How do I share work in my portfolio that is under a NDA?

17 Comments

1. AnonymousMay 6,2022 at 2:06PM UTC

   I have a similar situation as a copywriter because a lot of what I do involves proprietary information. And yet: sometimes people want to see work. I try to choose samples that are already in use, and I make PDFs that require a password to view and cannot be printed or downloaded. Whenever possible, I blur the client name, though that's not always doable. I then schedule a Zoom meeting and show the work myself so it's never out of my hands. I show it briefly--really briefly--and then I explain what the business problem I solved was, the thinking behind the solution, and results if relevant. I also explain ahead of time that I cannot share samples. I don't have a website with a portfolio and when I explain why, people seem to appreciate that. No one has complained yet and I have been doing this for a lot of years.

2. Carli GarciaMay 8,2022 at 3:07PM UTC

   Great post!

3. Rachel Ervin KorbuszewskiMay 8,2022 at 3:33PM UTC

   This is an incredibly helpful response, thank you!

4. Barb HansenMay 6,2022 at 3:33PM UTC

   If the work done under an NDA (designing a website or an app) is public, you can link to it from your portfolio.

   I suggest that you re-read your NDA to make sure that you can say that you worked on a project (most NDAs that I have signed and created don't stop people from talking about the fact that they worked on a specific project, it only covers the actual work product, but please double-check. Some defense contractor NDAs might include you being able to talk about the work.

   If the work done under an NDA is not published to the public, you can anonymize your work (remove or blur out logos, company names, and proprietary content) and use screenshots of that work on your portfolio.

   I have a huge binder (and a larger cloud drive) of work products, most of which were done under an NDA. At the end of an NDA-covered project, I go through the work product that I want to keep a record of to remove any proprietary words, company name, or product-specific phrases and replace those words with greeked words.

5. Carol MeierdirksMay 8,2022 at 4:05PM UTC

   Barb - I see you on here a lot and wanted to say that you are always so helpful and on point! Thank you for taking time to help others.

6. Barb HansenMay 9,2022 at 2:14PM UTC

   Thank you.

   I'm going to pay the compliment forward and say thank you to Fairygodboss for this platform. It's wonderful to have a place online where we can gather and help each other.

7. JahnaMay 6,2022 at 5:57PM UTC

   Your work inside the current company could be 100% protected under the NDA - which would mean it's not your personal work for a portfolio, it's the property of the company.
   If the NDA is lighter, there are work arounds as mentioned in the other comments like blurring proprietary info.

8. AnonymousMay 7,2022 at 12:00AM UTC

   Put a password on your portfolio website

9. AnonymousMay 8,2022 at 1:04PM UTC

   In my previous job, I had an NDA where I couldn't disclose the names of clients or show my work to anyone outside the organization. It was considered the property of the company, not mine. I quit one year ago and I did a couple of projects for nonprofits (for free) which I was then able to show.

10. Bradford McCormickMay 8,2022 at 1:25PM UTC

    You are between a rock and a hard place. Unless you can cook up something on the spot to show them, that is relevant to *their* company (or ask them to tell you something they would like to have and give you some time to go home to do it and bring it back to them to prove yourself), isn't it going to be "You just have to believe me because I am an honorable person and I have signed a NDA...."? Can you say about something in your admittedly not so great portfolio: "Now, if I was going to do this again today, I would...."

11. Sarah StadtherrMay 9,2022 at 12:31AM UTC

    CAREFULLY read your NDA. Most NDAs are talking about clients / customers / processes. It may not prevent you from showing your programming work.

12. AnonymousMay 9,2022 at 4:30AM UTC

    Your advice is flawed. You don't sign NDA solely because the work belongs to the company. Major Fortune 500 companies sign NDA to protect proprietary information while they are negotiating a deal. Each retains ownership of their intellectual property. If the poster signed a NDA as a work for hire, than any work she produced belongs to the company. Without reading the actual NDA I cannot give an accurate analysis and neither can you.

13. Bradford McCormickMay 10,2022 at 6:07AM UTC

    Poster thanked everybody for their great advice. Here's something from back probably before most everybody her was born: Well, I can't post a picture here so hopefully this works:

    https://www.bmccedd.org/w/images/8/85/Servltr2.gif

    We learn from others.

14. Liz MilneMay 11,2022 at 3:48AM UTC

    I couldn't make out anything other than the headline :(

15. Liz MilneMay 11,2022 at 3:46AM UTC

    You don't share work that's been created or sold under an NDA. Ever. As I'm all but certain the wording of the NDA makes clear.

    I'm a ghostwriter for an agency and under their NDA not only can I never tell people that 'I wrote that' should I see one of my pieces of work out there, but I can't even talk to people in anything other than the vaguest terms about the projects I'm working on.

    Your best bet is probably coming up with something entirely new for your portfolio, and making sure that people know a) this is the kind of work you can do but b) is not actual work you've sold as that would violate client confidentiality and NDAs etc. That way they know you are both reliable for work and trustworthy in that you won't spill secrets that they don't want you spilling.

16. AnonymousMay 11,2022 at 10:29PM UTC

    I think it depends on the terms of the NDA and the type of role you have. No one I work with minds if I disclose that I work with them--in fact, they often refer me.

17. Liz MilneMay 12,2022 at 8:45PM UTC

    As you say, it does depend, OP needs to check the terms of their contract.

    In my case, people like to pass my work off as their own (and it's often very much a collaboration so not even really 'my' work really!) so I can't even hint that I 'worked with X' or 'on X project' etc...