Boundaries: keeping work separate from play

Should I keep my professional portfolio separate from my writings? When I started my first 9-5 job in 2013, I went through a sort of purge of blogposts I had written over the previous 16 years. I wanted to make sure that any Google searches didn’t result in anything too sappy, immature, or naive. Getting my first job out of college in a foreign country (🇨🇭) a month after graduating was a hurdle and I wanted to be as buttoned-up as possible.

After getting my fancy Swiss job, I decided to be a bit more reponsible: if I were looking for a new job (which I’m not currently), I have a separate URL for my portfolio and another URL for my writing. If the hiring manager is intrigued to click on my Medium profile or my blog, then she may do so but only after she is presented with my more visually-prominent portfolio work.

I have no issue with a hiring manager seeing my writing, and if anything, it offers a more complete picture of who I am. But the point is: if you are applying for a job, never let anyone get in the way from seeing the sharp perspective of the person you are trying to put forward.

Impressions matter, and the story of who you are and what you enjoy doing can (and should!) unfold over time. But at that initial CV or portfolio review, who you are should be unambiguous. You should always clearly articulate your goals when applying for particular roles and nothing should deflect from that. Context matters when you think about your audience. Always, always, think about your goals and audience.