hi, i still have to do 6 live websites for people, but excluding that, i was wondering if you think my portfolio is good enough to get a job? and if not, what specifically do i have to do to make my portfolio good enough to get hired? any help GREATLY appreciated. thank you. derek

here is my mockup portfolio

http://derekvanderven.com/websites3.html

Hi Derek,

Having links to sites that you created that are up and running would definitely carry more weight, but your mock-ups look pretty good.

One thing I would suggest you do, whether you're trying to get a job with a company or freelance...

I'd remove the "Painting Drawings" from your header and just leave "Web Design." If you want to sell your services, it should be the ONLY focus.

Good luck!

Diane

Well it depends on what kind of job you want to get hired for. I don't think its enough to work at Google but it is an impressive collection. (I don't like your banner though, sorry )

This is your portfolio page, you should be using your best design on it. Right now it looks very plain. Even your link "resume" is just plain text. Style it up man!!

Cheers

In my humble opinon, you have good stuff enough to get a job; as Eric wrote, you could maybe not get the BEST job but you can find a job with that work.

I would also remove paing and drawings or at least put it somewhere else and focus on webdesign.

Good luck

Derek, amazing work. Concentrate on Colors....

thank you very much everyone. i will try to improve the main page and my banner as it doesnt really represent a good designer. i know my stuff isnt the best, but i hope i can get a job hehe. here is a site that i am doing for a client now, ive only done the first page. what do you think?

http://derekvanderven.com/flynn_house/index.html

thank you again for the feedback. derek

1. Not a fan of the dark green color
2. Text on nav is bad In my opinion.
3. Heh..font size is a little too big, reminds me of those Jitterbug phones
4. Footer text is plain.. don't know how I would fix that though

Cheers

its OK!
it will be much better if you put hover effect on you thumbnails like some highlights.

Good luck!

Actually your church design isn't too bad for a church. You want larger fonts than usual because the elders/seniors have a difficult time reading small print. Most churches cater to their seniors because that's where most of their donations come from so that's a good point.

It is a tad too dark. Lighten it up a little to make it easier to read. Perhaps your background color can be a contrasting color?

In Firefox there's too much space between your header and your text. (see our_facilkity) You may want to tighten that up a little bit.

Your photos, keeping in mind who will be visiting the site, may want to go into a gallery instead of individual enlargements. Seniors can get lost and frustrated with clicking on something then not knowing how to exit the photo.

On the contact page I'd add an actual contact form rather than their email address in order to cut down on spam. Also be sure to use captcha.

Anyway, looks like you're on the right track.

As far as getting hired. Looks like you're on your way. Just get referrals from the church for other churches in other areas. Have them write you an endorsement letter and mail it to other churches. Build on what you have.

Good luck!

regarding portfolio pieces, it's more about quality, not quantity. especially if they're mockups and not full sites done for clients. it would depend on the job and company you're trying to apply for. however, in my opinion, companies will only want to hire true professionals and your portfolio is nowhere near professional enough.

Honestly- it depends on what you want to get hired to do.
If its just a company as their Web Designer then no. Here's why- its basically a one shot deal. You design a site and thats it. For that you would need to demostrate that you have skills on the backend too.

Now, if you are looking to be a designer for a design company, I would honestly say no too. For Now. Why?- because they are looking for people with a much higher skillset and from looking at the portfolio- its just not there. Its just elements on poorly exceuted backgrounds. Most of the text is muddy and difficult to read- Try using png vs jpg for images with letters they render better plus you get transparency like you would using gif.

The portfolio page isn't appealing so as a potential employer or client, I'm not sure if I would even click on the designs. I would drop in a background like this in there-
http://derekvanderven.com/beautiful_...background.jpg
that is by far the best thing you've done graphically. Your portfolio needs to hands down best THE GREATEST THING YOU"VE DONE. You're selling you- period. If you can't make yourself look the best, then why would someone hire you?

Just by looking at the landcape paintings, the potential is there. You just need to nail the execution. Keep working on it.

I think you need a little enhancement for that.

Well honestly the design was too very plain you even in your portfolio sites you should really need to put your efforts on to it to get notice by other potential clients who wants to hire you as a designer. take for example look at the designs on templatemonster you know what I mean ... well I guess there's really in need of a huge room for improvement in your skills. Practice ... always practice all I can say is Good Luck in your venture.