You've done it. You've secured an interview for your dream job at your dream company. You're bringing your portfolio. Your main objective: knock their socks off! To do so, you need to have a portfolio that blows away the competition. We've talked to some of the best designers in the business and asked their advice on building a killer design portfolio. Here's the 7-step process to a sure-fire winner:

Step 1: Include Client AND Personal Work
To present a complete range of your talents to a prospective client, it's important to include several different design styles and mediums. Potential clients and employers get as bored looking at multiple corporate sites as you are of designing them. In addition, this will aid the interviewer in understanding your level of expertise and give him or her a better understanding of where you would fit within the company.

Step 2: Understand Typography
Include work that presents your typographic range and your ability to communicate through type. For example, use classic fonts (i.e. Garamond) for a law firm or a solid, sturdy font (i.e. Meta) for a furniture store. Understanding how to use different font styles to create an effective message greatly elevates your status from a "designer" to a "pro".

Step 3: Be a Techie
Design and technology have a co-dependent relationship that every designer should learn to respect. To be a top-notch designer, you need to understand how to leverage the limitations and advantages of each discipline. Show off your technical abilities by walking a potential employer through site architecture, user interface and supporting technology of a more complicated design.

Step 4: Translate the Brand
A major kudos to any portfolio is an example where you've successfully translated the brand from print to online. By driving the user through one medium to another, while offering valuable information/entertainment, you've created loyalty and awareness for the brand. If you are unable to include this type of work in your portfolio, find a few examples that you think "get it" and talk about those.

Step 5: Mix It Up
It's advantageous to include various types of design work in your portfolio (i.e. brochures, stationary, Web sites, banner ads, etc.). A prospective employer can get a better understanding of your ability to design across multiple mediums. If possible, include a successful mixed media campaign you've done to demonstrate your ability to carry a brand throughout a printed and online piece.

Step 6: Be Flexible
It's a sin for a Web designer not to have some sort of online portfolio, but don't limit your portfolio to the Web only. Not everyone has the best access or correct plug-ins to view your work, so have PDFs or print outs available on demand.

Step 7: Hello? Is anybody home?
Be sure to include plenty of reliable contact information to a client or prospective employer. If you use a free email account (rather than a current employer email account), be sure to check it regularly! The last thing you want is an eager client sitting stagnant in your mailbox for a week. This industry moves fast, and if you aren't able to keep up, someone else will.