Your Portfolio as a Pre-Screening Tool: Building What You Want to Work With

Most developers build portfolios that attract exactly the jobs they’re trying to escape. Here’s why I did the opposite.

I quit my job earlier this year because, along with personal reasons, I’d completely lost my passion for the work. Don’t get me wrong—it wasn’t a bad organization, and my colleagues were great. I just craved new challenges. Something different. Something that actually excited me.

So instead of jumping straight into another job search, I decided to do something strategic: build my portfolio site with the exact technologies I wanted to work with in my next role. Think of it as pre-screening for future employers, but in reverse.

The Strategic Portfolio Problem

Most developers build portfolios backwards. They showcase what they’ve already done professionally, which typically means:

• Legacy tech stacks from their current or previous jobs
• Safe, proven technologies that literally every other candidate also shows
• Generic projects that don’t differentiate them from thousands of other developers
• Past-focused presentations instead of future-focused demonstrations

This approach has a fundamental flaw: it attracts more of the same opportunities you’re trying to escape.

Why would you build a portfolio that signals you want to keep doing exactly what you’re tired of doing?

Portfolio as Signal, Not Just Showcase

Your portfolio isn’t just about proving you can code. It’s about signaling where you want to go next.

By building my portfolio with the exact tech stack I want to use professionally, I’m accomplishing several strategic goals:

1. Pre-filtering Opportunities

Companies using outdated tech simply won’t reach out. When a recruiter sees modern architectures, advanced integrations, and sophisticated system design, they immediately understand I’m not interested in maintaining legacy codebases or building basic CRUD apps.

This saves everyone time. I don’t get irrelevant opportunities, and companies don’t waste time on candidates who won’t be excited about their tech stack.

It’s like putting a filter on your inbox before messages even arrive.

2. Proving Real Capability

Anyone can list “Microservices” or “Real-time Systems” on their resume. But can you actually design scalable architectures? Can you implement complex data flows? Can you handle the intricacies of system integration and performance optimization?

My portfolio answers these questions before the interview even starts.

There’s a massive difference between “I’ve worked with microservices” and “here’s the microservice architecture I designed and built.” One is a claim. The other is evidence.

3. Attracting the RIGHT Recruiters

Instead of generic outreach about “full-stack positions,” I get messages like:

• “I saw your system architecture—we’re building something similar”
• “Your performance optimization approach caught our attention”
• “We need someone who understands modern integrations at this level”

These are the conversations I actually want to have. These are recruiters who looked at my work, understood it, and saw alignment with what they need.

Not just keyword matches from LinkedIn.

4. Starting Interviews with Advantage

When I walk into a technical interview and they ask about my experience with their tech stack, I can say: “Let me show you the production system I built.”

That’s a very different conversation than “I’ve been meaning to learn that” or “I took a course on it once.”

You’re not defending your qualifications. You’re demonstrating them.

The Modern Tech Strategy

Here’s what I built instead of another todo app:

Intelligent Knowledge System

• Real-time document processing and retrieval
• Smart routing based on user intent analysis
• Advanced search algorithms for diverse results
• Context-aware response generation

High-Performance Backend

• Modern database implementation with optimization
• Advanced search and caching algorithms
• Intelligent performance tuning
• Production-ready scaling architecture

Advanced Integration Features

• Natural language processing capabilities
• Sophisticated content management
• Response quality optimization
• Multi-service integration patterns

Production Infrastructure

• FastAPI backend with async operations
• Comprehensive logging and analytics
• Admin dashboard for system monitoring
• Containerized deployment architecture

Look, I could have built a blog platform or an e-commerce site. Those are fine projects. But they don’t demonstrate the capabilities I want my next role to use.

The Risk Assessment

This strategy isn’t without risks. Let me address them honestly:

The “Overengineered” Criticism

Some might say I built something overly complex for a portfolio. But here’s my thinking: complexity signals capability. If a company needs someone who can handle complex systems, they want proof you won’t be overwhelmed.

Simple projects prove you can follow tutorials. Complex projects prove you can solve novel problems.

The “Not Proven at Scale” Question

Critics might argue I haven’t proven these technologies work at enterprise scale with millions of users. That’s fair. But I’ve proven I understand the technology deeply enough to implement it correctly, which is often the hardest part of scaling.

