This UX Portfolio Template = Interviews at HP, Reddit & Nike (No Joke)

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Based on our mentorship calls with hundreds of mentees and learners within this community, we have found that the UX portfolio is usually the #1 source of stress for most UX beginners and career changers.

Building a great UX portfolio requires striking a delicate balance between being just good enough, versus showcasing specific UX expertise. We’ve often found that career changers procrastinate on the UX job search by spending hours and hours on their UX portfolio instead, striving for perfection…which doesn’t exist.

On the flip side, your portfolio cannot be too barebones either. It must convey just enough relevant information to land you interviews. From there onwards, it’s all about how you talk that will actually land you the job. Check out our 30 UX portfolio tips for more tactical advice on putting a UX portfolio together.

So, what’s that balance and how do we achieve it? It’s all about finding focus first. The biggest problem with a lot of portfolios that we see is that the projects presented are scattered across a variety of disciplines and industries and show no real focus.

Focus. What are the top 1-2 industries that you would like to work in for UX? Is it healthcare, education, entertainment, social media, e-commerce, B2B SAAS, fintech, nonprofits, government? Now tailor ALL your 3-5 UX projects in your portfolio to focus on those top 1-2 industries that you are passionate about. Ruthlessly remove and cut anything and everything that doesn’t align with this focus. Half the battle is remaining focused, rather than chasing new shiny objects!

Next, rebrand your transferable skills from past roles into UX research and UX design work. Your portfolio does need to showcase some real-world expertise. You can check out our video on service design to see how you might rebrand transferable skill sets into UX terms. If you’ve worked in education, healthcare, admin roles, sales and marketing roles, and customer service roles, you’ve probably been doing some service design all along. And you can rebrand that!

And finally, showcase impact at a higher level– we are talking about business impact and tech feasibility or scope. This is what sets apart mid-senior level UX designers and researchers from entry-level ones. Impact can often be extrapolated or estimated, so it’s okay to get creative with your estimations as long as you explain logically how you came up with the numbers that you did.

If you are feeling stuck when it comes to putting together an impactful UX portfolio that helps you land UX job interviews, consider booking a 90-minute done-for-you UX portfolio rewrite with us. This session works well if you already have a UX portfolio with 3-5 case studies. If you are still in the process of putting together a UX portfolio and getting ready for the UX job search, then consider our mentorship session package that includes UX resume rewrites, UX portfolio rewrites, and mock interview practice within 14 1-on-1, hour-long mentorship sessions. This package also includes access to online modules of our 7-Month UX Design MBA course.

We also understand that funds could be tight for you right now, so we put together a UX portfolio template to simplify creating an impactful portfolio that lands you interviews and gets you hired. Subscribe to our UX Woman Substack ($6.67/month) to gain access to our UX portfolio template, which includes:

• UX portfolio layout for the homepage, summarizing your expertise, focus and impact.

• UX layout for a case study page that highlights project impact

• Our 6-page UX job search checklist for your UX resume, portfolio, job search, and interview prep that helps you stay on track with job applications.

As always, rooting for your success!

Samaya, your UX woman.

P.S. Join us for free, live UX events this spring!