Plan Your Portfolio

Why a portfolio beats a list of skills

A CV says "Skilled in Excel and Canva". A portfolio shows it: the dashboard you built, the poster you designed, the website you made. For students with little work experience, a portfolio is often the strongest thing you can show an employer, internship coordinator or scholarship panel.

It doesn't need to be fancy. A clear page with three good pieces of work beats a flashy site with nothing in it.

Who is it for?

Decide before you build. Your audience shapes what you include:

What counts as work

You have more than you think:

• Class projects and assignments you're proud of (check you're allowed to share them, and remove other students' personal details).
• Personal projects: a budget tracker for your hostel, a flyer for a church event, a website for a relative's shop.
• Course projects, including CloudTech Academy projects and badges.
• Volunteering and leadership: a departmental event you organised, a club you run.

Pick your best three

Start small. For each possible piece, ask:

1. Does it show a skill my audience cares about?
2. Can I explain what problem it solved and what I did?
3. Is it finished and presentable?

Choose the three strongest. You can add more later.

Structure each piece the same way

For every project, prepare four short parts. This works on a portfolio page, on LinkedIn and in interviews:

• The problem: what needed doing, and why.
• What I did: the tools and steps.
• The result: a number, an outcome or feedback.
• See it: a link, image or file.

Try it

1. Write one sentence on who your portfolio is for.
2. List every project, assignment or activity you could include, at least six.
3. Choose your best three using the three questions above.
4. For one of them, write the four parts: problem, what I did, result, link.