Getting a job as a graphic designer not only requires a good interview with the employer, but also a great portfolio.
Your graphic designer portfolio makes you shine, so assemble a portfolio that represents your unique talent to increase your options and latch onto every opportunity.
Cleanliness is very much required in the graphic designer portfolio.
The pieces in your portfolio shouldn't be dog-eared, torn or scuffed, nor should the portfolio case be dirty.
Keep only ten to twelve pieces in your graphic designer portfolio.
If you are interviewed for a particular job, place more designs pertaining to that job in the portfolio.
Add some other designs so that the employer knows that you are capable of more than one form of graphic designing.
Place your best pieces in the beginning and the end of the portfolio; these are the pieces people will remember the most.
Never apologize to the employer about the work in your portfolio.
The work here should be your best.
Never place pieces you are not happy about, and don't apologize for what you don't like about the piece.
To create a better portfolio, you could add some 'fake' projects that allow you to spread your design wings.
The employer always wants to know what exactly it is that you can do in graphic designing.
Show off all the work that you had done for others, even if it was done for fun.
Have your friend or family member view the portfolio.
Make them give their views about the presentation of the portfolio and offer any modifications that could be made to it.
You could also consider placing some of your identity pieces, which a client may not normally see elsewhere, like your own custom quote forms or job tracking forms.
Add personal cards or holiday cards you had done in the portfolio.
If you have a personal Web page, include a screen shot of the graphics you created for it.
If you have only a few clients' work to place in the portfolio, you could include the best preliminary designs to increase your range of work.
As you produce new pieces for new clients, replace the less impressive pieces in the portfolio with the new samples.
Remember, the graphic designer's portfolio is not static; it grows and changes as your expertise grows.