Portfolio Tetraforce
Portfolio Tetraforce
I have had many people who are early in their dev career reach out to me asking what they should be doing. There are lots of people coming out of bootcamps and they are looking for advice on how to land their first job. I decided to write this post to answer this question. I think that the following is the absolute best thing you could do to improve your attractiveness as an employee and a prospective employee.
Intro
You should have what I wanted to call portfolio projects. A quick google search shows that there is already bland advice out there about portfolio projects. So I am going to call these the Portfolio Tetraforce. You will see why in a bit, for now you need to know that all different projects in your tetraforce provide the following benefits.
You can show the source code
You show that you can run every part of the development process
You pick the topic so it will be something you are passionate about and your energy will be high as a result
You create a scenario where you are on your turf so you get to set the tone of the interview
Those are some pretty good benefits but each type of project also gives its own unique benefits. I have ordered them by how impactful they are but consequently they are inversely ordered on how easy they are. Here are the 3 types:
Paid for Service
Open Source
Fun adaptable side project
Paid Service
A paid for service is something you sell. This could be an app, an extension or even a full blown SaaS service. This is incredibly rare and is thus very impactful if you are interviewing at a new company. It shows that you can do the following:
You can produce something of value
You have both technical and business chops
You can support production code
Maintaining a paid for service is very time consuming so pick your projects carefully. Not only does this become another income stream but it also is a working code base that you have complete freedom to show to potential employers. So you have lots of ways to show value.
Open Source
Open Source projects are less impactful than paid services but still show a lot of value. More importantly it shows off different skills. The first objection to someone who can build their own solutions will be, “Sure, but can they work on a team.” That is when you hit them with the Open Source Project. Working or leading and open source project shows the following:
Team collaboration
Adherence to code standards
Bug prioritization
With an open source project your focus is less on what the code does as on working with or leading a distributed team. Getting involved in an open source project will show that you are not a coding cowboy but can work with others to get the job done.
Fun Side Project
The final type of project you should have is a fun adaptable side project. This could be anything from a funny game to a quirky tool. The key here is to make sure it is adaptable to the tech stack of the company you are interviewing with. This will show that you can learn quickly and also show off your proof of concept skills. It is also important to show that you can make it releasable, so show them it running in production. This will prove the following skills:
Adaptable to tech
Ability to build a proof of concept
A sense of humor
Summary
Having a portfolio project is not mandatory, but it can really help you stand out when applying for your first job in the tech world. It shows potential employers that you can create something of value, you have technical and business skills, have collaborated with a team and have the ability to learn quickly.
Moreover, you can showcase the code, show that you understand the development cycle and demonstrate your passion for tech. A portfolio project will put the interview on your turf and create a great first impression.
Each one of these projects show different yet objective skillsets. Because of that I call the combination of the three the portfolio tetraforce. Once they are brought together they make a truly powerful interview tool.