When a minibook comes into an agency at the wrong time (i.e. the agency doesn't have that position available), or it's not good enough to get the person a job and not bad enough to get trashed directly, it ends up in a black hole of sorts--a drawer, a pile, a file, a broom closet. At my agency, we have a box.
Today we had agency-wide spring cleaning and I had the pleasure of going through that box to see if there were any books we should hang onto. I thought I'd pass along a few observations to help keep your book from getting tossed directly into the black hole.
A minibook's packaging will not get you a job. What's inside it will get you a job. If you do something "memorable" with your book's packaging, make sure it's not memorable for the wrong reasons. Unfortunately, I see too many students spend 2 years putting their book together and then at the last minute slap some lame joke on the cover. Smart ads are smart ads. Jokes, themes, and gimmicks are very subjective. Don't shoot yourself in the foot before you get to the good stuff.
So, with that in mind, here are a few guidelines:
1) Sloppy is not a good theme. Don't bind your book with corrugated cardboard and duct tape and scrawl your name in sharpie marker across the front. Don't clip all your ads loose into a clipboard. You may intend your garbage bag cover to say "I don't care about my cover because I spent all my time on my phat ads," but what it really says is "I don't care." Really, you're trying to start a career that's all about creating good impressions. Don't blow it with the very first impression you make.
2) If you're going to have a theme, have a reason for it. Thundercats, as big of an impact as they may have had on your early development, is probably not a good theme.
3) Crappy grade-school report covers or $4 photo albums from Wal-Mart are not good things to use for your book. I know it sucks, especially on a student budget, to shell out $150 printing and binding nice, color books. But believe me, once you get a job with a paycheck, you'll be glad you did.
4) Skip the clever sayings and platitudes on your cover. You can't go wrong with your "JOE PENCIL, COPYWRITER."
5) Photos of you doing a funny dance belong on your myspace page, not on your portfolio cover.
6) It's called a minibook because it's smaller than traditional carry-around portfolios. Don't be a wiseguy and make your book the size of a toenail. Get it! It's mini! It's a MINI BOOK! Black hole.
7) Forget everything you learned in your business class about cover letters. I saw one today that STARTED OFF by saying something like "I would be a great asset to your agency because I have a versatile skill set, am dependably task-oriented, and possess a wide range of communication achievement GPA resume blah blah blah." a) Get over yourself. b) Who talks like this? You're not applying to business school. Include a short, sweet note that introduces yourself, says what you're interested in, maybe mentions some of the agency's work that you like (if that's true), and thanks the person for their time.
8) A simple resume with your education, experience, awards if applicable, and contact info should be IN the back of your book (loose ones tend to get lost). A FEW personal details are okay if you want, but this is not the place to try out your comedy monologue. Nowhere on your resume should it say anything as dumb as "good with people."
In the end, a simple, spiral-bound book, printed on a decent printer at a reasonable size (somewhere between 8.5"x11" and 11"x17") with a simple, tasteful cover will say all you need to say. Namely, the work inside speaks for itself.