Building a Rockstar Portfolio

February 2017

http://bit.ly/tf-rockstar-portfolio

About me

• Jasjit Singh

• Self-taught developer

• Worked in finance & tech

• Co-Founder Hotspot

• Thinkful General Manager

About us

Thinkful prepares students for web development & data science jobs with 1-on-1 mentorship programs

What’s your goal?

• I’m not a developer, but looking to transition

• I’m a developer but don’t have a portfolio

• I have a portfolio but I want to improve it

Agenda for tonight

• Portfolio in tech — an overview

• Elements of a great portfolio

• Discussion with Peter Kim

How to break into tech?

• Learn the skills

• Build a portfolio of high quality work

• Develop a relevant network

• Prep for technical interviews

The good news

By 2020, there will be 1.4M computer science jobs available and only 400,000 computer science grads with the skills to apply for those jobs

- Bureau of Labor Statistics

Portfolios level the playing field

Hiring in tech is more based on skills, not credentials. A great portfolio showcases those skills and can get you an interview.

Quick hiring stats

• 80% of job openings are never advertised

• 120 average applicants per job posted

• 20% get an interview

• 56% of hiring managers are “more impressed” with personal websites

• Only 7% of job seekers have a personal website

*https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/26/why-every-job-seeker-should-have-a-personal-website-and-what-it-should-include/#578fbf6f119e

Assembling a portfolio

• What is your goal?

• Who is your audience?

• What should I include?

A tech portfolio includes…

• Social media presence

• Github profile

• Personal webpage

Managing your search results

• Google yourself (incognito)

• Manage anything harmful (i.e. politics, pictures, etc)

• Ensure search returns LinkedIn, social media, projects

LinkedIn

• Strong LinkedIn profile is essential

• List projects, skills, and endorsements

• Include links to portfolio & Github

• Add technologies you’re familiar with

• Each work item should include 2-3 sentences

• Add summary

• Do as I say, not as I do!

Examples

Twitter (optional)

• Popular in tech community

• If active, make sure to clean up tweets

• If no, just basic presence is fine describing as developer with link to LinkedIn

A tech portfolio includes…

• Social media presence

• Github profile

• Personal webpage

Github

Github is a git-based cloud repository — it’s the standard way developers to store and share their code

Github

Github can tell employers more about your abilities than a resume. For developers, your Github is your resume.

Things employers consider

• Project quality

• Documentation

• Commit history (start, frequency, substance)

• Open source contributions

General tips for Github

• Add personal page URL and email to public profile

• Add one-sentence description for each repository

• Push most impressive projects to top by committing to them

• Make sure code is well documented & well-structured

• Add tests to code when possible

• Get feedback

Example

https://github.com/NOUX-NOVA

Readme files

The Readme file can help employers understand more about your project in a glance. It is a marketing opportunity.

Tips for Readme

• Clearly describe what project accomplishes

• Lists installation instructions

• Provides usage examples

• Describe process / approach

• Link to live site (if possible)

Readme example (pt 1)https://github.com/NOUX-NOVA

Readme example (pt 2)

Readme example (pt 3)

Ways to make open source contributions

• Report a bug

• Refactor code

• Improve a Readme

• Contribute to documentation

• Close an issue

• Add a feature

A tech portfolio includes…

• Social media presence

• Github profile

• Personal webpage

Personal website

Need to have

• Full name

• Contact info

• Current location

• Description of skills

• Scannable list of projects

• Call to action

Good to have

• Summary of you

• Lots of links (Github, LinkedIn, etc)

• Individual page for each project

• Splash of personality

Example

https://noux-nova.github.io/portfolio/

Example

General tips

• Communicate who you are & your capabilities

• Don’t go crazy on visuals (unless you’re a designer)

• Check sites like onepagelove.com for “inspiration”

• Keep it simple — bells & whistles are distracting for everyone

Peter Kim Interview

• Recent Thinkful graduate

• Background in SEO

• Looking for career in front-end web development

More about Thinkful

• Anyone who’s committed can learn to code

• 1-on-1 mentorship is the best way to learn

• Flexibility matters — learn anywhere, anytime

• We only make money when you get a job

Our Program

You’ll learn concepts, practice with drills, and build capstone projects for your own portfolio — all guided by a personal mentor

Our Mentors

Mentors have, on average, 10+ years of experience

Our Results

Job Titles after GraduationMonths until Employed

Special Prep Course Offer

• Three-week program, includes six mentor sessions

• Covers HTML/CSS, Javascript, jQuery, Responsive Design

• Option to continue into web development bootcamp

• Prep course costs $500 (can apply to cost of full bootcamp)

• Talk to me (or email me) about special offer

October 2015

Questions? jas@thinkful.com

schedule a call through thinkful.com