How to Create a Web Dev Portfolio That Both HR and Other Developers Will Love, with Josh Comeau

07/19/22 • 44 min

🎙 About the episode

Meet Josh W. Comeau 🇨🇦! Josh is a developer, indie hacker, educator, and author. He worked in some companies you might have heard of (including, but not limited to, DigitalOcean, Gatsby, and Khan Academy). He also wrote a book on how to build an effective web dev portfolio. In this episode, we're answering that and many other questions! Spoiler alert: all the advice is actionable.

You'll learn why you need to have a portfolio, how to make one, and is there a formula that works. Josh will teach you how to steal a design for your portfolio website and not get caught and how to develop an eye for design in the long run. Plus: why everybody needs junior developers and how to create an exciting portfolio project even if you don't have any niche interests to base them on. Josh and Alex also discuss handy tools you can use, writing cover letters, and hiring biases in the industry.

🔗 Connect with Josh

⏰ Timestamps

Josh's trajectory from development to education (01:09)
Why Josh wrote a book on web developer portfolios (02:12)
Don't put skill bars on your website! What do they even mean?! (04:40)
Who should you cater your portfolio to, and how to do it? There are two main target audiences. (06:16)
How does a portfolio compare to a LinkedIn profile or a resume? (10:53)
Why everybody needs to hire juniors (12:41)
Can you get away with not having a portfolio? (14:40)
What to do if you're a developer but not good at design? (16:00)
Why minimal design could be better (21:53)
Can you use a template? (23:45)
What should you put on your portfolio website (25:46)
How to present your projects (29:49)
How to choose your projects... and write about them (31:10)
How to write a good cover letter (34:58)
How to approach looking for a job (39:07)
Hiring biases in the industry (40:56)

🧰 Resources mentioned

Josh's book, Building an Effective Dev Portfolio (it's FREE!)
xScope
PixelSnap
Fontpair

⭐️ Leave a Review

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a 5-star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏

🎙 About the episode

🔗 Connect with Josh

⏰ Timestamps

Josh's trajectory from development to education (01:09)
Why Josh wrote a book on web developer portfolios (02:12)
Don't put skill bars on your website! What do they even mean?! (04:40)
Who should you cater your portfolio to, and how to do it? There are two main target audiences. (06:16)
How does a portfolio compare to a LinkedIn profile or a resume? (10:53)
Why everybody needs to hire juniors (12:41)
Can you get away with not having a portfolio? (14:40)
What to do if you're a developer but not good at design? (16:00)
Why minimal design could be better (21:53)
Can you use a template? (23:45)
What should you put on your portfolio website (25:46)
How to present your projects (29:49)
How to choose your projects... and write about them (31:10)
How to write a good cover letter (34:58)
How to approach looking for a job (39:07)
Hiring biases in the industry (40:56)

🧰 Resources mentioned

Josh's book, Building an Effective Dev Portfolio (it's FREE!)
xScope
PixelSnap
Fontpair

⭐️ Leave a Review

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a 5-star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏

Previous Episode

Interview Your Interviewers and Find Somebody Who Believes in Your Skills: How Jonathan Became a Developer in Three Months

🎙 About the episode

Meet Jonathan Gauthier 🇨🇦! Jonathan volunteered when the company where he worked needed somebody to figure out how to turn a Figma design into a website. The rest is history.

After quitting that job, Jonathan gave himself three months to properly learn front-end development and get his first developer job. And he succeeded! In this interview, he shares how. Yes, Jonathan was pulling long hours, but there's more to it!

Jonathan talks about his way of learning and why knowing how to approach a problem is better than knowing the exact method of solving it. You'll also learn why it's good to find a mentor - and how to find one! Lastly, Jonathan shares his approach to looking for a job online and why it's important to interview your interviewer. Believe it or not, the latter can make or break your interview process!

🔗 Connect with Jonathan

⏰ Timestamps

Jonathan's journey into coding by way of learning to translate designs in Figma into a website + his introduction to Scrimba (01:59)
How Jonathan quit his job and had only three months to learn to code and get a job in front-end (04:14)
What's manual QA, and was that a helpful background to a new developer? (05:41)
Learn the approach, not the method (06:29)
How Jonathan decided to switch careers(07:27)
Why you should apply when others think you're ready (08:53)
Jonathan's study plan (10:21)
How can you study both properly and fast? (11:41)
The importance of taking breaks (14:10)
How Jonathan found a mentor and why are mentors important (15:10)
Jonathan's approach to finding his first developer job: LinkedIn, Angel.co, and messaging recruiters directly (17:43)
How to optimize your LinkedIn profile (19:16)
Jonathan's interview process (21:22)
How to interview your interviewers and why that gives you an advantage (22:15)
What skills should a junior developer have? (24:44)
How Jonathan got his job offer (27:13)
Jonathan's new company + Do you have to know Agile? (28:21)
How to ask questions as a junior (29:38)
Closing advice: don't stress about feeling ready; remember to take breaks, and come up with personal projects! (31:18)
On notetaking (32:12)

🧰 Resources mentioned

⭐️ Leave a Review

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a 5-star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏

Next Episode

Take a Chance, Even If Things Sound Weird and You Don't Feel Ready: How Wemerson Learned to Code and Landed a Dream Job in a Web3 Startup

🎙 About the episode

Meet Wemerson Queiroz 🇧🇷! Wemerson never thought he was going to become a developer. He started studying computer science, dropped out, and spent ten years working in sales because he wanted to earn money immediately. Ten years later, he realized he was unhappy (after all, money is not everything), learned to code, and got his first developer job in no time!

What got him back into IT was Blockchain, so he first started learning Solidity before realizing he should first learn the basics. Shortly after, those basics got him a job at a startup working with Blockchain technology! In this episode, you'll learn how far HTML, CSS, and Javascript can get you and how important it is to follow your passion. You'll also hear about Wemerson's unusual interview process and why taking a chance can sometimes pay off.

🔗 Connect with Wemerson

⏰ Timestamps

Wemerson's journey into tech (02:44)
How important is money? (05:13)
How Wemerson decided to leave his previous career behind and learn to code (06:45)
On diving head-first into Blockchain and Solidity... and then going back to basics (08:29)
How Wemerson landed his first developer job after only three months of learning to code (09:47)
Why junior developers should look for work opportunities as soon as they can (11:00)
On motivation, passion, and learning (14:29)
Why context matters in problem-solving (15:43)
About the Web3 startup excal.tv, where Wemerson got his first developer job (18:18)
What's it like working at a startup as a junior developer? (20:50)
How Wemerson landed this opportunity? (25:18)
Was Emerson put off by an unorthodox interview process? (26:59)
Wemerson's plans for the future (27:56)

🧰 Resources mentioned

⭐️ Leave a Review

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a 5-star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