I’m a big fan of portfolios.
To prove it, here’s a clip of one that I’ve used.
I put this through about a dozen iterations and sourced inspiration from little details that I’ve seen in many other portfolios.
Having a portfolio has helped me stand out in the data job hunt big time.
And because of that, I’m an advocate for them.
Today, I want to review 7 elements that I believe make a great portfolio.
1. Links to your other socials and channels
Treat your portfolio as a landing page. It should act as your home base and host your best work, but it should also be directory to your other channels and the rest of your work.
2. A "View Resume" link for streamlining
I achieve this through creating a link to my resume in Google Drive. If someone is finding your portfolio through your LinkedIn, this is a great way for them to see your resume if they don’t already have it.
3. A value-focused "About Me" section
In the job hunt, you’re selling yourself, and your portfolio should operate almost like a sales page. Keep information related to yourself value-focused. Avoid fluff.
4. An easy-to-read skills section
I like to include images to help make this section pop. Include technical skills but leave room for “soft skills” as well.
5. 3-5 projects with write-ups
To me, this is the ideal. Too many projects becomes exhaustive. Too few projects isn’t enough to portray your expertise. Make sure these projects cover your full array of skills to the best of your ability.
6. Professional certifications
Online courses are great, but I wouldn’t put those certificates in your resume and portfolio, (LinkedIn is a better place for those). Reserve this space for proprietary, exam-based certifications like the Tableau Desktop Specialist cert of the Microsoft PL-300 for Power BI.
7. A "Contact Me" form
If we’re approaching your portfolio from a marketing perspective, you want to make it as easy as possible for potential employers to get in touch with you. This is why we link our socials and email, but a contact form is a nice added touch.
The portfolio I previewed above was built in Carrd.
It’s always been one of my favorite platforms for creating landing page style portfolios.
And it’s completely free.
If you’re interested in building something like what I made above, I put together step-by-step walkthrough on how to do it that I posted to YouTube. Check it out here.
That’s it for this week.
See you next time ✌️