Status: July 11, 2026. In a more selective labor market, it is often no longer enough to simply list activities and strengths. Those who can show how they work become tangible more quickly. This is exactly where work samples help: texts, designs, concepts, code, project examples, photos of workpieces, presentations, or short case studies that make a claim in the CV verifiable.
For applicants in Austria, this topic is not only relevant in creative professions. Good work samples can also help make competencies visible in IT, marketing, technology, architecture, research, consulting, skilled trades, education, office management, or project coordination. This is especially true when the CV or job title alone does not explain what someone is actually capable of.
Why work samples are gaining more weight now
The current StepStone Hiring Trends Update describes a labor market in which more applications do not automatically lead to faster hiring. Companies are checking more closely, candidates are becoming more selective, and competencies must be more clearly visible. For applicants, this means: A good application does not just tell what experience is available. It also shows what work results have emerged from it.
The AMS describes work samples as evidence of past work that makes skills and working methods visible. They supplement the CV, cover letter, and references, but do not replace them. A work sample is therefore not a decorative attachment, but a piece of evidence: it should show why a person is a good fit for a specific task.
What counts as a work sample
Work samples can look very different. In classic creative professions, they are often texts, layouts, illustrations, photographs, videos, or campaigns. In technical areas, they can be drawings, models, prototypes, screenshots, documentation, or software projects. In consulting, project management, or administration, anonymized case studies, process improvements, templates, presentations, or short project descriptions work well.
What is important is not the format, but the meaningfulness. Ideally, a work sample answers three questions: What task was solved? What role did the applicant have in it? What was the result? Without this context, even a good example remains difficult to understand.
Work sample, portfolio, or project list?
A work sample is a single example. A portfolio is a curated collection of several examples. A project list is usually more concise and describes positions, tasks, and results without sending all documents along. Which form fits depends on the industry, position, and application phase.
For an initial application, a small selection is often enough: a PDF with two to four examples, a link to a password-protected page, or a short note that work samples can be provided upon request. A large portfolio can make sense if it is common in the profession, such as in design, architecture, media, software development, or research. For general office or specialist roles, a slim project attachment often appears more professional than an overloaded folder.
Which work samples really fit the position
The most common mistake is quantity instead of selection. Anyone who sends ten examples leaves the sorting work to HR managers. A small, targeted selection is better. The AMS recommends selecting work samples carefully, paying attention to topicality, and tailoring them to the advertised job profile. StepStone also suggests a few current work samples as a guide instead of a confusing package.
A practical selection filter: Mark the three most important requirements in the job advertisement. Then choose at most one example per requirement. If a position requires project coordination, customer communication, and reporting, for example, an anonymized project overview, a structured presentation, and an example of a dashboard can be more effective than five random old documents.
How to make a work sample understandable
A good work sample needs context. Write a short classification for each example: task, initial situation, own contribution, result, and tools used. This does not have to be a long text. Three to five lines are often enough. Without context, a work sample quickly looks like a loose document from previous jobs.
Example of a concise description: “Concept for an internal knowledge database, created as part of a team project. My contribution: structure, content plan, and coordination with three specialist departments. Result: standardized templates and faster onboarding of new employees.” Such sentences show working style, responsibility, and benefit.
Those coming from a different professional field benefit particularly from this classification. The contribution to Career change shows how important transferable skills are. Work samples make this translation more concrete.
Data protection, confidentiality, and intellectual property
Work samples must not disclose confidential information from previous jobs. Names of customers, internal figures, prices, strategies, personal data, access data, or unpublished documents do not belong in an application. The AMS explicitly advises anonymizing sensitive data or obtaining permission for disclosure in advance.
Your own rights should also be protected. For digital work samples, PDF files, non-editable formats, watermarks, or password-protected links can be useful. If a work sample is only to be shown during an interview, this can be announced in the application. It is important to clarify that the documents are intended exclusively for the application process.
What to do if there is no work sample?
Not every applicant has published work or approved projects. This is not a reason for exclusion. For those new to the labor market, the AMS also mentions fictitious projects or ideas as an option if real examples are missing. Transparency is important here: a fictitious concept must not look like a customer order. It should be marked as an exercise project, case study, or sample task.
Small examples can also help: an anonymized Excel analysis, a self-created process plan, a short text sample, technical documentation, a learning project, a GitHub repository, a before-and-after example of a private organizational project, or a presentation from further training. The decisive factor is that the example fits the target role and shows your own way of thinking.
Work samples for career starters and junior roles
Career starters in particular often have little formal experience. Work samples can partially close this gap if they do not seem exaggerated. A small analysis project, a summary of a thesis, a practical project from training or studies, voluntary association work, or a self-built tool can show how someone approaches tasks.
The jobspot article on entry-level jobs explains why junior roles are not always easy to see. Work samples help here to show learning ability and practical application without artificially faking seniority.
Do not confuse work samples with trial work
A work sample in an application is different from actual work in the company. A short example, a presentation, or an existing project is less problematic than unpaid work for a company. If a new task is required in the selection process, it should be clearly limited: purpose, scope, timeframe, usage, and feedback should be transparent.
The jobspot article on trial work explains the boundary between getting to know each other, a short work sample, and actual work. Applicants should become attentive if a task is very extensive, looks like a real order, or if the company could use the results later.
How to include work samples in the application
Work samples should not be attached to the email indiscriminately. For online applications, a compact PDF is often practical. For larger files, a well-named link is better. File names should be professional, e.g., “Work_Samples_Max_Muster_Marketing.pdf” instead of “final_new_3.pdf”. If an application portal has upload limits, a short note in the cover letter makes sense.
The article Check application documents shows why a final check before sending is important. For work samples, the following also applies: each sample should fit the position, be technically openable, contain no confidential data, and be explained in a few sentences.
Conclusion: Show less, but explain better
Work samples for applications do not mean sending as many documents as possible. The strongest effect comes from selection and classification. Two very suitable examples are better than a large, unsorted portfolio. Good work samples make skills visible without replacing the CV. They show work style, thinking, quality, and results.
The best next step: Select a specific target position, mark the most important requirements, and look for two examples that prove these requirements. Write three sentences for each example: task, own contribution, result. If you remove sensitive information and name the file cleanly, a work sample becomes a strong argument for the next invitation.
