Portfolio Presentation for Engineers

I’ve reviewed > 400 portfolios this year. Observation #1: The ones that got interviews weren’t the prettiest. They were the clearest. → Clear intent (what roles they’re targeting) → Clear structure (who they helped + what changed) → Clear thinking (how they made decisions) Observation #2: Hiring managers responded best to portfolios that made it easy to scan, not admire. → 3-5 second headlines that told the story → Metrics up top, visuals in the middle, lessons at the end → Less storytelling. More signal. Observation #3: The portfolios that ‘failed’? → Opened with “Hi, I’m Alex and I love solving problems” → Contained 30+ screenshots with no explanation → Didn’t articulate business impact or their role → Had no opinion, no POV, no process If I were applying today? → I’d restructure my case studies to lead with outcomes → I’d add a design philosophy section to show how I think → I’d cut 40% of the fluff and focus on what actually matters → I’d communicate my USP and elevator pitch up front Your portfolio isn’t a gallery. It’s a business case for why you’re worth hiring. ----- Just thought I'd share this after reviewing some notes over the weekend. Hope it helps! ----- #ux #tech #design #ai #business #careers

Plenty of portfolios are good. A few really stand out. Most just don’t leave a lasting impression. They blur together. Not because the work isn’t good, but because it doesn’t tell a story. Same structure. Same tone. Same safe ideas. No clear point of view. No story. Just a list of projects trying to tick boxes. Your portfolio shouldn’t just show what you’ve done. It should show what you believe, how you think and where you’re going. Building a standout portfolio is hard work. You’ve already started. Now shape it with intent. Start with a strong structure for each project. Set the scene, the challenge and how did your idea solve it? Make it clear, fast. Nail the idea in a single, strong image or slide. Draw people in. What makes it original? Lead with that. Show it holds up. Prove the idea works in gnarly situations, not just the best-case one. Show it flex. Demonstrate how the idea works in new or unexpected contexts. Make it matter. Why does this connect with the people it’s for? Show what’s next. Could it grow? Evolve? Where could it go? Keep it tight. Cut anything that doesn’t help. Less, but better. Name it well. A strong name for ideas gives character and makes it sticky. Be honest. Lead with work you believe in. End with something clear. Finish each project with a simple insight. Why it mattered. What changed. What you learned. Each project tells its own story. Now connect them. Your portfolio should guide people through your work clearly and intentionally. Use everyday language. Not design terms. Would someone outside your industry understand it? Don’t just show final results. Show how you got there. Let people see your process, your thinking and your contribution. If the work made an impact, show that too. Be clear about collaboration. What was your role? What did you bring? Get the basics right. Make sure your site is fast, easy to navigate and works well on mobile. No broken links. No confusing formats. No distractions from the work. If time’s been tight, prioritise what matters most. Create the kind of work you want to be hired for. Work that shows your intent, not just your output. If you haven’t made the kind of work you love yet, start now. Don’t wait for permission. Make it yourself. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be yours. Remember, your portfolio is a work in progress. Keep refining it as you grow. Look at what others are doing. Spot what works and what fades into the background. Learn from both. Then find your own approach. What would make someone choose you? Be honest about what you’re showing and proud of what you choose to share. That’s your real brief. 🤝

My team and I recently wrapped up interviews for one of the most competitive #businessintelligence positions I've ever hired: Over 300 applications and dozens of resumes for me to review spanning hundreds of pages of intriguing experience... and exactly one portfolio. One. I'm not going to lie, this absolutely astonished me in 2024. BI and #datavisualization jobs are still in incredibly high demand and talent is not keeping pace with that demand. If you're confident that you have the skills and want to be absolutely sure that your resume will float to the top of the pile, show the hiring team what you can do. Yes, this might backfire some of the time (your portfolio may help the hiring team decide against you even faster) but even this isn't necessarily a bad thing: Faster rejection means faster feedback means faster calibration of your portfolio/resume so that you can regroup and move onto new opportunities. It just wasn't mean to be! A few tips for your portfolio, though, based on the handful of portfolios I've received from interested candidates: 1. Aim for Quality, Not Quantity: Don't show me over a dozen slapped together dashboards that show me nothing of your analytical acumen, attention to detail, and overall style. Give me 3 solid examples that briefly explain the business scenario, communicate clear insights, and demonstrate at least some real technical ability (I can usually tell how comfortable you are with concepts like DAX, bookmarks, etc. within 30 seconds of looking at your portfolio). 2. Aesthetics Do Matter: The moment my team and I open your portfolio, for better or worse we will notice the presentation/design of your work before we've processed a single data visual. So keep your colors minimal, research smart design principles like Gestalt theory, and identify your #dashboard heroes on your social media platform of choice so that you're getting a steady drip of great design work from BI experts. 3. Sweat the Small Stuff: If you're planning to make a 12-piece portfolio, see Advice 1 and pare those aspirations down to 3 pieces. Then, use the additional time you just saved yourself to go much deeper with the detail and build out several robust examples. Then use more of the additional time you just saved yourself to spellcheck like you're defusing a bomb. You might get a pass on some innocent mistakes for an entry-level job but for higher-level positions, I want to know that you can build client-ready products with minimal supervision. Attention to detail is everything and, on a side note, I'm grateful to the amazing leaders I had early on in my career who helped me to develop mine by being absolutely ruthless critics. They know who they are. And if you're looking for a new BI job, good luck out there!

