That land is not this one, and that time is not now.
The job market now is fiercely, almost viciously competitive, and if you've been on it for more than a week you're probably daunted by the number of hoops that you have to jump through to impress employers enough to even grace you with an interview (which is where the hoops end and now it's time to start walking barefoot on hot coals while balancing a stack of plates perched on a stick on the tip of your nose). It's not just about your education, skills, and experience anymore; it's about how you dress, how you talk, how you cut your hair, how you polish your shoes, the way you shake hands. It's about the loops in your "o" when you write in cursive, and whether or not your stride carries the proper mix of assertive confidence and open friendliness; it's about the color of your personal logo on your letterhead, and the type face you used on your resume. Let's face it: the job market is becoming as appearance-oriented as the fashion industry, which makes competition that much harder; not only do you have to be good at what you do, you have to make yourself look good while doing it. It's a matter of professionalism, but also a matter of marketing.
I'll assume that you know how to dress yourself and we won't need to talk about that today. Instead, let's discuss properly "dressing" your presentation materials, and packaging them so that they create the right visual impression.
By "presentation materials”, I mean your cover letter, resume, leave-behinds, and business cards. That's a lot of papers to juggle, and just dumping them on an employer without anything to unite them can look sloppy and lead to some pieces getting lost. Granted, you could staple them all together, but that’s highly unprofessional; I wouldn't recommend it.
The best thing to do is to create a mini-portfolio: a bound copy of your credentials. Rather than using expensive leather cases, however, this can be accomplished with plain paper pocket folders with cutouts for business card inserts. These are easy to find at any office supply store; I buy mine at Office Depot, where they have folders in the colors I prefer (dark blue and black; I'd be a little embarrassed sending my resume in a neon green folder) and made from heavy, high-quality paper that has a bit of a "parchment" hue and texture to it. (I can't help it, I'm an old-fashioned stickler for that look.) These are the same kind of folders that you used to bind your Biology notes and tuck your homework assignments into, only without the central spine with prongs for three-hole paper; those aren't really necessary, but the four little angled cutouts in one of the folder pockets are. That's where you'll place your business card.
Putting together your little mini-portfolio isn't hard. You should have prints of your cover letter, resume, leave-behinds, and business cards; all but the latter should be on matching letterhead. I prefer to put my cover letter and resume in the right-hand pocket, as that's the first thing that will enter the viewer's field of vision upon opening the folder; on the left side, I arrange my leave-behinds in the order that I want them to be viewed in. Usually the insert cutouts are to the left side as well, so I slip one of my business cards into the little slot (being careful not to bend or crease the corners), and then that's it: I'm done.
And yes, that really is all there is to it. But now you have your materials neatly gathered and neatly presented; a carefully arranged folder looks far more impressive than loose papers, and it makes you easily identifiable. All of your presentation materials are right there on hand in a neat package, and you'll have made a good impression just for taking the time to take that extra step. It seems like such a small thing, I know, but remember: the big picture is made up of dozens to hundreds of small things, and while it may not seem to make a big difference, trust me when I say that the absence of those small things is quite noticable.
If anything, do it to help yourself. When you're running out the door on the way to an interview, it helps to have your package of materials already prepared, so you don't have to worry about forgetting anything or looking bad when you're shuffling through papers trying to find the right one. You have better things to worry about, anyway--like figuring out where your car keys vanished to five minutes before you need to leave. Your presentation folder is just one more weight taken off of your shoulders, and one more key to working your way into a position as a highly employable candidate.
