Do you have your own portfolio that you haven’t touched in a while, or have you been thinking about making one and never got around to it? Getting by in this industry without one is always possible, however it’s extremely advantageous for you to build your own. But how important is having a portfolio in the tech industry?
Portfolios are a realistic way to demonstrate to potential clients and employers. They allow for a visual representation of what you are capable of doing, and can give people more faith and trust in the fact that you do have an understanding of your own skillset, have practical experience and are able to deliver results.
While it is a great way to demonstrate your skills, it allows you to stand out in a competitive market. The tech industry is highly competitive and always adapting to new software and frameworks, keeping your portfolio up to date and maintained can give potential clients and employers the confidence that you are able to keep up with changing trends in the industry, demonstrating your commitment to the field. It also motivates you to take on new projects and expand your skill set through continuous learning and growth.
A portfolio also allows you to showcase any real world projects you have worked on. When I started to learn to code, I found it extremely exciting making standalone web pages that run locally, however this never really gave me the proper experience I needed to showcase my actual skillset. For the last few years I have been gaining lots of insights into how we can create scalable websites within a small time, thinking in a modular way to solve practical problems. Allowing for these to be showcased on your portfolio can really give an employer a lot of confidence in your abilities.
If you are wanting to build your online presence, a portfolio can be the starting point of helping you establish a brand, and in turn increase your online presence. Giving your portfolio a style and tone, will help you get an understanding of the kind of audience you would be targeting. While your portfolio may be used to showcase your skills, you can tailor your social media posts around the style of your portfolio and in turn give consistency in your work, while helping you understand thing’s like branding and marketing which is advantageous for an employer or client.
Having an online presence, whether small or large, can really help open up different opportunities for you. Whether it’s just networking with like minded individuals and collaborators, or finding clients that want your help, sharing your work online can be extremely helpful, especially when learning to code. Places like reddit allow for you to receive feedback from peers and other developers in the community, while some feedback may be negative, it should be considered more as constructive criticism, there’s lots of people who are just helping you try to improve your skills, even if they haven’t worded it in a nice way!
By now I’m guessing that you’ve realised the common theme mentioned so far, advancing your career. As mentioned before, it’s not necessary that you do have a portfolio to get by, however a strong portfolio can lead to lots of opportunities, whether it’s landing a better job, starting with freelance work or even creating your own business, it can really set you up for a bright future, and with coding, you want to ensure your future is as bright as possible.