses don’t hire freelancers until the workload exceeds their full-time employees’ ability to get it done, and this can factor into whether or not the job goes 9–5 or much, much later.

Solution: During the interview, ask questions like, “Why is this position available now?” or “What does work/life balance look like here?” Any reputable employer knows better than to ask if you are married or have a family, and while you shouldn’t volunteer that information on a first interview, it’s appropriate to ask if overtime is expected.

Deal-breaker #3: the corporate environment

Most creative people don’t dream about spending their days in meetings or working on spreadsheets. Yet that’s the reality with most “corporate” jobs – and that includes major or larger advertising agencies. True, there is usually a trade-off, and most of the time, it includes job security, prestige, a better paycheck, and high-caliber professional colleagues. Some people enjoy it, some people tolerate it…and some people want a casual environment that enables them to spend six months out of the year surfing in Costa Rica.

Solution: Ask questions such as, “What does a typical workday look like?” or “What is the ratio of actual creative/production time versus meetings and administrative time?”

Deal-breaker #4: never knowing what to expect

Are you comfortable working with tight timelines, juggling multiple projects, and working with new coworkers on an almost-daily basis, or do you prefer more workday stability?

Solution: Ask those targeted questions about the typical workday, why the job is available, and even what qualities the winning candidate should bring to the table.

Freelancing Gives You the Real Story

Much like a date lets you really get to know a potential bae, freelancing lets you take a job for a test spin. Even if you’re interviewing for a full-time, direct-hire position, you can always ask to freelance for a few weeks. Finding and recruiting the right fit can be a long and expensive process, so employers want to make sure it’s mutual infatuation.

Before you even start your job search, figure out your own deal-breakers. Remember, everyone wins when you’re happy at your job, but you’re the only person who knows what that looks like!

Lisa is a seasoned advertising copywriter who lives in Los Angeles. Her background includes both in-house and agency work on Fortune 500 and global accounts in the consumer and healthcare/pharmaceutical fields. She excels at words, fashion, and cats.

The daily grind – you’re really starting to feel it. Work is less like something that drives and inspires you and more like the bane of your existence. Your passion is gone, and you’re just going through the motions. You’ve put in several good years, but are you seeing any kind of payoff? Would that payoff even be worth it?

If this is a familiar feeling, then it’s time for a daunting pair of words: career transition.

When we started our careers, we all knew that nothing was really set in stone. Life gets in the way, our interests change, our priorities change. All of this is completely normal; total stagnation is not how life unfolds. So why does the idea of career transition – especially when you’re in your 30s or older – seem so scary and impossible? The fact is that changing your career takes added work on top of the work you’ve done and are already doing. Unless you can afford to take a long time off to recalibrate the way you live (and pay for) your whole life, career transition means taking a few steps back and in several different directions. But there are a couple of key things to keep in mind that might help you navigate such a crazy path.

What is it about your current job that drew you to it in the first place?

Was this a short-term gig that just kept going, or was there something you loved about it that has faded? Figure out what brought you back, then try to figure out where you can find it elsewhere. There was something there in the beginning that sucked you in, something that motivated you and interested you enough into doing it as a career. If you know what drives you, then you can start to look for it somewhere else, whether that’s a new company or in a new field.

Fundamentally speaking, what are your skills?

Not what do you do, but what can you do? You can’t really go from one career to another if those careers require completely different skillsets. Unless you’re prepared to start all over again, (which is certainly one option to consider if it’s a possibility) you need to identify what your core and talents are. What are the skills you can take with you anywhere?

What do you want to be doing?

This is a really loaded question, I know. But if there’s something about your current job that you don’t like, it’s obviously not what you want to be doing. It’s not as easy as “I don’t want to work at an agency” or “I don’t want to work for a small business.” It’s more like, “is what I’m doing truly fulfilling?” It may sound dramatic, but if you’re already thinking about leaving your current career behind, then you clearly think that what you’re doing just isn’t serving you or anyone else.

