Tips for Building a Dynamic Portfolio

Are you still waiting in the long line of applications? Then stop. Do something bold. Here's what I've witnessed firsthand from candidates: ◼️ Share Your Story: One candidate posted their portfolio on LinkedIn, showcasing their experience, personal story, and value to the target company. They tagged the company, and guess what? The hiring team took notice and they landed an interview. ◼️ Rebrand Your Resume: Another candidate revamped their resume to align with their dream company's aesthetics, colors, and vibe - all while demonstrating how their experience aligns with the company *Core Values*. They got an interview. ◼️ Create a Pitch Deck: A candidate designed a pitch deck illustrating how their previous experience could add value to their target company and shared it with peers and hiring managers via LinkedIn and email. You guessed it—they got the job. ◼️ Showcase Transferable Skills: Even without all the core technical skills, a candidate created a brief presentation (just 2 pages) highlighting their transferable skills and branded it with the company colors. They shared it with the hiring team and landed the job. Why am I sharing this? Because traditional methods won't always cut it in today's job market. You have to be bold. Yes, it's uncomfortable and time-consuming. Yes, it requires vulnerability and risks rejection. But being bold in your job search works. I've seen it happen. Your value can be shown in countless ways—just show it! Share your story. Share your brand. Don’t hold back.

Recently I’ve been receiving a number of DM’s asking about generalized tips for portfolios. And although I’ve been sending off links to everyone, I realized that it may be time to resurface some of the common “mistakes” I’ve noticed on Junior portfolios. 1️⃣ Not making your title obvious Hiring Managers have very little time to decide if they should move you forward in the interview process. That is why you don’t want to waste any time, even a few seconds. So having your title be understood within the first 2-3 seconds really plays a big difference. Think about ways to help it stand out so that your reader can know your area of specialty without doing any work or digging. 2️⃣ Creating a checklist, not a story It is important to note that there are two stories at play. One is the play by play of what you did. The other is your case study. Although this one should provide insights into what you did, it should be a more simplified and stripped back version of the story. This allows you to think through which deliverables are the most important, ultimately creating a better overall experience for your reader. For help with this one, check out my link in the comments. 3️⃣ Not thinking about the overall flow I’ve seen so many case studies where I end up at the bottom with no navigation showing so my only option to see more work is to scroll back up to the top and figure out my next step from there. In reality, I know that only takes about a second or two, but if we remember that our reader only spends 60 seconds max, losing 1-2 on scrolling is a lot. One way to fix this “mistake” is to add a button at the bottom of the case study that takes you directly to the next project. This way, you are creating a flow for your reader so they don’t have to think, while engaging with a number of different projects. 4️⃣ Not showing your personality I understand that using a template is an easier route, but by doing this it makes it harder for your case study to standout. The reason being is that it tends to look like all the others. Think about ways in which you can bring in pieces of who you are. This can be done through graphics, illustrations, or even fonts and colors. I have seen some that have gone as extreme as making their site look like a video game but it also doesn’t need to be that intense. Do what feels right for you. These are just four of the most common “mistakes” I have noticed. There are several other ones since everyone is going to have an opinion. These insights are from years and hundreds of portfolio reviews (Maybe even in the thousands now!) These 4 tips are a great starting point to try and elevate your portfolio. But if you want more personalized feedback, take a look at the link in the comments to understand how I can help you more.

Your CV & Portfolio Should Tell Your Story – Not Someone Else’s 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 In a world where interviews are getting tougher, standing out isn’t just an option anymore friends—it’s a necessity. Yet, I see so many candidates submit a Canva-template resume, even a JPEG image of a resume and a Dribbble-inspired look alike portfolio of someone else, the same Freepik graphics and the same hashtag #UIkits as your own project, hoping to impress. Truth be told and this is could be your turning point.1st copy-pasting someone else’s style won’t showcase your unique value. N E V E R! Your CV and portfolio should be a true reflection of YOU—your skills, your impact, the problems you solved (even as a member of the team) and the journey that made you successful. Hiring managers don’t just look for designers; they look for original thinkers and problem solvers. After my job post for positions at Apple and Google , I received 100s of DMs with the same questions and after going through a ton of CV's here's my 5 keys to standing out in your resume submissions and making interviews. -𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 and explain the ‘why’ behind your designs. What problem did you solve? What impact did it have? - Align your CV & portfolio to the role such that your tailor your materials to highlight skills relevant to the job. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐭. - Be authentic & original as generic designs and processes don’t get impress, 𝟗𝟓% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐕𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭. - Designers MUST demonstrate business impact as companies now hire designers who drive results, for the no thought UI outcomes there's many tools. 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝. - 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 and hence your portfolio should back up your words, your passion, clarity, and storytelling and that's the main thing that will make you unforgettable. Reenforcing for your good- 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞—so don’t let your CV and portfolio be one. Be bold. Be original. Be YOU. #Designjobs #Strategy #InterviewTips #UX #CareerGrowth