When you are either eyeing a job you really like, or you are a junior, ready to start boosting your professional career, you need something to show off to your recruiters. Having a great portfolio can do wonders when it comes to finding a job and nailing an interview for a couple of reasons:
- It shows your skills and experience, which will help them make a clear picture of you as a professional
- It will give you a starting point to talk about during the interview
- It will show your dedication and motivation
- It will show your will to improve and learn new things
However, there are various types of projects that can really help you to get an interview and show your skills in the best possible way. Some of the most important characteristics to look for in the projects you choose have to be:
- An interesting project that will catch the eye of the recruiter
- A realistic one too - that can be used in real life
- Small, and not too complicated
- But at the same time expandable!
Let's test your knowledge. Click the correct answer from the options.
Which properties a good programming project portfolio should have?
Click the option that best answers the question.
- Interesting
- Small
- Realistic
- All of the above
Those projects that you send as a portfolio have to include:
- A project showing that you know how to use basic CRUD operations
- That you know how to use the most essential functionalities of a certain framework (usually the one you will be working in the job you are applying for)
- An app that works on different platforms (mobile/web/desktop)
- Apps that use third party APIs or libraries
- An app that is already deployed somewhere and working
- Apps that use file I/O
Here are some of the best examples for applications to use in your interview portfolio:
A blog or a forum-like web app
An application which implements content posting and social interaction, you can show your abilities to develop programs that make the basic CRUD operations, are served on a web server, and also have some good UI/UX design. You can also add some more advanced things like user authentication, search, caching etc.
Skills you can show: Database, HTTP server, HTML/CSS
Expansion options: User login, frontend editing, build an API, search, link analysis
An e-commerce app
An E-Commerce application is also one of the most basic scholar examples of a portfolio app, but a good one to show your skills. Here you can show your dynamic content generating skills, as well as UI/UX design and some more complicated flows. You can even integrate a real-life payment solution, like for example PayPal, Payoneer, Stripe etc.
Skills you can show: Database, HTTP server, HTML/CSS, Dynamic content building
Expansion options: User login, payment integration, e-mail sending
Let's test your knowledge. Is this statement true or false?
You should include all types of projects in your resume, no matter if related to the job you are applying for. True or False?
Press true if you believe the statement is correct, or false otherwise.
Web crawling app
A web crawler is an interesting project, which can show your web skills, and also shows that you are interested in doing something more than just some basic applications. So you can do one of two things: you can build a website that uses the scraped information for some purpose or you can automate the scraping program to do something with that information on its own (for example, scraping the news and posting the top 3 articles on your social media feed).
Skills you can show: automation, web development, web scraping, database management
An app that integrates third party APIs
An app that integrates third-party APIs shows that you have extended knowledge in using other tools to achieve a bigger goal. For example, you can try with Google APIs - they are easy to use and offer free options to try out. You can integrate maps, places search, or even chat, Gmail, etc.
Skills you can show: API access, research, finding tools that can improve and make your solution more advanced
Bots
Bots are always fun to play with, and even more, fun to develop. You can use some existing solutions to implement your own bot, like for example Twilio. Twilio is an API for text messages and phone calls. Make a bot you can call that will tell a joke.
Skills you can show: API access, innovation for fun projects
Expansion options: Connect it to TODO list, Connect to GitHub Notifier, Connect to Weather App
Image or pdf editor
You can create some basic image editor, that will do something like meme generating, and, for example, will put text on an image the user uploads. Or if you want something more advanced you can programmatically edit the text in a pdf file the user uploads. This will show you know how to work with files and programmatically modify them.
Skills you can show: Graphics, file I/O
Expansion options: Preview, GUI, Text parsing
Progressive Web Applications
Progressive Web Apps (PWA) are front-end applications that can be used natively on many platforms, including installing them from the browser on a mobile device. This type of app can show your interest and knowledge in multi-platform apps, and while developing one, you will surely learn something new!
Skills you can show: Multi-platform development
Games
Developing a certain type of game can show different skills you possess, and make your recruiter interested in them. For example, depending on the job description, you can choose a game where you will implement your knowledge in graphics, artificial intelligence, web development, mobile apps, or even desktop apps. You can show your design skills, problem-solving skills, and also your innovation skills.
Skills you can show: Various skills, depending on the job description you are applying for.
Build your intuition. Click the correct answer from the options.
When developing a game, what skill is most important to show?
Click the option that best answers the question.
- Graphics
- AI
- Skills relevant to the job
Try this exercise. Is this statement true or false?
Progressive Web applications can be installed on a mobile device. True or False?
Press true if you believe the statement is correct, or false otherwise.
One Pager Cheat Sheet
- Crafting an awesome
programming portfoliowith interesting, realistic, small but expandable projects can help you to get an interview and show your skills to the recruiters. - A good programming project portfolio should be interesting, realistic, small and expandable, allowing the recruiter to evaluate the practicality of the project, while also showcasing the programmer's improvement.
- Creating a portfolio for a job application should include projects that demonstrate the ability to use basic CRUD operations, essential functionalities of a framework, different platforms, third party APIs/libraries, already deployed applications and file I/O; such as building a blog or a forum-like web app or an e-commerce application.
- Including a variety of unrelated projects on your resume is important as it shows employers your
technical skills,well-roundedness, andability to think outside the box. - Crafting a creative and unique app that demonstrates various technical, programming, and design skills can be a great way to show off your abilities to potential employers.
- Demonstrating your relevant skills through game development is a great way to show employers that you possess the necessary experience for the job.
- Progressive web applications (PWAs) enable web-based applications to be installed on a mobile device like a native app, with access to hardware and platform features, but do not require the device to download or install code from an app store, making them easier and faster to create and distribute than native apps.
