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

I quit my job in February because, along with personal reasons, I lost all passion for the work I was doing. That’s not to say it was a bad organization or that I worked with terrible people, I just wanted new challenges. So I decided to spend my time off creating my portfolio site with the technologies I wanted to work with in my next job. Kind of a pre-screening for future employers, if you will.

The Strategic Portfolio Problem

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

• Legacy tech stacks from their current/previous jobs
• Safe, proven technologies that 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.

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. 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Companies using outdated tech simply won’t reach out.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 know 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.

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.

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.

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.”

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

The Risk Assessment

This strategy isn’t without risks:

The “Overengineered” Criticism

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

The “Not Proven at Scale” Question

Critics might argue I haven’t proven these technologies work at enterprise scale. 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.

The “Narrow Focus” Concern

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

What This Actually Looks Like

Instead of typical portfolio conversations:

“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:

“I see you implemented advanced search algorithms. How did you handle the performance vs. 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.

The Unexpected Side Effects

Building cutting-edge tech for my portfolio had several unexpected benefits:

Deeper Learning

When you’re building for demonstration, not just functionality, you research best practices more thoroughly. My understanding of modern system architecture is much deeper because I knew I’d need to explain and defend every decision.

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.

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.

Continuous Innovation

Keeping my portfolio current with modern technologies means I’m always learning. I’m not just maintaining old projects. I’m pushing forward with new capabilities and approaches.

The Reality Check

Am I still looking for the right fit? Absolutely. The job market is complex, 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.

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.

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 too.

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?

Make It Interactive

A static description of your system is less impressive than a working system people can actually use. 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.

The Long Game

This approach is playing the long game. 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. 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 crazy job market, at least we can build cool stuff while we search.