😫 Looking for a job or a job looking for you? 😏

It's been a month since I started my journey as a web developer. I'm still learning a lot of new stuff and I practise almost everyday. It's good to learn from everyone and now I think I'm ready to start sharing with you part of what I've learnt.

Since the very first moment I started learning, I noticed the tech community was divided into two main groups: the ones who have lots of opportunities, and the ones who are always struggling to get a job/project. I started to wonder why this is happening.

And I realized it's a matter of mindset. But not just mindset. Mindset by itself serves nothing. It's about the stuff you do. It's about how people thinks of you.

Remember this: Nobody talks about the things they don't have in mind.

Read it again: Nobody talks about the things they don't have in mind.

So. It doesn't matter if you are super ultra really good at coding. If few people knows about it, then you're likely to be always looking for a job.

Well, let me tell you something. Instead of looking for a job, you could have that job looking for you. How is it possible? By working on your personal brand.

I'm not going to talk about your personal brand (not in this post, although you should Google it if you're interested). I'm going to talk about a particular element of your personal brand: your portfolio.

✅ Increasing your odds

Think about this: What if I recommended you to invest in cryptocurrencies? What if I told you to use Bitso instead of Binance? It doesn't matter which one you choose. What matters is why you choose it. Here are a few things you might do before you make your final decision:

1. Look for it into Google.
2. Look for user reviews.
3. Look for comparisons between the two platforms.
4. Look for pros and cons.
5. Look for specific features you need/want.

Whichever you choose. You'll make sure you choose what serves you best. But what would happen if, let's say, you cannot find Bitso on Google? or what if they don't have reviews to show? or what if you cannot find the answers to your questions on their page?

All of that influence your decision.

And that's pretty much the same that happens when you're applying for a job.

Most of the times, recruiters will choose the candidates that show best their projects/portfolio. Because you're not the only one applying for that job. It is easier for them to get a quick glance at your portfolio than waiting for a response from you or trusting what you tell them without any proof.

Now you understand what I mean?

Creating a portfolio gives recruiters the opportunity to get to know what you are capable of. And they can take the time needed to do so.

You can think this is unfair. You can say things like "No, recruiters shouldn't ask for a portfolio in order to hire someone". And you're right. They shouldn't. But if you don't do a portfolio, someone else will. And guess what? That's marketing. That's sales. The one who has a better marketing, the one who can sell themselves better, is the one who will get the job.

And having a portfolio increases your value in the market. A lot.

I hope you're convinced to create a portfolio by now.

So, this is the question: How to create a portfolio? Let me answer that in the following lines.

🤓 🖥 Creating your portfolio.

Did I tell you I started learning to code a month ago? Yup. That's me. I don't have the knowledge to create a website from scratch. Not a complex one. But I can do some pretty cool basic stuff. And I can show that to the world.

But how am I supposed to show that stuff to recruiters?

🤔 💡 Think like a recruiter

First, you must know that recruiters are not always technical experts. That's specially true in Latin America.

In the beginning you are in this level where recruiters are from Human Resources department. And most of the time they have no idea of what Node.js (React, Python, decorators, POO, etc..) is. Let's say this is the first filter.

Secondly, if you succeed in the first filter, you might now encounter a technical expert. And this is where there is usually a knowledge assessment. But before the assessment, this technical expert might (surely will) have a glance at your portfolio. This is the second filter.

You cannot show your portfolio the same way in both filters.

In the first filter you may want to show an overview of each of your projects. No technical aspects, but a mention of the technologies/skills implemented in those projects. I suggest answering the following questions:

1. What is the project about?
2. How does it work?
3. Who was it made for?
4. Which technologies/skills did you use?
5. Links to your Github / Gitlab repositories.
6. Link to live project (if possible)

I suggest you have a Youtube channel or a blog for this. The format you should use is the very same you would use to promote an app or a product. People don't care about the maths and coding behind it. They just care about its main features and how this solve their problems (recruiting someone).

In the second filter, the most important question is the following one:

1. How did you do it?

You can be a little bit technical here. It's better if you make tutorials teaching how to do some of the stuff you implemented in that project. Besides, you have to comment your code in your public repositories.

I know some projects are private. And you don't need to exhibit that code to the public. But you can take some sections of it and teach people how to do it. You just need to modify some stuff and use your imagination. It's not that hard.

🥴 How do I get projects if nobody hires me to begin with?

I know I know. I always see people tweeting the same stuff once and again.

The answer is: You have lack of imagination.

Doing a personal project is free. And if you're already experienced enough, you have no excuses.

Look at this portfolio (Spanish): https://midiaenunosminutos.com/

It is pretty basic and it might not have an amazing design. But it's better than nothing. You can always improve it when you learn something new.

Besides, there are websites where you can participate in challenges. For example, if you are a frontend developer, you can use Frontend Mentor.

There are multiple sites. You just have to look for them. And if you cannot do that, wel... maybe you shouldn't apply for that job. Because we are talking about proactivity here. And that's the first thing you need. Even before coding.

😎 I have projects, what platform should I use to show them?

Short answer: A personal website.

You can have multiple profiles in different platforms, but it's better if you get all together into one place. That should be www.yourname.com

Why?

Firstly, because you want people to know all the places where they can find you: Youtube, Github, Medium, Hashnode, etc. You can use direct links on your website.

Secondly, it is easier to navigate through your stuff if it is all in one place. For example, I can describe a project, show pictures of it, embed a video and show some code or links of interest. All in the same page. That's better than having people opening several tabs for each platform.

Mine is www.miguelhernandezmx.com. By the time I'm writing this, my site is still under construction.

I'm using Wordpress, but eventually, when I improve my skills, I'll switch to one made from scratch.

🙉 Conclusions

• Having a portfolio will give you a clear advantage over those who doesn't have one.
• Design your portfolio according to the different profiles of people you want to show it to.
• Even if you've just started your career, you can always have personal projects to show in your portfolio.
• Use different platforms like Youtube, Github, etc, but get all together into one place: your personal website.

PS. I'm practising my English. Let me know if something is not clear and how I can improve it. 🌽🇲🇽