Your portfolio is your best weapon to impress a potential employer in a hiring situation. It is your opportunity to show off your work in a way that is up front and direct. However, if your portfolio is in disarray, it does not reflect well upon you whatsoever.
Don’t take the risk that your portfolio gets you bounced out of your dream job. Sit down and take a look at what you’ve put in for viewing and start culling. Only the best of the best of your work needs to be used to represent your talent. Getting overly critical with what should stay and what should go results in a portfolio that speaks volumes about your abilities.
If you have a body of work, and it never matters what line of work you are in, you should never hesitate to put it on display. For example, a graphic designer that has worked on a website for a casino has plenty of material to choose from. So how to select that one item that will stand out? Maybe you have created a neat design for an online casino bonus that increased the click-through rate tenfold. Put that item up front and put a short note that explains the exemplary performance of your work.
Remember, keep it simple, short and sweet. You can always offer to show the potential employer more work upon request. However, if the work presented is your best and strongest, you will find that you won’t have to supply extra.