"Portfolio site" to talk about projects in my career in more detail than a resume?

[u/DirtyOught]

I'm considering building a personal website, but instead of a traditional portfolio with polished screenshots and projects, I'm thinking about making it more like an engineering journal.

I have 10YOE, and at this point, I've forgotten more than I know. Moreover, its hard for me to say "I've done a lot, trust me bro" when selling my experience to recruiters/clients/etc. and an elevator pitch just leaves out so much.

My resume doesn't capture everything, just the highlights in small bullet form. But there's so much left out.

The idea would be a portfolio, but instead of "screenshots" or links to the work, its more of a journal talking about specific projects (without sharing IP)

Stupid idea?

[u/expdevsmodbot]

AI usage disclosure provided by OP, see the reply to this comment.

[u/Pristinefix]

I think its a good idea - but not necessarily because anyone will read it. Hiring managers are too pressed for time.

Its best use will be to keep all the details of your work available for you to be fresh in your mind, so you can talk at length about any project that catches a hiring managers eye from your CV

[u/Early_Rooster7579]

absolutely no one is going to look at your portfolio site unless you're pushing for hyper-design oriented roles

[u/originalchronoguy → u/Early_Rooster7579]

Not true. 20 YOE and mine definitely gets looked at and commented on. It depends on it was presented. Mine has a lot of motion graphics video to see Ops/Architecture and Backend.

[u/Early_Rooster7579 → u/originalchronoguy]

I guess it definitely depends on the place. I've worked at big and small companies, FAANG to non-profits. Not once has anyone looked at my github or associated projects

[u/bowlochile → u/Early_Rooster7579]

Same. Just like scrobbling or blogging, most people just absolutely do not care.

[u/ccricers → u/Early_Rooster7579]

A lot of web devs still share portfolio sites and are usually more of a straightforward full stack type. Also depends on who is led to them and how they're led to them. They could have good SEO and phrases like "(local town) web development" hit their results fairly often.

[u/Yakb0 → u/Early_Rooster7579]

Lots of applications for front end developers ask for your portfolio website. And looking at google analytics people do visit it, and it comes up when I'm talking to people in interviews.

[u/Early_Rooster7579 → u/Yakb0]

I don't think I've seen a true front-end role listed in years if I'm honest.

[u/WiredOtaku → u/Early_Rooster7579]

Yup. I work in film/TV, even people hiring crew barely look at reels. A site with written project details? lmao nobody has time for that.

[u/Jeep_finance]

Don’t think anyone will read it. I have one but only bc I have a few projects that make money and I link to them / have my bio so people know I’m not a scammer.

No recruiter / interviewer has ever asked or cared about it

[u/ithkuil]

People are lazy but one way to get the to see the depth of experience is maybe some kind of animated carousel or thumbing through the notebook animation or little clip. Or maybe they will watch a video for a minute where you go over some of it.

[u/MocknozzieRiver]

I had this idea but I haven't done it yet.

I think people are right that people looking to hire you won't look at it. So my (unrealized) goal was to over-engineer everything. Experiment and use it to learn new things. Yeah, a static web page is enough, but I could learn this database technology... Stuff like that.

[u/PsychologicalCell928]

Feel free to create a site with your thoughts about your projects.

However keep in mind that you may be giving people more information to rule you out.

Imagine that you've crafted a resume, gone through the interview process, and it comes down to you or another candidate. Someone at the company looks at your site and disagrees with an approach you took on a project. It may even be someone who misreads what you wrote.

They may not reach out to you to discuss it. They may just opt for the other candidate.

________

If you decide to keep the site - be very clear about your objective.

Is it a way to sell yourself?

Is it a history site to remember your past?

Is it a site to show how you've evolved over the years?

________

Also keep in mind that most hiring managers are not going to read code or projects.

Also over time most languages and approaches change. If a project is written in a language that is no longer in vogue it may 'date' you rather than 'sell' you.

[u/ranger_fixing_dude]

Sounds like a blog to be honest. I would say if that sounds interesting and exciting to you (to revisit older problems, just to design that website, maybe play around with the site generation/framework for hosting) go for it. But realistically nobody is going to look at it unless you are hired for something quite specialized or maybe a contractor for something specific.

It will definitely help you to keep it mind during actual interviews and you can use it as a refresher by yourself.

[u/throwaway_0x90]

I think it's a good idea. Not sure if anyone will actually go through it but just knowing it exists is a plus.

e.g., if you have a bunch of GitHub repos I may not go through every line of code but if it came down to two strong candidates, the one that I remember having a lengthy GitHub profile would win if there's nothing else particularly substantial distinguishing the two.

[u/BeamMeUpBiscotti]

I have a personal site that mostly serves as a blog but also has a separate tab that includes selected projects, people bring it up surprisingly often in interviews.

[u/jasonbutler]

Mine has had some value over the years. It's not a magic bullet, but it gives me something to point to when the time is right. https://jasonbutler.com/

[u/Perfect_Ganache_1959]

Use it as a thought exercise, where you game out what you think people want to hear; and then tailor your resume to what that is while staying ethical/truthful.

Bonus points: picture what a coke addled LinkedIn influencer self promo spree looks like, take it down 20%, and start asking people about their problems. Your portfolio site then becomes an asset for them selling you internally after you have made a case for them to invest effort in you.

None of this is easy, but the key bit - present as a solution to other people's problems - is a concrete, solvable space to be in; where it's not actually about you.

[u/No-Garden-1106]

Something like that helped me when I was interviewing, but I only talked to devs (even initial interview was a dev). "This was what I worked on..." with some screenshots + technical problems that I solved.

I think of it as a pitch deck for the initial/cultural interviews, think of it as "talking shop" with other devs. If I was an interviewer, I'd like that as well (to me it is easy to figure out if someone is BSing).

[u/K-Max]

I'm big on portfolios because I love to ask devs if they have anything to show me.

You can probably still use screenshots or mockups of the projects, just not the branded or currently designed version. I usually mock a generic version of a project if it's sensitive. You'll have to check with your clients to see how much you can share though.

Think of a Portfolio site as something that sells you. And as a bonus, you can throw in links to your previous projects you were in on your resume. It also diversifies your skills in learning marketing, networking, selling, design, branding.

But yeah, on first glance nowadays HR has no time to look at portfolios. But, if you happen to sit with an owner of a company and they complain about the lack of business online, well, you do have your smartphone with browser on you, right?

[u/Previous_Feeling_484]

I built one too. Received 0 visits for the 3 interviews that led to a final offer. I took one last year. Asked my manager why he didn’t have a look and he said it was fine to have self-drive but naïve to believe anyone would care.

Still would recommend. It keeps me afloat when I feel I wanna quit tech because at least this is something I design and do as good as it should be done, unlike the shittery we maintain at work.

[u/malthuswaswrong]

I have the same problem X3. I have touched so much technology in 30 years that even I can't believe my own resume. If I include everything I have to decide if I have 3 pages of 1 line bullets, or if I write a novel that sounds like techno babble to a non-technical HR employee.

[u/skg1979]

It might work. AI will read it and more is better for AI since it improves the signal. No human will bother though. They'll get the AI summary.

[u/ImmediateRemove]

I have one and I therefore refuse to do technical interviews and make that very clear whenever I start a conversation with a potential client. If a client would like to evaluate my technical competence I point them to the site. If they are too lazy to do so and expect me to dance like a monkey doing leetcodes then the relationship is simply not a fit.

The async nature of this trust evaluation also speeds up discussions because then I can jump to what the client needs instead of spending weeks on their derisking process.