What makes a great UX portfolio?

What makes a Great UX Portfolio?

As a design and product specialist recruiter, I come across hundreds of portfolios. Most of them fail to impress hiring managers. As a former designer, it pains me to see talented designers lose out on opportunities because their portfolio doesn’t showcase their strengths or how they have made an impact with a product they have designed.

The first thing a recruiter or hiring manager looks at when reviewing a Product Designer is their portfolio. It is the single most important thing – even more important than the resume! Your portfolio should get me excited so that I want to talk to you!

Also, designers should have a separate, more detailed portfolio to share with a recruiter after you get the interview. The steps below are meant to help you create that body of work after getting the interview. Hiring managers get inundated with hundreds of portfolios and don’t have the time to look at a detailed case study. Hence save it for when you do have an interview—that’s when you can really walk them through projects where you have made the most impact.

Bottom line: If the portfolio doesn’t tell the story, it’s a real deal breaker!

Your portfolio is a tool—know how to use it.

Design for the job that you want.

If you are focused on UI or Visual Design, let your portfolio communicate that. If you’re frontend-focused, display your coding skills on your website. If you are UX-focused, emphasize case studies and user stories. These are your UX design portfolio essentials.

Set yourself apart.

About 80% of the portfolios that I come across are a bunch of screenshots thrown together on a Bedance or Dribble site. They have a cookie-cutter approach that does not highlight the designer’s specific abilities, personality, or style. Ultimately, these portfolios don’t inspire a hiring manager to invite the candidate for an interview.

Start with the story.

Select a project that allows you to tell a well-rounded narrative. How did you move the project from idea to execution? Before you touch any pixels, write out each project like a case study. It doesn’t need to be a dissertation with dozens of paragraphs. Golden rule to remember: Keep it simple.

Hiring managers and recruiters like myself want to scan a portfolio and see the beginning, middle, and end of a body of work.

Some of the things hiring managers are looking for:

• - Raw hand concept sketches, wireframes, and end-state UI

• - Highlight your role (Were you the only designer? Who was in your team?)

• - What was the challenge you were solving for?

• - Did you leverage research or data?

• - Which solutions did you explore?

• - What made you choose the delivered solutions?

• - How did you validate the solution? (user testing? experiments?)

  Find your inspiration.

  Work smarter, not harder. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Study the work of designers you admire. Look at how their product designers are showcasing their body of work.

• Stay up to date.

  Too many designers don’t have updated portfolios. Remember that a hiring manager will go to your portfolio first! If you’re putting off updates and want to start job hunting, it can be daunting. To make it more manageable, start with the most recent project that you are most proud of and work backward.

  Showcase your best work.

  Many designers can’t openly share their best work due to NDAs. A great workaround is to password-protect this kind of work to limit who can view it.

To summarise:

1. 1. Design for the job you want

2. 2. Set yourself apart

3. 3. Start with the story

4. 4. Find your inspiration

5. 5. Stay up to date

6. 6. Showcase your best work

7. 7. Share it

8. 8. Save your files!

Bonus tips: Don’t be afraid to use your portfolio to share some of your other interests. It gives a glimpse into you as a well-rounded person and it’s a wonderful opportunity for your personality to shine through.

Your portfolio represents you to the hiring manager. Remember to keep it simple and follow these great UX portfolio tips to make your work shine!

Ready to Land Your Next UX Role?

At Halian, we connect designers and creative professionals with exciting opportunities across leading industries. Whether you’re refining your portfolio or actively seeking your next role, we’re here to help you take that next step.

Visit halian.com and discover how we can help you stand out and craft resumes that shine in today’s competitive design market.