Portfolios, resumes, business cards, personal branding — there are many ways people try to set themselves apart from the competition when searching for a job. Whether you are networking or interviewing, you want to leave a great impression, along with a way for people to learn more about you and contact you.

One valuable way to show your creativity and experience is through a leave-behind. A leave-behind is a part of a portfolio that is left with a potential employer after an interview.

Andrea Zagata, a senior at Michigan State University majoring in journalism, recently decided to create a leave-behind portfolio to showcase her work in a visually compelling way. The result? A memorable and well-executed design that has helped her cross language barriers and generate buzz about her work. Andrea agreed to share with us her inspiration and design process to show how valuable her leave-behind has been as she prepares for the transition from college to the workforce.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I have been interested in design since I became involved with Society for News Design (SND) my freshman year. Design is the way I merge my appreciation for art with my love of telling a great story through journalism.

This is my fourth semester at The State News, where I started in fall 2008 as a copy designer. This semester I am Visual Editor, running a desk of five designers (including myself) to produce the print edition of the paper as well as all interactive Flash content for the website. I have been a copy designer, assistant design editor, assistant multimedia editor, and visual editor. I graduate in May and am looking for a job designing for a news organization.

What was the inspiration behind your leave-behind?
The leave-behind was born out of necessity. I attended the annual SND conference in Buenos Aires in September, and I wanted a way to show people my work. I knew I didn’t want to do a business card — I find them kind of pretentious for students. I feel the same way about personal branding; I know how to create a logo, but I’m not an entity unto myself. I’m just a kid who wants to do good work. I thought the best way to tell anyone that would be to simply show some examples of what I’ve done.

Henry Brimmer, an advertising professor, had us do mini-portfolios in one of my design classes. This was perfect for what I needed to do. It gives me the freedom to put in as many pieces as I want, by simply adding or taking away panels, and I can show a variety of work in a small space.

Tell us about your design process.
I started with a 3×15″ document in InDesign and divided it into 3×3″ squares. It’s two pages so it can be printed front and back, but the 3×15″ size means it can easily be printed on 11×17″ paper. The opening panel has who I am — visual journalist, reporter, writer, storyteller, designer, artist, but they are all crossed out because the important info is on the bottom: I need a job.

The front is green because it’s my favorite design color, and the next panels are white because a blank canvas highlights the work more than a colored background would. Included are a variety of samples: small thumbnails of newspaper pages, illustrations, and screenshots of interactive projects. The second page is exactly the same, with different work samples. The last panel has my contact information and graduation date. Printed front and back, it folds up quite nicely into a manageable, transportable, 3×3″ square.

How have you used your leave-behind?
This is always my substitute for a business card. I take a couple with me pretty much everywhere I go, just in case. I printed about 20 and have a few in my backpack. The first time I gave them out was in Buenos Aires at the conference, but I’ve also sent them out along with internship applications, and taken them to various events. I even met a man in an airport who gave me a business card — in return, I gave him my leave-behind.

I find them very personal; it’s obvious that I’ve put some work into creating them, and they have my work all over them. I’ve found that people are often flattered to receive them. It used to match the design of my resume, but since I’ve re-designed my resume package I’ll probably redo the cover of the leave-behind before I print the next batch. It is a form of personal branding, I suppose, but it’s less about me and more about the work.

What have been the reactions to your leave-behind?
I’ve gotten some pretty great feedback. It was a big hit at MSU’s Creative Arts Forum, and people tend to enjoy seeing and looking at it. This is something people tend to want to keep (which is fine with me because then they always have my name). It’s one thing to have a great resume or really be able to talk yourself up, but to show people examples of what you’ve done, that’s powerful. It’s also a great conversation piece.

Do you have any advice for other students or designers about the value of a leave-behind?
Leave-behinds are really valuable, especially if they’re unique. It’s just a great way to help people remember you. You don’t get lost in a stack of business cards. I would have one to take to interviews, to conferences, anywhere you might want to network with someone.

Be careful not to be too kitschy. The key is to make something unique, but small and simple enough to be kept. Go just far enough to be interesting, but not far enough to be overdone and thrown away. My design philosophy is kind of the same — someone once told me that the best designers finish a project and then undo the last design element they added. You have to know when enough is enough. The mini-portfolio, in my opinion, is just the right amount of design and simplicity.

You can view more photos of Andrea’s leave-behind on her “I Shot the Serif” State News blog. To learn more about Andrea’s work, check out her portfolio and interactive work.