Regularly updating your portfolio
It is advisable to treat your portfolio as an ongoing project - constantly working on your own projects as well as including examples of work from your current role.

What your portfolio should include
No bigger than A3. We do prefer candidates to have an A4 sized portfolio.

You should have 4 - 5 design projects in your portfolio. Each project should start with an inspiration page and then 4 - 5 pages of designs should follow. These design pages should include beautiful illustrations, clean flat working drawings and fabric samples.

CAD skills are becoming increasingly important. It is essential that you at least learn the basics.  If you don't have CAD skills there are many short courses and teach yourself books available.

Overview of career to date but note that anything over 2 years old should be kept to an absolute minimum.

If you graduated more than two years ago, remove all of your degree work or again keep it to 2-3 pages maximum.

Your CV

Click here for an example of how your CV might look.

You should ensure your CV is clear and concise, outlining your employment history and bullet pointing responsibilities held.  If you have just graduated, make sure you include any work experience details.

CVs should be plain, to the point and preferably printed on white paper using black ink. Do bear in mind that they may be photocopied, scanned or faxed so a red background for example would hinder this and take away from the text.

Attention to detail is extremely important so make sure you have checked spelling, word spacing and contact details prior to sending to an agency or company.  This sounds obvious but you would be surprised!

You can tailor your CV and covering letter towards the particular company/job you are applying for, picking out points from the job specification (if there is one) and matching with your own skills.