February brings career fair season, and with it, the opportunity to connect with firms and for designing the first impression. Whether you’re preparing your first portfolio or refining your materials for this year’s round of interviews, thoughtful preparation can make all the difference. Here’s what you need to know about resumes, portfolios, and interviews.

Resume Essentials

Your resume is often the first impression a hiring manager sees, so it needs to be clear, professional, designed, and distinctly yours.

Key Principles
                                  • Graphic quality matters. Your resume should demonstrate thoughtfulness and consistency in its design.
                                  • Keep it succinct. Clear communication and ease of use are paramount.
                                  • One page is enough. Distill your experience to what matters most.
                                  • Personalize your approach. Tailor your cover letter and introduction email to each firm.
Recommended Format

This is a typical format that you can use as a guideline for organizing your resume.

                                  1. Heading and contact information
                                  2. Education
                                  3. Experience
                                  4. Skills
                                  5. Outside interests or other accomplishments
                                  6. Professional References
Tips Towards Designing the First Impression

Simple is better. You don’t need to fill every inch of the page. White space is your friend.

Include a professional headshot. Most phones have excellent cameras. Use portrait mode, find decent lighting, and ask a friend to help. Make it as professional as possible. This Indeed article offers helpful guidance on taking your own headshots at home.

Add your pronouns. This helps hiring managers communicate professionally and avoid mistakes.

Design your own layout. You’re a designer—don’t rely on downloaded templates or default fonts like Times New Roman or Aptos. Use templates for reference if needed, but create something original that reflects your design sensibility.

Proofread meticulously. Typos and grammatical errors can suggest carelessness or lack of thoroughness. Have a friend or professor review your resume before sending it out.

Provide a cover letter. Do a little research on the firm and personalize your introduction. Show that you understand what they do and why you’re interested.

Maintain a LinkedIn profile. Connect with interviewers or hiring managers when appropriate, and include a link to your profile.

designing the first impression - sample resume

designing the first impression – sample resume


Link to your digital portfolio. Make it easy for reviewers to see more of your work. Platforms like Issuu or HeyZine are excellent for hosting a flipbook-style PDF portfolio, while website builders such as SquareSpace offer free pricing options for creating a more traditional website-style portfolio.

Portfolio Guidance

Putting together a design portfolio can feel like a balancing act—showing range, demonstrating process, and presenting polished work, all while keeping things clear and digestible. The good news is that an effective portfolio doesn’t need to be complicated. With intentional editing, it becomes a strong reflection of who you are as a designer.

Key Principles

Lead With Your Strongest Work.  Start with the project you’re most proud of, whether that’s your thesis, senior project, or a recent standout. Opening with your best work sets the tone immediately and helps the viewer understand your skill level.

Curate Thoughtfully.  Three to four well-chosen projects are usually enough to communicate your skills and range. Most reviewers won’t have time to wade through everything you’ve ever done, so be selective. For each project, identify the one or two core ideas you want someone to take away, and make sure your pages clearly reinforce those ideas.  Just because you created something doesn’t mean it belongs in the portfolio. Thoughtful editing goes a long way.

Prioritize Clarity Over Complexity.  Diagrams, clear graphics, and bold text often communicate more effectively than long paragraphs. Give your layouts breathing room. White space helps guide the eye, prevents the content from feeling overwhelming, and demonstrates graphic skill and maturity of design thinking.

Prepare a Strong Work Sample.  Some hiring managers or firms ask for a work sample which is typically a brief one- or two-page mini-portfolio that acts as a highlight reel or trailer. Think of it as a quick snapshot of your best material. This is especially helpful for reviewers who want an immediate sense of your strengths.

Maintain Visual Consistency.  Your portfolio, resume, cover letter, and work sample should all speak the same visual language. Consistency in typeface, layout style, and graphic decisions helps build a cohesive personal brand and shows a thoughtful design approach and maturity of design thinking.

Edit With the Viewer in Mind.  A concise, well-edited portfolio (around ten pages) is often more effective than a lengthy one. Reviewers typically spend only a short amount of time with each submission, so make those minutes count. The goal is for your work to read clearly, feel intentional, and pass that immediate “sniff test.” If you’re sending digital files, keep the PDF no more than 10MB, and consider including a link to an online version as well.

designing the first impression - sample portfolio page

designing the first impression – sample portfolio page

 

Structuring Individual Portfolio Pages

                      • Aim for two to three pages per project to keep things focused
                      • Keep text concise.  A few short blurbs often work better than a full introductory paragraph
                      • If you include plans, make sure they’re readable and add to the narrative
                      • Avoid unprocessed CAD exports; heavy hatches and harsh line weights tend not to reproduce well at the smaller scales of portfolio pages

Presenting Research Work.  If you’re showing research projects, aim to communicate visually. Graphics that clearly illustrate your process or findings are far more effective than dense text, uncurated photos, or complicated data sets.

Think Ahead to the Presentation.  Consider how you’ll talk through the portfolio when presenting it in person. What do you want to highlight? What parts of the process matter most? The document should support your verbal narrative, not try to do all the work on its own.

designing the first impression - WAAC Career Fair

designing the first impression – WAAC Career Fair

Interview and Career Fair Preparation

Walking into an interview or career fair with prepared questions and genuine engagement shows initiative and interest.

Key Principles

Prepare Questions to Ask

Consider topics like:

                        • How is the firm structured?
                        • What are the roles and responsibilities for someone in your position?
                        • What is their vision for the firm?
                        • How would you fit into their structure?
                        • What does a typical day look like for someone at your level?
                        • What is the firm culture like?
                        • What are the values of the firm?

Be Engaged.  Make eye contact and speak clearly.  Show genuine interest in the conversation.

Email Etiquette.  If you’re on an email chain with multiple recipients, use “Reply all” to keep everyone in the loop.

Career fair season is an opportunity to put your best foot forward. With a well-designed resume, a thoughtfully curated portfolio, and preparation for meaningful conversations, you’ll be ready to make connections that matter. Good luck out there!