• Included with Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription (check with your college to see if you can get Creative Cloud free for students)
• There is a free version with limited features or a full version for $12.99/month
• 3 pre-made themes
• Simple, scrollable portfolio in one page

• Free by default, or paid versions from as little as $5/month
• Uses drag and drop tools to create HTML5 websites
• Hundreds of templates
• Most creative of the three

• Free for anyone with a Google account
• Included as part of the Google Docs Editors Suite
• Six customizable themes
• Most simple of the three

Hard skills, also known as technical skills or industry skills, are typically the ones you learn in the classroom, through books or other training materials, or on the job. Depending on your field, relevant technical skills could include:

• Ability to operate specific machinery
• Ability to use particular software
• Proficiency in specific programming languages
• Ability to type at a particular speed
• Proficiency in a foreign language
• Knowledge of sales or point of sale systems
• Familiarity with banking operations

Soft skills are subjective skills that are much harder to measure. Like hard skills, soft skills are important in the workplace. They are attributes and personality traits that impact interpersonal interactions and productivity. Some examples of valuable soft skills include:

• Creativity
• Persuasion
• Collaboration
• Adaptability
• Emotional intelligence
• Problem-solving abilities
• Time management

List any degrees or diplomas in reverse chronological order, meaning that you begin from the most recent and go backwards from there. Include any higher education that hasn't been or won't be completed.

If you have achieved a higher level of education than high school, there is no need to include high school with the rest of your education.

Required information:

• the name of your degree or diploma (feel free to add your major and minor, but this is optional)
• the name of the educational institution
• the year you graduated or years you attended

Additional information to include if it is significant:

• the location of your program
• honours you achieved
• a brief description of your program
• relevant courses
• the title of your thesis or dissertation (if you're listing graduate-level education)

Beneath your formal education section, you would list any relevant certifications you hold or informal education you've received.

For example:

• a license to operate any specialized machinery
• a project management certification
• a security guard license

Try to format these certifications in the same way as you did for your formal education. List the following elements:

• the name of the certification
• the company or institution where you received the education
• the year it was granted
• any other optional information you find relevant

Your experience should be listed in a relatively similar manner to your education, as you want your formatting to stay pretty consistent throughout your portfolio. List the positions in reverse chronological order.

List the following information for each position:

• your job title
• the company name and location
• the dates you were employed
• a brief overview of your achievements and responsibilities during your time in that position.

Try to keep the work experience section under 3-5 jobs. Tailor your work experience to the job you are hoping to achieve. Only include your jobs that are the most relevant to your field.

When possible, you should always list accomplishments rather than responsibilities, as any potential employer would rather know what you did to make a change in your time at an organization than know what your responsibilities were at the job.

If you have no paid work experience, you can focus more on your soft skills, achievements in college or university, and other personal qualities. If you are a recent graduate or still in school, recruiters will not expect you to have a lot of work experience. Format these positions and experiences the same way you would a paid work experience.

You could include the following positions and projects:

• internships or co-op positions
• volunteer positions
• school projects with applicable learning outcomes
• personal projects such as a YouTube channel, an Etsy store, etc.

Remember, it's important to convey what you gained or achieved through your experience. If you can tailor your listed experience to the job you are searching for, it will help you stand out.

Add a short prompt at the top of this section to convince the audience to reach out right away, e.g., "Get in touch" or "Let's get to work." ner to your education, as you want your formatting to stay pretty consistent throughout your portfolio. List the positions in reverse chronological order.

The only information that any interested parties would need to know to get in touch is an email address. Anything else you include is just a bonus, based on what you feel comfortable sharing.

You could include the following optional information:

• Your telephone number
• Links to relevant social media (e.g. LinkedIn, Behance, Instagram)
• The city you're located in

Many portfolio platforms have a contact form template that you can include on your page. This form allows any interested parties to contact you directly without requiring you to reveal your personal email. The form will enable anyone to include their contact information and a brief message about what they're looking for from you. This is the most secure option.

You want any employers to be able to get in touch, but you don't want to give so much information that it can become a privacy concern. As your portfolio is hosted online for anyone to see, don't give away too many personal details.

For privacy purposes, do not include the following information:

• Your detailed address
• A copy of your resume

• Use the preview feature. Most online webpage platforms have a feature that allows you to preview your page to see how it looks to the rest of the world outside of your edit mode.
• Slowly comb over the content of your portfolio, starting from the beginning.
  • Look for any spelling or grammar errors. Sometimes it helps to read your writing aloud to hear how it sounds.
• Review the page again, but look for formatting errors.
  • Make sure your formatting is consistent throughout the page.
  • All headings and subheadings should be the same size and in the same style.
  • Make sure your fonts are all the same throughout.
  • Check that your photos are all showing up.
  • Click all links to make sure they work.

A navigation bar is standard on most sites; this is where the user can click links to jump to different sections of the portfolio quickly. There are many options for the layout of your navigation, but it mostly depends on the platform you are using.

Add the following elements to your navigation at the top of your site, under your header, so that it will be consistent and accessible on every page:

• Links to each section of your portfolio
• A link back to your home page.

Once you publish your portfolio, it will be viewable by anyone online. Add the link onto your résumé, your LinkedIn profile, or anywhere else that potential employers could access it.

Remember to keep your digital portfolio updated as you gain experience and complete new projects.

Here is an example of a completed digital portfolio in Adobe Creative Cloud Express (formerly Adobe Spark): Example Portfolio.