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General Discussion

Emily Kelton
Emily Kelton
3,626 Points

Looking for place to get portfolio critique

I'm not sure the Treehouse forum would be an appropriate place (but if it is, please let me know!), but I'd love for someone(s) to take a look at my portfolio and give me any critique they feel necessary. In the late fall, I was getting a lot of good responses and interviews to job applications (2nd and 3rd interviews, but no offers), but now I'm not getting any responses. I'm not sure why. I tried posting my portfolio and request for critique on reddit's webdev subreddit, as I see people get feedback there, but I haven't gotten any responses. Are there any other forums to help in job hunt type questions? ETA: link to my portfolio and resume, if anyone here would like to critique. Thanks in advance.

3 Answers

Victor Learned
Victor Learned
6,976 Points

From my experience jobs start slowing down a little between now and the summer because most tech companies are picking up new college grads/have already made job offers to soon to be new grads & are holding their head count. I wouldn't let it discourage you. As much as the media plays up all the tech jobs it definitely comes in waves through out the year. Another issue is many companies auto filter their incoming resumes so if some reason don't have the latest buzz word on your resume it might not even be seen by anyone. It's a lame practice but it is what it is.

Have you tried joining any local Meetup groups? Networking will be your greatest resource for getting feedback and honestly your best shot at finding a job. I see you're also from Seattle area so trust me when I say there are a million highly active dev Meetup groups.

Emily Kelton
Emily Kelton
3,626 Points

Thanks, Victor. I appreciate the encouragement. I am a part of several meetups in the area, though I do tend to get a little intimidated as a newbie. I need to push through that and go to more of them though.

Hi I read a pretty good guide as to where you should post your portfolio as well as it gives you some tips on improving your portfolio. I personally have not done any of this as I am just starting to build my portfolio but once I have it completed I will follow their guidelines to see how it works out for me.
Victor Learned makes a great point as to having a resume that is computer friendly. I used to be an accountant and one of the main reasons I was not getting job interviews was my resume. I was using the same resume online as I would use to hand out at offices. I learned quickly that I should have made a resume that was written to be read by a computer. I got mine professionally written and with in a week I noticed more phone interviews coming my way until I finally got a job. I cant remember the site I used to have mine done but I am sure you can find a bunch by goggling it.

As for posting your portfolio on the treehouse forum I say go for it. Any and all feedback may be helpful in improving it. Also you never know who is looking at it. Treehouse does not only have newbies but many students may already have a development job and just use treehouse to brush up and keep up with new technology.

Best of luck.

Emily Kelton
Emily Kelton
3,626 Points

Thanks, Jovanny. That was a great guide for portfolios. My resume is probably not very computer friendly. It's a PDF. That's probably something I should definitely look into. Thanks. I will add a link to my portfolio (and resume) in the original post, but here's the link, if you'd like to have a look: www.amateurgeek.com Thanks again.

I like the portfolio. It's clean and neat. One thing that got my attention is that you joined thinkful. I am starting next week and I hope it's a good experience for me.

I see your a photographer and have a site for it. Your mobile version(the only one I saw so far) looks like it can be updated. If you create a site and showcase your work you can have another portfolio piece that you can show employers. While waiting to get that interview call I fell like it does not hurt to continue growing your portfolio..

Good luck so far it looks like your doing great.

Emily Kelton
Emily Kelton
3,626 Points

Thanks for looking and for the nice words. I LOVED my experience at Thinkful, and I know the curriculum has gotten even better since I went through it. Re-doing my photography website is a great idea! I hadn't even thought about that because I haven't done much photography this last year, but it would be a great project for my portfolio. Thanks again for taking the time to have a look at my site.