Building A Professional Portfolio In Engineering

Copy a project from GitHub or YouTube to land a job… That’s not how it works anymore. “What project should I add to my resume?” That’s one of the most common questions I get from juniors. And honestly, I’ve asked the same thing in the past. Back then, the default answer was simple: “Build an e-commerce website.” “Make a full-stack MERN app.” “Do something with ML “ So we did. Copied projects from GitHub. Followed 3-hour YouTube tutorials. Changed a few colors. Added our name to the footer. Done. It worked… kind of. But here’s what I’ve realised now, especially with how fast AI is evolving: Your resume doesn’t need another “portfolio project.” It needs a “problem solver.” These days, anyone can use Cursor or bolt to build a full-stack app in a few hours. What makes your project different? Not the tech. The problem it solves. Let me give you an example: You want to send 100+ personalized emails to students. Mail Merge? Already exists. But your emails are landing in spam. So you build a small Python script that sends emails like a human would. Slowly. With better delivery. Tiny project. Few lines of code. But real value. That’s what recruiters remember. Not how many lines of code you wrote. But how many problems you solved. You can use AI. You should use AI. But don’t be just a copy-paster. Understand what you’re building. Learn the stack. Because your project should say one thing.. “I don’t just code. I solve.”

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓. Last week, a junior DM’d me: Didi, sab ne e-commerce banaya hai. Main kya alag karoon?” And I get it. Because I’ve been there. In college, I built the usual: E-commerce site Chat app Social media clone I was proud of them- they worked, looked good, and were perfect… for 2020. But not for this AI era. So when juniors now ask me, 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱? My answer is simple: Sit. Think. How would this look if it was built in 2025, not 2015? Look around: How does our search for products? - Simply With voice search. What do we end up buying online? - Things recommended by the app. Where can user data be stored securely? You don’t need to invent something new. You just need to add small, thoughtful upgrades to stand out. Also, in this AI + Web3 era, it’s easier than ever: 1. Added a voice-based product search using OpenAI Whisper. 2. Implemented AI-powered recommendations using dummy data + a basic model. 3. Switched login/signup to Web3 wallets for a modern take on credentials. When you build all this then you’re no longer just another student with a React project. You become someone who knows how to solve real problems. Because in 2025, it’s not just about building projects. It’s about building relevance. #TechWithPurpose #EngineeringMindset #ProjectUpgrade #ResumeTips #AIProjects #Web3Dev #FrontendDeveloper #GenAI #VoiceSearch #CareerAdvice #CodingJourney #CSStudent #ATSResume #PlacementSeason #SoftwareEngineering #DevPortfolio #ReactJS #MLProjects #InternshipTips #FirstJobReady

Last month, I was mentoring a final-year engineering student who said: “Didi, mera resume toh blank hai, internships nahi mili, aur placements mein toh sirf CGPA dekhte hain na?” I asked him to show me what he had done. He hesitated and said, “Kuch YouTube tutorials se chhoti moti cheezein banayi thi…” But when I dug deeper, I found gold. ✅ He built a weather app using APIs. ✅ Tried making a budget tracker for his family. ✅ Attempted an ML model for crop prediction. All self-initiated. No certificates. No internships. I told him: “You must add these projects in your blank resume. Aur agar sahi tarike se dikhaye jaaye, toh yeh hi tumhara biggest strength ban sakta hai.” We added those to his resume, wrote crisp one-liners: 📌 Built a weather forecast web app using OpenWeather API – used by 50+ users weekly 📌 Created a budget management tool for household tracking – reduced manual expense logging by 80% Guess what? He cracked a remote internship in USA based finance startup in just 3 weeks. And recently, he messaged me — “Didi, finally placement bhi ho gaya!” Projects that got me into my Dream Product Based Company : https://lnkd.in/gTSvg2mi Set reminder - https://lnkd.in/gqhmkfFb Your resume doesn’t need big brands, it needs real work. Projects show your ability to apply knowledge. They speak louder than college grades. They are proof that you can build, solve and think. 👉 If you’re stuck without experience, create your own. It counts. #project #career #resume #selflearning #guidance #interviewtips #jobs #engineeringstudent #careerchange

