You know how to code. You can tell the difference between a compiled language and a scripted one. Segmentation faults and infinite loops are no match for your debugging skills, and now you’d like to try your luck by joining a larger project, or perhaps a company. Then, you ask yourself: “How can I prove that I know what I’m doing?” The only answer is to build your developer’s portfolio.
However, this is no simple task. It is a statement on your career as a programmer, and its purpose is to help a potential employer determine whether you’d be good for a particular job or not. Here at Mahisoft, we are proud to hire only the best out of several hundred, and these tips may help you get a step ahead in front of the competition.
Your skills and projects, cleanly organized
Computer science is an immensely broad field, and it just keeps expanding. There is a multitude of disciplines and not enough time to master them all, as more keep on appearing by the minute. In your developer’s portfolio, you showcase your skills and accomplishments.
Organize your portfolio in such a way that employers become aware of your skills and faculties:
- Are you a web programmer?
- Do you specialize in a specific language?
- Are you better versed in a framework compared to another?
- How about managerial skills?
- Have you ever been in a leadership position?
You must ask yourself all of these questions, and the answer must be blatantly obvious just by looking at your developer’s portfolio. Remember, the whole idea of a portfolio is to convey how talented you are. Do not be shy.
Contributions to open-source: Overcome the “experience required” dilemma
Many of us have been through this. We see an entry-level job posting, but it says “2-3 years experience required.” How can we gain experience if employers ask for experience to begin with? It sounds like a programming conundrum in itself, but it actually isn’t.
In the event that you started programming on your own, without a degree, do not panic. Thankfully, a huge deal of software development is done for pleasure and research. You can try to contribute to an open-source project of your choice. On FirstTimersOnly you can find hundreds of them. Even if you only fix a bug, then that may go into your portfolio, as you become a part of a large and complex project.
Your Github page
Github has rapidly become the standard repository for maintaining software versions and proving a developer’s aptitudes. Projects pushed on Github not only promote your skills working on a particular framework with a specific programming language but working with Github itself is a valuable asset, as it allows you to clone repositories, propose fixes, and work separately but harmoniously with others in the same project, and more.
Developers that have worked in the field for more than ten years may not agree with the idea that a respectable Github page is essential, but it is slowly becoming the case. It concentrates hundreds of important open-source projects, such as Django (https://www.djangoproject.com) , Bootstrap, and Node.js, many of which have become very sought-after by startups and employers.
Be honest. It’s “your” developer’s portfolio
Last but not least, remember to be honest with yourself by only including real experience in your portfolio. It is never advisable to accept a job that you don’t know at all – even if you’re desperate. The chances of you pulling it off are much less than those of you causing losses to the employer; even so, they should be able to determine whether you’re fit for the role or not through an interview of some sort.
If you deem your developer’s portfolio not to be good enough just follow the steps mentioned above and work on improving it. Hone your skills and try to focus on one specialty at a time, while keeping an eye on what seems to be the “trend” in the part of the industry that you find most interesting to work on. From there on, it’s just a matter of time until you find yourself in a comfortable and rewarding position as a developer.
