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Updating Your Portfolio

Portfolio Essentials Review​

This week you'll spend time on your portfolio so it reflects the progress you've made the past few weeks.

As a reminder, here are the topics we covered in our the first lesson on building your portfolio:

  • Remember your purpose and audience. Your portfolio communicates your experience to employers, networking contacts, potential clients, and collaborators. A quality portfolio leaves a positive impression that may improve your professional opportunities. Put your best foot forward!
  • Include polished content. Every portfolio needs basic elements to be effective in communicating your experience. Include an introduction with your professional background, skills, and goals. It's important to give viewers a way to contact you so list your GitHub, LinkedIn, email, and phone number. To highlight your technical skills showcase several of your best projects. Provide a description and links to GitHub and the live site for each project. The last required piece is a downloadable PDF of your current resume.
  • Refine your design. A well-designed portfolio will elevate and complement your content. Customize your domain and be consistent in design choices throughout the website. Make sure your portfolio is clean and professional. Use responsive design so your portfolio is easy to navigate on any device. If design is difficult for you, take advantage of a website builder like Wix or Wordpress. Always check your grammar, spelling, and readability. Tools like Hemingway, Grammarly, and Google Docs are a good place to start.

For a more detailed review, read the first lesson on building your portfolio here.

Updating Your Portfolio​

Now that you're further in your coursework, expand on more of the portfolio basics above.

Take time to update your portfolio content including your projects. This is an opportunity to add new projects that show off your skills. Convey the breadth of your experience by highlighting different languages and techniques. For any new project you include, write up a description and have a well-fleshed-out README. Other things to review are your contact information and introduction. You've created a LinkedIn profile and thought about how to tell your story, so highlight that.

Next, clean up your site design as needed–you may even choose to integrate new features. Proofread for grammar, spelling, and consistency after making any updates. Start thinking about elements beyond the essentials to include in your portfolio.

If you don't feel like your portfolio is ready to share, that's okay. We'll revisit your portfolio one more time while you're at Epicodus. We'll also explore personal branding during that portfolio update. Beyond that, you'll also refine and polish your portfolio on your own as your experience grows.