I’ve reviewed over hundreds of design portfolios between coaching creatives and hiring for creative and marketing teams in my last roles and these two mistakes come up the most: 1. Only linking to the live product: Live links change. Without context, we don’t know what you did. Always include a case study or project breakdown that explains your role, the challenge and your process. 2. Only showing the final piece: a polished design is great but hiring managers want to see how you got there. Your thinking, decisions and collaboration matter just as much as the outcome. Quick fixes: • Add a short intro to each project: your role, the goal and the impact • Show your process: sketches, iterations, what you learned • Don’t rely on live links, give us your version of the story Your portfolio should make it easy to see not just what you made but how you think.

I have reviewed 100+ portfolio projects. If you want employers to hire you even without experience, Make sure your project does these 𝟲 things. A great portfolio isn’t just a collection of skills It’s a showcase of how you solve real problems. This is what makes a portfolio project stand out: => 𝗜𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 Every strong project follows a simple arc: Problem → Solution → Impact. Make it clear what challenge you tackled, how you solved it, and the results. => 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 The best projects come from real-world problems. Current events: Can you analyze a trending issue? (e.g., election results, COVID trends, mask effectiveness) Daily annoyances: What problem do you wish someone would solve? Do it yourself. => 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 Good projects highlight your decision-making and problem-solving. Where did you pivot? What obstacles did you overcome? Show your process. => 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 The best projects happen where interest meets impact. Find a topic you enjoy, just make sure it’s valuable to potential employers. => 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 A great project saves you time in interviews. If it’s well-structured, you’ll only need to explain the context once. The results will do the rest. => 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 (𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘁𝘀/𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀) Go beyond basic analysis and build interactive dashboards (Tableau, Power BI, Streamlit). Let your audience explore the data. A good portfolio project isn’t just technical It proves you can solve meaningful problems. Follow me, Jaret André to land the job you want 10x faster.

📂 Building a Hardware Engineering Portfolio That Opens Doors Most projects you're doing in industry is under strict NDA. So sometimes we're not sure if we can share our work for jobs. This common challenge keeps many talented engineers from demonstrating their true capabilities. Especially if they can get nervous and overtalk or go blank in interviews. Three approaches I recommend to my clients: 1. Create demonstrative projects specifically for your portfolio 2. Contribute to open-source hardware projects 3. Document your problem-solving approach, not just outcomes My one-on-one client "Jason" went from being overlooked to fielding two offers within weeks of each other after creating just two portfolio projects that showcased his DFx and high-speed constraints expertise. What's been your most effective way to demonstrate your skills beyond a resume? #EngineeringPortfolio #CareerAdvancement #OpenSourceHardware

Engineers aiming for senior embedded roles need more than technical skill: they need to clearly demonstrate how they’ve grown. That means showing not just what you’ve learned, but how you’ve applied it to real-world challenges. A well-documented project portfolio that highlights complexity, decision-making, and tradeoffs is one of the most effective ways to signal senior-level thinking. Projects that include OTA updates, edge AI inference, or real-time RTOS scheduling can showcase the kind of systems-level understanding that hiring managers are looking for. Certifications can help too, especially when they’re paired with hands-on work. Employers increasingly look for intentional learning paths, like IoT or TinyML coursework combined with GitHub projects that demonstrate implementation. Framing your learning as a story with clear challenges, actions, and results can help managers and interviewers connect your upskilling with actual impact, whether that’s performance gains, toolchain improvements, or new internal initiatives. Visibility is key. Sharing your work on LinkedIn, in internal knowledge bases, or during team syncs makes your growth hard to ignore. It’s not about chasing credentials; it’s about owning your journey and making a strong case for leadership based on what you’ve actually built. You can read my full blog post here: https://lnkd.in/gQ-hzDN8