STOP making 10 random projects, instead solve 1-2 high impactful business problems to learn end-to-end project. Trust me, this will make your resume 20x powerful. Here are some ideas: Consider this project — An end-to-end NLP pipeline for customer support ticket routing — where you can train, deploy, and integrate into a live dashboard. Here’s what you get to do in ONE project: - Data cleaning from raw CSVs + feature engineering - Design a scalable ML pipeline (train/test split, evaluation, retraining logic) - Compare classical NLP (TF-IDF + Logistic Regression) with BERT - Containerize the model with Docker - Deploy via FastAPI - Create a Streamlit dashboard for stakeholders - Write documentation + presented it to a non-technical mentor One project will teach you: - Data engineering - Software development - Product management - Good communication skill And that’s what real-world AI needs. If you're just getting started to AI / ML: - Solve a real problem (even a small one) - Use messy, real-world data - Involve modeling and deployment - You can explain end-to-end project like a story Trust me: 1 great project >> 10 toy datasets. If you want to learn more end-to-end project ideas, I have listed down multiple projects from where you can choose and build [Link in comment].

I remember helping a STUDENT ( Fresher ) last year—  He messaged me: “Sir, I’ve never worked anywhere.  What should I even put in my portfolio?” He had skills.   He had potential.  But he thought without an internship or job,  he had nothing to show. Here’s what I told him 👇 You don’t need experience. You need proof of skill. Here’s how he built a solid portfolio from scratch: 1️⃣ Pick 2–3 small projects → To show real application (todo apps, clone UIs, APIs).   2️⃣ Write what YOU did → Not what the tutorial said. Show your thinking.   3️⃣ Document your process → Learning notes, errors, fixes = gold.   4️⃣ Make it public → Share on GitHub, LinkedIn, personal site.   5️⃣ Tell a story → Why you built it, what you learned. And here are 5 FREE websites to host or showcase your work:   → [GitHub Pages] -> (https://pages.github.com)   → [Notion] ->(https://www.notion.so)   → [Replit] ->(https://replit.com)   → [Netlify] ->(https://www.netlify.com)   → [LinkedIn Projects Section] ->(https://linkedin.com) No job? No problem.   Show what you’re learning—and that you can build. Your turn:   What’s one project you’d love to add to your portfolio? P.S. Share this with a student who needs to hear it. #studentportfolio #firstjob #buildinpublic #techportfolio #careerstart

Stop thinking DSA is everything! Engineering is way more than DSA & Leetcode! Ask any first-year student, “What’s your plan to get a job?” Most would say: “DSA.” Not: “I’ll build real-world projects, work with Arduino, ESP32, AWS, hardware/software systems, etc.” Its like people bragging their CGPA to prove their engineering skills. Sure, DSA is a great way to test your basic problem-solving skills, but that’s just step 1. It’s nowhere close to the full picture. Today’s engineering students are heavily influenced by influencers who make it look like “DSA is engineering!” But in reality, DSA is barely 1% of what you’ll do in the real world. Real engineering comes in where you solve a real world problem and customer pays you for it. No customer would want you to invert a binary tree. You must’ve seen those memes: “Interview: Solve DP and Trees. Job: Deploy a CRUD app and fix a production bug.” And honestly, it’s true. At work, you might never need DSA. What you’ll really need is the ability to learn new tools/tech fast and implement solutions. Eg: at new job you would be asked to learn Ruby on Rails and quickly implement a feature in existing codebase Personally, I enjoy interviews where I’m grilled on the actual stuff I’ve built. Like when I deployed a project on Elastic Beanstalk, the interviewer asked, “Why didn’t you go for manual EC2 setup?” Or when I used AWS RDS (PostgreSQL) and was asked: “How would you scale this if 100K users hit your web app at once?” Any cool startup/company would pick real world problem solver than Leetcode problem solver If you’re applying to a sports health startup and you’ve built a project that uses OpenCV to analyze athletic movement and gives live feedback and improvement insights on a mobile app — you’ll have way more edge than someone who solved 500 DSA questions. Now you get back to solve DSA, i'll get back to me raspi 🤣

