During my recent career transition, I found myself with something I hadn’t had in years: free time. Rather than binge-watching Netflix, I decided to help some designer friends polish their portfolios. After reviewing dozens of portfolios and providing countless rounds of feedback, I started noticing patterns—both in the mistakes people were making and in what actually worked.

The advice I kept giving turned out to be surprisingly consistent. Whether someone was a recent graduate or a seasoned professional switching industries, the same fundamental issues kept cropping up. More importantly, when designers implemented my suggestions, they started landing interviews and job offers.

These aren’t theoretical tips from someone who’s never hired anyone. These are battle-tested insights from someone who’s been on both sides of the hiring process. If you’re building a portfolio or refreshing an existing one, these nine recommendations could make the difference between getting overlooked and getting called back.

Start With Your Strongest Work First

Your portfolio isn’t a chronological journey through your career—it’s a sales pitch. The first project visitors see determines whether they’ll scroll down or click away. Yet I consistently see portfolios that bury their best work on page three or arrange projects by date rather than impact.

Place your most impressive, relevant project at the very top of your portfolio. This should be the work that best demonstrates your skills for the type of role you’re targeting. If you’re applying for UX positions, lead with your most comprehensive user experience project, not that beautiful brand identity you created five years ago.

Consider your portfolio’s opening like a movie trailer. You want to show the best scenes up front to hook your audience. Save the character development and backstory for later.

Tell the Story Behind Each Project

Beautiful visuals attract attention, but compelling stories win jobs. The biggest mistake I see in portfolios is treating projects like Instagram posts—gorgeous images with minimal context. Hiring managers don’t just want to see what you made; they want to understand how you think.

For each project, explain the problem you were solving, your process, and the results you achieved. Walk readers through your decision-making. What constraints did you work within? What alternatives did you consider? How did you validate your choices?

One designer I mentored transformed her portfolio by adding a simple “The Challenge” section to each project. Instead of just showing a beautiful app interface, she explained that she was tasked with reducing customer support tickets by 40% through better user onboarding. Suddenly, her design decisions had context and her work had a measurable impact.

Focus on Process Over Perfection

Hiring managers can spot a fake project from a mile away. Those pristine, constraint-free passion projects might look stunning, but they don’t demonstrate real-world problem-solving skills. Professional design work is messy, iterative, and full of compromises.

Show your process, including the parts that didn’t work. Include early sketches, user research findings, iterations, and even dead ends. This demonstrates critical thinking and resilience—two qualities that matter more than pixel-perfect mockups.

Document your process as you work, not after you’re done. Keep screenshots of rough wireframes, save photos of whiteboard sessions, and note decisions as you make them. Your future self (and potential employers) will thank you.

Quantify Your Impact Whenever Possible

Designers often struggle to measure the impact of their work, but hiring managers love concrete results. Even if you don’t have access to detailed analytics, you can find some way to quantify success.

Instead of saying “Improved user experience,” try “Reduced user task completion time by 30%” or “Increased form completion rates from 45% to 78%.” If you don’t have precise numbers, estimate based on feedback or observations: “Stakeholder feedback indicated a 50% reduction in user confusion” or “Customer support requests related to navigation dropped significantly after launch.”

When exact metrics aren’t available, focus on qualitative outcomes. Did users start engaging with a feature they previously ignored? Did stakeholders approve subsequent design decisions more quickly? Did the client expand your project scope based on initial results?

Curate Ruthlessly

More isn’t better when it comes to portfolio projects. I’d rather see four exceptional projects than twelve mediocre ones. Each project you include should serve a specific purpose in demonstrating your capabilities.

Aim for 4-6 strong projects that collectively showcase your range while staying focused on your target role. If you’re applying for mobile app positions, don’t include that brochure design from three years ago to fill space.

Quality trumps quantity every time. One thoroughly documented, impactful project tells a better story than five surface-level case studies.

Make It Scannable

Hiring managers don’t read portfolios linearly—they scan them. Your portfolio needs to communicate value quickly through smart formatting and visual hierarchy.

Use clear headings, bullet points, and plenty of white space. Frontload important information in each project description. Lead with the outcome, then dive into process details for readers who want more depth.

Consider creating a summary or “at-a-glance” section for each project that hits the key points in under 30 seconds of reading time.

Show Collaboration Skills

Design isn’t a solo sport, yet many portfolios present work as if the designer operated in a vacuum. Acknowledge your collaborators and describe how you worked with developers, product managers, researchers, and other stakeholders.

This doesn’t diminish your contributions—it demonstrates professional maturity and teamwork skills. Explain how you incorporated feedback, navigated competing priorities, or aligned diverse perspectives around a common vision.

Hiring managers want to know you can function effectively within their existing team structure.

Keep It Current and Relevant

Technology moves fast, and your portfolio should reflect current standards and capabilities. That Flash-based interactive portfolio from 2010 might have been cutting-edge then, but it’s not loading on anyone’s mobile device today.

Review your portfolio every six months and update projects, technologies, or approaches that no longer represent your best work. This doesn’t mean starting from scratch—ensure your portfolio feels fresh and demonstrates your ability to adapt to evolving industry standards.
If you’re transitioning between industries or roles, prioritise projects that demonstrate transferable skills relevant to your target position.

Optimise for Your Audience

A portfolio targeting startup roles should look different from one aimed at corporate positions. Research the companies and roles you’re targeting, then tailor your portfolio accordingly.

Startup environments value scrappy problem-solving and rapid iteration, while enterprise roles prioritise systematic processes and stakeholder management. Adjust your project presentations to highlight the qualities your target audience values most.

This doesn’t mean creating entirely different portfolios for each application, but rather emphasising different aspects of the same projects based on what matters most to each audience.

Your Portfolio Is Never Really Done

The best portfolios evolve constantly. They’re living documents that grow stronger with every project, every piece of feedback, and every application. Don’t wait until you have five perfect projects to start putting yourself out there.

Start with what you have, get it in front of people, and improve based on the responses you receive. Pay attention to which projects generate the most interest during interviews and which seem to fall flat.

Your portfolio should be a reflection of your best work, not a museum of everything you’ve ever created. Be willing to retire older projects as newer, stronger work takes their place.

Remember that your portfolio is often the first impression you make on potential employers. Make it count by focusing on impact, process, and storytelling rather than just visual appeal. The designers who’ve implemented these suggestions haven’t just improved their portfolios—they’ve advanced their careers.