3 Ways to Make Your Programming Portfolio Stand Out

Erik Andersen
3 min readDec 30, 2022
Photo by Alexander Sinn on Unsplash

The developers best at coding don’t get the job, but rather
The developers best at selling their code get the job

And in no where is that difference more noticeable than in how developers represent their work online.

Here are 3 simple ways to build and advertise your portfolio in a way that will make you stand out 💪

1. Solve a Real Problem

Most developers’ portfolios consists of gold-plated tutorials or school assignments they’ve completed.

A To Do list
A Weather App
etc.

These types of projects don’t work as portfolio projects because all they prove is that you know how to follow a tutorial.

Employers want to see examples of how you solved real world problems as this confirms that you know how to program well enough to translate abstract problems into tangible solutions.

It shows,

You can handle ambiguity
You know how to unblock yourself
You can pick up new tools & frameworks on the fly

And you don’t need anyone to hold to your hand 💪

How do I do this?

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Erik Andersen

Senior Software Engineer with 10+ years of experience. Also an independent coach, teacher, and public speaker. My opinions are my own