In the world of creative careers, the portfolio is often the first thing that potential employers see. It's a crucial tool for showcasing your skills and experience, but what happens when you don't believe in your own work? This is a common dilemma for many creatives, especially those who are new parents and have limited time and energy. In this article, I'll explore the challenges of rebuilding a portfolio when you don't believe in your own work and offer some practical advice on how to approach this situation. Personally, I think that the key to success in this situation is to focus on the value you can add to your portfolio, rather than dwelling on the work you don't believe in. What makes this particularly fascinating is that it's not just about the work itself, but also about the context and the story behind it. From my perspective, the first step is to highlight the problem you solved and the key challenge of the project. Include the nitty gritty - budgets, deadlines, audiences. Build the context around the brief. Then show how you solved it. The great news is that you have access to something that most don't - real metrics. Real impact measured as a result of your creativity. This is what really suggests that in-house projects have unbelievable value. One thing that immediately stands out is that you need to position them slightly differently to agency ones. If you take a step back and think about it, this makes sense. Agencies often have more freedom to experiment and take risks, while in-house projects are often more constrained by budgets and deadlines. What many people don't realize is that in-house projects can be just as impactful and innovative as agency work, if not more so. A detail that I find especially interesting is that by focusing on the value you can add, you can transform even the most mundane in-house projects into something compelling. This raises a deeper question: how can we as creatives better position and market our in-house work to showcase its true value? In my opinion, the answer lies in telling a compelling story around the project. Rewrite the intro with fresh eyes. Level up the visuals. It's amazing what a decent mockup can do. Sites like Bendito or Supply Family have great mockups to enhance any project, so invest in a couple. Don't forget, careers aren't linear. You might jump into your dream role with your current portfolio, so think about this next step as a chance to improve your book for the one afterwards. This is what I call the '20% better' approach. The aim should be to make each project in your portfolio 20% better. But that doesn't have to happen all at once. It could be 15 minutes of your lunch break, or starting an hour earlier on Wednesdays. By breaking down what you want to upgrade into smaller tasks, that means when you have a spare moment (which I know are few and far between as a new Dad) you won't waste any time wondering what to do. And most importantly, give yourself some grace. Tackling your portfolio is one of the hardest tasks for any creative. So any time or energy you can dedicate to it will help. It doesn't have to be perfect. What this really suggests is that the key to success is to focus on the value you can add, rather than dwelling on the work you don't believe in. This is a powerful mindset shift that can help you transform your portfolio and take your career to the next level.