Building a Tech Portfolio That Gets You Hired 🔥📂 I just got off an interview where I talked about why your tech portfolio might be holding you back. Let’s fix that. Here’s the thing: your portfolio isn’t just a gallery, it’s a pitch deck for your dream job. And the smartest way to pitch? Reverse-engineer it. If you want to work at Airbnb, don’t just tell them you love travel, build something that proves it. Example: An app that integrates Pinterest with Airbnb so users can book homes that match the vibe of their dream vacation boards. Now you’re not just showing skills, you’re showing alignment with their mission. This doesn’t just make you attractive to Airbnb, it makes you attractive to any product in the travel, experience, or lifestyle space. Here’s your roadmap: ✅ Pick a company or industry you love. ✅ Study what they’re doing well. ✅ Find gaps or opportunities. ✅ Build projects that support their mission. Do this 2-4 times across different verticals—streaming, social media, fintech, you name it. Your portfolio should feel intentional, not random. Organize it like a story. (More on that tomorrow.) Been staying at Airbnb a lot lately, so they were on my mind. 👀 Would you try this approach? Drop your thoughts below. #TechCareers #PortfolioTips #UXDesign #SoftwareEngineering ———————————————————————————————————————— 🙋🏾♀️ Hi, I’m Naya! ✨ I share career advice for new and aspiring tech professionals 👩🏾💻 Get my free 20-page tech career transition guide: https://lnkd.in/geu6JgNr 📲 Follow for more real talk from inside tech

🚀 Unlocking Interview Opportunities: The Power of a Strong Project Portfolio : During my recent job search, I discovered a game-changing strategy that significantly boosted my chances of landing interviews with top tech companies. The secret? Building an impressive portfolio of substantial projects that go beyond simple tutorials. Here’s what made the difference: 1. Depth over Breadth: Instead of numerous small projects, I focused on creating significant, in-depth projects that showcase real-world problem-solving skills. 2. Cutting-Edge Focus: My projects demonstrate expertise in Generative AI and advanced Software Engineering concepts, aligning with industry trends. 3. GitHub as a Powerful Tool: My GitHub repository (https://lnkd.in/eniMxVbd) became a compelling showcase of my capabilities, catching recruiters’ attention. Key projects that stood out: • Cli Gen: Leveraging LLMs for automated test case generation • Protein Structure Explorer: Combining web development with AI for scientific visualization • LLM Research Implementation: Collaborative cutting-edge language model research • GenoQuery: Innovative NLP-to-SQL solution for genomic data analysis This approach led to interview opportunities with industry giants like Google, Apple, Amazon, Meta, Salesforce, Intuit, Docusign, Microsoft, and more. A huge shoutout to Professor Nik Bear Brown for constantly pushing students to build impressive projects to boost their portfolios. Your guidance has been invaluable for students and graduates alike. To my network: How have you leveraged projects to enhance your professional profile? What’s your take on the importance of substantial portfolio pieces in today’s tech landscape? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences. Check out my GitHub for project details, and let’s discuss strategies for standing out in the competitive tech job market! #TechPortfolio #ProjectBasedLearning #SoftwareEngineering #GenerativeAI #CareerGrowth

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐨 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫? 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐈𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐉𝐨𝐛 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬: A recruiter is looking at two resumes for a data analyst position. Both candidates have similar skills and experience, but one has a portfolio filled with real-world projects, detailed explanations, and tangible results. Which candidate stands out? When I was starting, I didn’t have a portfolio. I quickly realized that without it, I was missing a crucial opportunity to showcase my work. A strong portfolio isn’t just a collection of projects, it’s your story. It demonstrates how you think, solve problems, and make an impact. Here’s how to build a portfolio that truly shines: 1️⃣ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤: Focus on quality over quantity. Pick 3-5 projects that highlight your skills and have clear, measurable results. Whether it’s a model that improved decisions or a dashboard with impactful insights, each project should tell a story. 2️⃣ 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭: Don’t just list what you did, tell why it mattered. What problem were you solving? What was your approach? How did your solution benefit the business or users? This context helps employers see the value you bring. 3️⃣ 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬: Employers want to know how you think. Detail the steps you took, the tools you used, and any challenges you faced. Did you clean a messy dataset? Choose a specific algorithm? Showing your process sets you apart from others. 4️⃣ 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐈𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞: Make sure your portfolio is easy to navigate. Use a simple layout, and clear headings, and ensure all links work. If it’s a website, make sure it’s mobile-friendly. The easier it is to explore, the more likely it is to impress. Your portfolio is more than just an add-on to your resume, it’s a reflection of your skills, creativity, and attention to detail. In a competitive job market, it could be the difference between landing an interview and being overlooked. If you don’t have a portfolio yet, start building one today. If you have one, review it, does it showcase your best work? If you need feedback or help getting started, I’m here to support you. Found this helpful? Consider re-sharing 🔁 with your network. Follow Mohammed Wasim for more tips, success stories of international students, and data opportunities in US!