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For positions that require creative or communications skills, work samples may be requested or advised. Sometimes this may be requested in advance of an interview, sometimes during an interview, and sometimes after. A well-done piece that you created, whether a visually graphic piece or written document (e.g. memo or a presentation), can have a very positive impact on your interview chances. If you have something that you are particularly proud of, that perhaps earned an award of some sort, and it is directly demonstrative of a key job skill for the position being harvested, or if it is consistent with the tone and tenor of the interview, then consider sending it along. If you are able to share a strong piece of relevant sample work without prompting or solicitation, this may well separate you from other contenders for the position. But remember, the piece must be impressive, as judged by others, to make such a tack work in your favor.

Some words of caution: when sharing any pieces of your work if they were done by you for any previous employers --

• Do not share anything that is confidential, or may compromise or reveal any kind of inside information about your prior employer or its plans. Not only is it unethical, but likely illegal. And besides, what would a prospective employer think of your integrity and judgment if you did share something revealing? Be aware that almost anything you produce for a former employer, even if not revealing, is the former employer's property. Therefore, you may not even have the right to possess the sample. If you do share something from your past work, obscure anything that not only would make the sample revealing, but also identifiable to its origin.
  
  
• If the sample is your own creation and rightfully belongs to you, be sure to not only have a document clearly indicate such (on every page), but also that the document or sample is not property of the requestor. This protects not only your rights, but also the requestor to some degree so that the sample is not in any way construed as endorsed by them.
  
  
• Only do those things with which you were the sole or primary author.