Portfolio

[c16555e2]

Why no portfolios?   I see so many artists and designers that have a  good summary but no portfolio.

I can't imagine hiring someone without seeing their work. 

If you don't have a portfolio that is probably why you don't get work.

Cheers, Scott

[lysis10]

yep, a designer with no portfolio is what they call "doinitrong" in my country.

[rolludesig]

i guess many have thier websites/portfolio url's in the summary

[yitwail]

OTOH, they’re honest enough not to have a fake portfolio 

[c16555e2]

That doesn't make sense to me.  I mean, who would buy a car without seeing it.    If you haven't been hired to do the work then do a mock-ups of imagined projects based on your skill set.

[c16555e2]

One would hope but that is not the case.

[prestonhunter]

There isn't really anything to discuss. Now you know that there are some freelance artists and graphic designers set up profiles here, but who aren't serious about working on Upwork.

As a client I have posted dozens of jobs for artists and graphic designers. Obviously I just ignore the proposals from people without portfolios.

[kfarnell]

Some people get tired of having their work stolen and instead forward either links or relevant samples when bidding.

[mtngigi]

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Scott F wrote:

Why no portfolios?   I see so many artists and designers that have a  good summary but no portfolio.

I can't imagine hiring someone without seeing their work. 

If you don't have a portfolio that is probably why you don't get work.

Cheers, Scott

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If you look carefully at those profiles, you may see that some include links to their own websites - something they're not supposed to do if there is a way to contact them from those sites. Others don't understand the importance of making it easier for clients to make their hiring decisions. I would venture to guess that many attach relevant samples to their bids and hope that makes up for no portfolio.

[wbouchard]

I am an Instructional Designer and I have copies of most of the projects I have completed, however, I have also signed agreements with my clients to not distribute proprieatary programs. As a result I always explain this and state I would be happy to share at an interview. It is tough but I signed a document and I refuse to go against that. If a hiring manager does not respect that, then I am not sure I want to work there!

[kbadeau]

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Wendy B wrote:

I am an Instructional Designer and I have copies of most of the projects I have completed, however, I have also signed agreements with my clients to not distribute proprieatary programs. As a result I always explain this and state I would be happy to share at an interview. It is tough but I signed a document and I refuse to go against that. If a hiring manager does not respect that, then I am not sure I want to work there!

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I sign NDAs all the time too, but for jobs that I like and want to feature on my portfolio, I'll ask a client for permission. If it's a book for example, I'll just use a few pages, and send to the client for approval before posting it to my profile.

I can't quite imagine a designer not including portfolio pieces on their profile, but on the other hand, that only benefits me in the end, right? I don't like the linking to my wesbite route both because we're not supposed to share contact info, but also because I think the easier you make it for clients, the better. It's crazy, but they just might not want to take that one extra step to see my work.