1. Creating Your Writing Portfolio
Melissa Kulm
Staff Technical Writer, Salesforce
GMU Writing and Rhetoric Career Day
April 21, 2014

2. Who am I? Technical communicator with 23 years of experience
STC competition judge and literacy volunteer
Currently write documentation for Salesforce developers and administrators

3. What will we cover? What do YOU want to cover?
Why you need a portfolio
How to obtain and curate material
Online portfolio examples
Q & A

4. Why you need a portfolio
Show your skills and back up your resume
Create a good impression
Engage the interview team
Catalog your past work

5. How to get material School Work and Internships Volunteer work
Caution: Proprietary
Volunteer work
Personal work
Your resume
Personal Web site
Be aware of search engines and information privacy
Optimize samples for speed and browser compatibility

6. How to curate and organize material
Choose 8-12 pieces of your BEST work
Put material in context
Identify audience and purpose
Identify problem and solution
Before/after stories rock!
Group according to subject or media
Limit number of pages per sample; no tomes
Goal: Have interviewer “get you” at a glance by reviewing your portfolio

7. Online Portfolio Examples
LinkedIn
Web sites
Consultant:
Academic:
Blogs
GitHub Pages

8. Q & A