Scaling is usually about infrastructure and resources. Architecture is about understanding.

The “Narrow Focus” Concern

By specializing in modern, complex technologies, I might miss broader opportunities. But that’s exactly the point. I want focused opportunities, not every opportunity.

I’d rather have five conversations with companies doing interesting work than fifty conversations with companies doing work that doesn’t excite me.

What This Actually Looks Like

Instead of typical portfolio conversations like this:

“So you built a todo app with React?"
"Yes, it demonstrates CRUD operations and state management."
"Great. We mainly work with Angular though.”

I get conversations like this:

“I see you implemented advanced search algorithms. How did you handle the performance versus accuracy tradeoff?"
"Walk me through your caching and optimization strategy."
"What made you choose this architecture approach over alternatives?”

These are technical conversations with people who need exactly what I’ve built. We’re already talking about real problems and real solutions, not just checking boxes on a requirements list.

The Unexpected Side Effects

Building cutting-edge tech for my portfolio had several benefits I didn’t anticipate:

Deeper Learning

When you’re building for demonstration, not just functionality, you research best practices more thoroughly. You think about edge cases. You consider alternatives.

My understanding of modern system architecture is much deeper because I knew I’d need to explain and defend every decision. Teaching (or preparing to teach) forces you to actually understand the material.

Network Effects

Other developers working with similar technologies find and reach out about my implementations. I’ve had valuable technical discussions that wouldn’t have happened with a generic portfolio.

Sometimes the best opportunities come from peer recommendations, not recruiter outreach.

Confidence in Interviews

When someone asks about challenges I’ve faced, I have real, complex problems to discuss. When they ask about my problem-solving approach, I can walk through actual decisions I’ve made.

Not hypothetical scenarios. Actual implementations with actual tradeoffs.

Continuous Innovation

Keeping my portfolio current with modern technologies means I’m always learning and experimenting. I’m not just maintaining old projects or letting my skills stagnate.

I’m pushing forward with new capabilities and approaches. That momentum matters.

The Reality Check

Am I still looking for the right fit? Absolutely. The job market is complex and unpredictable, and even the best portfolio strategy doesn’t guarantee immediate success.

But I’d rather be selective with quality opportunities than overwhelmed with irrelevant ones.

The goal isn’t to get more interviews. It’s to get better interviews with companies that actually excite me. Companies where I can see myself thriving, not just surviving.

Strategic Portfolio Principles

Based on my experience, here are the principles I’d recommend:

Build Forward, Not Backward

Don’t just showcase what you’ve done professionally. Build what you want to do next. Your portfolio should be a prototype of your ideal role, not a museum of past work.

Embrace Complexity

Simple projects demonstrate basic competency. Complex projects demonstrate the ability to handle real-world challenges. If the role you want involves complex problems, your portfolio should reflect that complexity.

Document Your Decisions

Don’t just show the final product. Show your thought process. Why did you choose this architecture? How did you handle this trade-off? What would you do differently at scale?

The reasoning behind your decisions is often more impressive than the decisions themselves.

Make It Interactive

A static description of your system is less impressive than a working system people can actually use and explore. Let potential employers experience your work, not just read about it.

Stay Current

Technology moves fast, especially in modern backend and system architecture. A portfolio built with last year’s best practices signals you’re already behind. Keep evolving. Keep experimenting.

The Long Game

This approach is playing the long game, and I’m okay with that.

Instead of optimizing for the most interviews, I’m optimizing for the right interviews. Instead of proving I can do any job, I’m proving I can excel at the specific job I want.

Will this limit some opportunities? Probably.

Will the opportunities I do get be more aligned with my interests and skills? Definitely.

Your portfolio is one of the few parts of job searching you have complete control over. You can’t control the market. You can’t control which companies are hiring. You can’t control what recruiters are looking for.

But you can control what you build and what that signals about where you want to go.

Make it count. Make it strategic. Make it a magnet for the opportunities you actually want.

And if you’re also looking for the right fit in this chaotic job market, at least we can build interesting things while we search. That’s worth something in itself.

The work you do to find your next job should be work you’d want to do in your next job. Otherwise, what’s the point?