Stand out due to your skills and prove that you are the best candidate for the job: these are the main purposes of your CV and portfolio. Why is a CV essential and in which cases is it not enough, why is a portfolio necessary and how will it help you to showcase your professional abilities?

The "power" of a well-written CV

The first "meeting" with the employer takes place through your CV. As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Therefore, a concise, error-free, and job-tailored CV can be your lucky “ticket” to the next round of the recruitment process.

When creating a CV, it is important to include all the necessary information about you: personal data, experience, education, skills, successes, and achievements. The appearance of the CV is no less important; it should be consistent with the content and easy to read, include different sections and, of course, exclude typos.

There are many tools out there you can use to create your CV. One of them is the Resume Builder available on the Job.am website, through which you can create your resume online and download it in a matter of minutes. You can find detailed information on more tools in our blog post “CV as a key to getting a good job”.

Portfolio: the best evidence of your work 

Highlighting the necessity of a CV, it is worth noting that only a CV is not enough to stand out among numerous candidates. The portfolio of your work, which will provide concrete evidence of your skills, can help you with this.

A portfolio is a collection of examples of specialists’ work. Portfolios come in different formats depending on your profession. For example, a graphic designer's portfolio includes design samples, while a content writer's portfolio includes published text examples. 

Choose your best works for your portfolio. Use titles and headings to clearly mention what each sample is about. You may find it useful to categorize your work into different sections by topic.

In the case of some professions, the portfolio may play a more important role than the CV. For example, if photographers are applying for a job, they can mention their experience and technical skills in their CVs, but a portfolio that contains several photos taken and edited by them can show the quality of work they can do. Don't be surprised if you come across a job announcement for a graphic designer, asking to send a portfolio without mentioning about CV.

Combination of CV and portfolio for your comprehensive presentation 

Hence, both a CV and portfolio are important when applying for a job. In your CV you present your experience, educational background, and skills, and with the portfolio, you showcase the application of your professional qualities and skills in practice. 

If you submit a CV and portfolio that complement each other, the possibility that recruiters would consider your candidacy increases.

It is important not to forget to update your CV and portfolio regularly. Every time you apply for a job, review your CV and portfolio to remove irrelevant details and add new professional achievements.