Have you visited a friend to see what’s up, walked into their house, caught a whiff of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and headed straight for the kitchen? You didn’t walk in specifically wanting chocolate chip cookies, but suddenly your mouth was watering and your nose was telling you where to go.

What if the cookies were stale and odorless. Would you even notice they were there? Would you go into the kitchen at all?

Boring headlines on your Web stories are like stale, odorless cookies. Someone who visits the site just sniffing around for news probably won’t even notice them.

Think about what first draws your attention to freshly baked cookies. The smell.

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The following comments on student portfolios come from conversations with digital journalists and hiring managers on both Twitter and Facebook. The question posed: What are the “must do’s” and “please don’ts” for young journalists showcasing themselves for potential employers.

@macloo @anniehammock i think students spend way too much time on portfolio sites, but my $.02 – build it entirely yourself. keep it simple.

— Derek Willis (@derekwillis) September 18, 2013

@derekwillis @macloo @anniehammock Also, building your own portfolio site is a great time to learn some HTML, etc. — Ben Welsh (@palewire) September 18, 2013

@palewire @macloo @anniehammock a WordPress, etc., site shows me that you know how to setup WP (maybe). You & millions of others. — Derek Willis (@derekwillis) September 18, 2013

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