By Deirdre May, Career Coach, Sli Nua Careers (Limerick)

Q. I’m a graphic designer and have been called to interview. Should I bring my portfolio of work with me even though I haven’t been asked to? (LT, email).

A: Graphic design is a visual field, so rather than saying that you designed a beautiful logo, book or magazine, you should be able to say ‘hey presto’ here is something I did before. That can be very powerful.

You do have to be aware that in some cases, particularly the public sector, there are some rules that make sure candidates don’t have an unfair advantage over each other by bringing in extra pieces of work that were not requested.

Generally speaking, graphic design will be in the private sector, so anything you are able to do to showcase the quality of your work and your enthusiasm in your field is a good thing. Not only is your portfolio something which illustrates your enthusiasm, it could potentially create a good talking point in the interview. For example, the panel may ask you to explain your concept behind each design or how happy your client was.

This creates an opportunity for you to make the interview more of a knowledgeable chat about your work. Don’t make it an exhaustive collection of your work, try to keep it to five or six good quality pieces across a range of designs.

Deirdre May is a Career Coach with Sli Nua Careers in Limerick.

Make a booking HERE for CV Preparation, Interview Training and Mock Interviews.

More articles from her blog can be accessed HERE