One of the most important things you will create as a designer is your portfolio. A portfolio shows a potential employer the reasons they should or should not hire you. It is a story of what you know, what you do and how you do it.
Show Only Your Best Designs
Your portfolio should show high quality examples of your best and most recent work. Have a sensible quantity of work. If you have to many and/or outdated projects your portfolio will look disjointed. If you show to little it shows you don’t have any experience.
Show Your Designs In Context
Your portfolio should also show your work in context. If you’re designing a letterhead, don’t just show a Jpeg of the letterhead out of software. Show what it looks like on a desk. This helps give a since of scale and purpose. This also adds legitimacy, making it feel real instead of being seen in the abstract.
How You Design Is Just As Important As Your Design
It’s not enough to just show pictures of your designs explain them. State the problem you where trying to solve. State what your specific role was. Show your process and revisions. These give an employer an idea of you as an employee. It shows why you are a good fit for the position. It shows why they should hire you over someone else. Most likely everyone else applying for the same position won’t have bad designs in his or her portfolios. Who will be hired is less about their work and more about how they think.