I have reviewed 100+ portfolio projects. If you want employers to hire you even without experience, Make sure your project does these 𝟲 things. A great portfolio isn’t just a collection of skills It’s a showcase of how you solve real problems. This is what makes a portfolio project stand out: => 𝗜𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 Every strong project follows a simple arc: Problem → Solution → Impact. Make it clear what challenge you tackled, how you solved it, and the results. => 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 The best projects come from real-world problems. Current events: Can you analyze a trending issue? (e.g., election results, COVID trends, mask effectiveness) Daily annoyances: What problem do you wish someone would solve? Do it yourself. => 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 Good projects highlight your decision-making and problem-solving. Where did you pivot? What obstacles did you overcome? Show your process. => 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 The best projects happen where interest meets impact. Find a topic you enjoy, just make sure it’s valuable to potential employers. => 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 A great project saves you time in interviews. If it’s well-structured, you’ll only need to explain the context once. The results will do the rest. => 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 (𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘁𝘀/𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀) Go beyond basic analysis and build interactive dashboards (Tableau, Power BI, Streamlit). Let your audience explore the data. A good portfolio project isn’t just technical It proves you can solve meaningful problems. Follow me, Jaret André to land the job you want 10x faster.

I’ll never forget one of the first questions I got in a job interview: ‘What have you built on your own?’ As a student, I thought my coursework and internships would be enough. But side projects? They became the most powerful part of my resume—and my confidence. One of my first projects was analyzing soccer player stats to predict match outcomes. Why soccer? I love the sport, and working on something I cared about made learning Python and data visualization feel natural. That project landed me conversations with recruiters, who appreciated seeing real-world applications of my skills. Here’s why side projects matter: 1️⃣ They prove your skills: Everyone says they know Python and SQL. Showing a real project sets you apart. 2️⃣ They make learning personal: I analyzed Netflix data to recommend movies, created visualizations about Boston weather trends, and even built a dashboard to track my gym progress. These weren’t just coding exercises—they were ways to connect my skills to things I cared about. 3️⃣ They build your portfolio: When I applied for jobs, I didn’t just list my skills—I linked to GitHub repositories, visualizations, and write-ups about my projects. This showed employers that I could turn knowledge into action. If you’re looking to start, here are some ideas: 1. Analyze public data: IMDb, sports stats, or even your city’s public transport data. 2. Create dashboards: Track something you care about, like fitness or finances. Build something small: A basic prediction model or an automation script. Side projects don’t have to be perfect—they just have to be yours. Start small, stay curious, and share your work. You never know who might notice. What’s been your most rewarding side project? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments!

📂 Building a Hardware Engineering Portfolio That Opens Doors Most projects you're doing in industry is under strict NDA. So sometimes we're not sure if we can share our work for jobs. This common challenge keeps many talented engineers from demonstrating their true capabilities. Especially if they can get nervous and overtalk or go blank in interviews. Three approaches I recommend to my clients: 1. Create demonstrative projects specifically for your portfolio 2. Contribute to open-source hardware projects 3. Document your problem-solving approach, not just outcomes My one-on-one client "Jason" went from being overlooked to fielding two offers within weeks of each other after creating just two portfolio projects that showcased his DFx and high-speed constraints expertise. What's been your most effective way to demonstrate your skills beyond a resume? #EngineeringPortfolio #CareerAdvancement #OpenSourceHardware

If you’re afraid of engineers “cheating” in interviews, maybe the interview isn’t measuring what matters. Why test for muscle memory when great engineers solve real problems with collaboration, unlimited resources, and creativity? One of the best interview experiences I’ve had was with a fintech startup in Bengaluru. No whiteboard. No trick questions. The CTO simply said, “Come spend two days with us, help solve a real challenge, and we’ll pay you for your time.” It was real work. Real collaboration. And within 48 hours, I decided not to join. Not because the team wasn’t talented, but because the culture wasn’t the right fit for me. That short trial gave both of us clarity without wasting my coming years. What if more interviews worked like that? What if we stopped testing engineers like students and started treating them like future teammates?