Why Graduates Shouldn't Neglect Having a Digital Marketing Portfolio
By Matthew Ward, Founder and Director28 September 2021
In an increasingly digital job market, employers notice when candidates aren't using the tools available to them. A CV and cover letter used to be enough to get noticed. Now, hiring managers increasingly expect a digital portfolio as standard.
A digital portfolio gives candidates social proof a CV can't, and research from Lead Kinetics found that most recent marketing graduates simply don't have one, which makes it one of the easiest ways to stand out.
Most graduates don't have one yet
A study run by Lead Kinetics found that nearly three-quarters of the graduates surveyed had no digital portfolio at all. Portfolios have been around for years and are one of the most effective ways to show an employer who you are and what you've actually done, usually through a personal website, though the format doesn't have to be linear or formal.
Building one is easier than it sounds
You don't need to know how to code or hire a designer. Platforms like Wix, WordPress and Squarespace offer free templates built for exactly this. Social platforms work too: LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest all let you upload examples of your work while building your network at the same time. It's easy to assume portfolios are only for photographers, designers or other visibly creative roles, but most job applicants would benefit from having one, marketing graduates included.
Why it matters specifically for graduates
Building your own portfolio site develops genuinely useful soft skills, including pulling together information from different sources into something coherent. A LinkedIn profile with an embedded portfolio link makes it effortless for your network to see your actual work, not just your job titles. And a portfolio backed by testimonials gives a level of credibility a standard CV simply can't match, which matters more as the graduate job market gets more crowded.
Given how many recent graduates still don't have one, building a digital portfolio is one of the more straightforward ways to genuinely stand out. If you're working on yours and want a second opinion, our team at Lead Kinetics is happy to take a look. For what to actually include once you're building it, see 6 things to include in a digital portfolio.
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