Are you worried that you’re “selling out?”

Did you start off your career as one of the coolest kids in town? Were you on the ground floor of something brand new, or living the flashy life in entertainment or PR? Now that you’ve been around the block a few times, it might not seem as fun as it used to be. But does wanting something more stable and reliable kill the wild spirit you started out with? The answer isn’t going to help you: this is entirely up to you.

As someone who recently decided to transition out of “super cool” careers in blogging and entertainment, I can understand this conundrum. But when I examined what I really wanted to do with my life now and in the future, I knew that looking for a more stable field would allow me to do so much more of the things I really wanted. It took years and many failures to get here, but by the time I left, I had a wealth of knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as tons and tons of great people who could vouch for me.

A career transition doesn’t happen after trying a job out for six months; it happens after years of giving it your all and then realizing you want something different. Hey, you might even change careers again after this!

Wanting to be happy and live your life to the fullest is not selling out. You can’t betray a younger version of yourself because that person is gone, evolved into the wiser, more experienced present-day version of yourself. And trust me, you should listen to that second person.

Jamie is a Creative Circle candidate in New York. If you are interested in working with someone like Jamie, contact your nearest Creative Circle office.

Have you ever dreamed about waking up and walking a few steps over to your office chair to begin your workday? Working from home is increasingly becoming the norm these days as a perk that most job seekers covet and as a way for businesses to save on office expenses. Most people love the idea of not having to report to an office every day, but while it may come as a surprise, there are also some who do not. There are many things to consider before deciding what type of work environment suits you. The following is a list of advantages and disadvantages of working at home vs. working in an office-type setting.

Advantages

The first advantage of working from home is the financial savings. The money you will save on gas alone driving to and from work can add up. Depending on the city you live in, you may be able to go without a car altogether, which can save you thousands per year in insurance, repairs, parking and annual fees.

In addition, there is no need to dress up or look presentable every day. When you don’t have to go through everything it takes to get ready and then drive to work, you have more time for sleep and may feel more energized throughout the day.

The best part of working from home is the fact that you are in 100% control of your environment. Being in the comfort of your own home offers a very relaxed, stress-free atmosphere, which can lead to a more productive day.

Disadvantages

However, as mentioned earlier, there are some who may not like working from home. For people who enjoy the company of others, working at home alone takes away from daily social interactions. The atmosphere an office provides encourages human contact, even if just to bounce ideas off a co-worker.

In addition, some people are not self-disciplined enough to stay productive at home. They work best when they are under supervision to keep them motivated throughout the day. Think about what will be tempting or distracting you from doing your work if you are at home: a TV to watch, a bed to sleep in, a gaming console or just plain good weather to go out and enjoy. These become very tough to pass up when you are having a bad day or simply don’t feel self-motivated.

Tips to Successfully Work From Home

If you decide working from home is for you, then a little structure and strategy can go a long way.

1. Create a routine that you enjoy and stick with it if it works.
2. Create a workspace that allows you to be efficient. You have no rules on how you design your workspace, so ensure that you create it exactly how you want it.
3. Stay in constant communication with coworkers via online platforms. This will allow you to stay involved, be productive and feel like you are a part of the team.
4. If staying inside your home office everyday can start to become dull, work from the coffee shop on the corner a few times a week – getting dressed and going somewhere else for a few hours a day can do wonders when you start to fall into that slump.
5. If you can’t jump into working from home every day, see if your company will let you start with one or two days a week and then move up from there.

Only you can decide if working in the office or working remotely is the right fit for you. Consider all angles before deciding which direction to go. You may eventually get the opportunity to pick one type of environment over the other, or enjoy a mix of both. Individuals can be equally successful in office or remotely; it is just about finding the one that best fits your needs.

Krista is a Creative Circle candidate, creative writer and content creator in Los Angeles. Her background includes news, marketing, copywriting and editing. If you are interested in working with Krista, please contact Creative Circle LA.