Filling the Gaps in Your Portfolio

As you look over job listings for freelancers in your field, you may spot a job that seems great for you -- except the employer wants one piece of experience you don't have. Maybe you've designed Web pages and banner ads, but have never designed an e-mail newsletter. Or perhaps you have a lot of great ideas for product packaging but have never been hired to do such a job because of your lack of experience.

Don't let yourself be limited by the projects you've done in the past. Give yourself an assignment! Create a fictional client and fill in the gaps in your freelance design portfolio by providing that client with your best work. You can have some fun with this -- maybe creating a fake band that needs CD covers, imprinted disk designs and a Web site -- but don't lose sight of your audience. You're doing this project for free to show an employer you can do work that gets paid.