It is time for part two of Mission 7. Today, we will focus on how to talk about our portfolios and getting them ready to be published on the web. You will also find this mission's self-care tip.
Talk about your portfolio.
You should now have a start on your portfolio site. Now it is time to practice talking about your portfolio. Remember, hiring managers and recruiters are your target audience and they will have questions about what they see. So you will want to start preparing answers to questions they might have about your portfolio.
Code Newbie helps participants get an idea of what hiring managers might ask so they can start planning how you might respond.
- Why did you pick this framework/language/tool?
- How did you make the main feature work?
- There are many ways to do things, so how did you pick yours?
Review each project you picked very carefully. Think about how you could approach talking about each item. How would you respond to a how or why question? Those questions might seem tough to answer, but they help you think like a hiring manager or recruiter.
Pick 2 technical challenges for each project.
Think about any technical challenges that occurred when you were making each project you picked for your portfolio site. You want to identify at least 2 challenges you can mention when you talk about your portfolio site.
Job seekers can worry that the projects they pick might not impress a potential employer and be too simple. If you are feeling this way, you aren't alone, and don't worry. Employers aren't expecting an amazing project. They are instead paying attention to the story you tell of how you took a project from step one to the final product.
Therefore you will want to concentrate on the process you took to build each project. Code Newbie has more questions to help you figure out what challenges to pick for each project. They also tell participants to think of this as a way to draw their attention to your potential and how much experience you have.
- Were there any challenges you faced?
- How did you overcome these challenges?
- Are there any technical challenges you hope to face in a future job?
More Portfolio Tips from Code Newbie
Code Newbie put together a list of more portfolio tips participants can use to help them with their portfolios. These tips were shared by other developers who have been able to land jobs in tech or have experience hiring others.
Look at other portfolios for inspiration
If you need some inspiration, look at what other developers have done with their portfolios. You can find these portfolios through alumni websites or social media. You can pay attention to the styles they used, but you will want to really focus on the skillsets people have. So as you look at people's sites, think of the following questions below.
- What did you like?
- What might you have forgotten to mention?
- What have you done differently?
- What makes your portfolio memorable?
Keep it simple (or KISS).
My husband has a saying called KISS which means "Keep It Simple Stupid". It might sound a little harsh, but he has a point about simplicity. It takes a lot of time to build a well-designed portfolio plus hiring managers and recruiters aren't evaluating your portfolio based on your design. Remember they are going to spend a lot of time on your site and they will be looking for items on their checklist. Those items are what will show them you are the right person for the job and can do it.
- Focus on one or two colors.
- Pick one to two fonts to use. You can always vary the fonts using bold, italics, and underline as well as picking different sizes.
- Keep your eyes on the content and usability. The basics need to be working at the end of your site. If you are getting resume feedback, you can also look for two people that can review your portfolio and make changes based on their feedback.
Publish your portfolio
Continue to work on your portfolio site as much as you want. Once you are content with your site, get it on the web. After it is live on the web, start posting the URL to the site so people can find you. You know your target audience so you want to post your URL so hiring managers and recruiters are able to easily find you. Consistency is the theme for this section so put your URL anywhere you talk about work. Some good places to post your URL are LinkedIn, Github, and any social media.
Bonus Challenge: Post previews on LinkedIn!
LinkedIn is a powerful tool for job seekers. Many developers like to keep consistent with their portfolio websites by posting links and screenshots of their projects here. If you want to add projects to your portfolio site, you can go to LinkedIn and add a profile section to your profile. Click projects. This new section will allow you to add projects and connect them to specific roles.
Self Care Corner
Let's talk about skincare this week. Taking care of your skin is just as important. It doesn't just help you look better, but Code Newbie says it helps you relax. Our skin can reflect how we are feeling. I know when I am stressed because I break out badly.
Code Newbie encourages participants to use body lotion for this tip. After you take a shower or get out of a bath, put some body lotion on your skin. Body lotion helps you moisturize your skin by locking in that moisture.
Are there any red bumps on your arms and legs? Code Newbie suggests creating a homemade exfoliator. You just cut a lemon in half and dip one cut end in some salt before you put it on your skin. Code Newbie says the salt and acid manually exfoliate. The lemon removes anything causing the bumps.
Conclusion
Congratulations! Your portfolio is now ready for landing your dream job. Your portfolio will never be finished, and you'll always be making changes to your portfolio as you continue on in tech. However, you know the tips and tricks to make sure your portfolio gets you hired.
The final stage in a job search is the interview. Mission 8 is concentrating on job interviews. Participants learn tips and tricks to mastering a job interview as well as the different types of interviews you will encounter throughout your job search.