# Building a Portfolio as a Junior Developer: What Actually Gets You Hired > A junior developer's honest guide to building a portfolio that gets callbacks — what interviewers actually look for vs what tutorial content tells you. URL: https://www.matthewswong.com/en/blog/portfolio-junior-developer-guide/ - Author: Matthews Wong (https://www.matthewswong.com/en/about/) - Published: 2025-06-10 - Updated: 2026-10-17 - Category: Career I wrote this as a junior-to-mid developer building my portfolio while studying at Swiss German University and working part-time. I've been on both sides of the portfolio review — as a candidate and as someone who's reviewed others' work. ## What Interviewers Actually Look For in Junior Portfolios The questions interviewers are actually asking when reviewing your portfolio: Can this person explain their technical decisions? Did they write code they'd be comfortable showing a senior developer? Is there evidence that they think about maintainability, not just making it work? ### Project Count vs Project Depth The most common junior developer mistake: 10 shallow tutorial projects vs 2-3 deep original projects. A portfolio with 10 CRUD apps tells me the developer can follow tutorials. A portfolio with 2 original apps where the developer made real architectural decisions tells me they can build things without hand-holding. ### The 'What Problem Does This Solve?' Test Every project in your portfolio should pass this test: 'What problem does this solve, and who has this problem?' If the answer is 'it's a practice project for learning React', it doesn't pass. Even if your project is technically simple, framing it as solving a real problem demonstrates product thinking that employers value. > The highest-ROI portfolio element for Indonesian junior developers targeting international or foreign-company roles is a live, deployed project with a professional domain and English documentation. A project at yourawesomeapp.com with a clear README in good English immediately signals: this developer can communicate professionally and cares enough to deploy. ## Technology Choices: Practicality Over Novelty My recommendation for 2025: Next.js (TypeScript), PostgreSQL (or Supabase), NestJS or Express for backend-heavy projects, Tailwind for styling. These are the most in-demand skills in Indonesia's tech job market and internationally. Being proficient in boring technology that's actually used is more valuable than barely understanding trendy technology. ### Documentation That Doesn't Sound AI-Generated Most junior portfolios have README files that are clearly AI-generated boilerplate. Write your README in your own voice. Explain what you struggled with. Share a specific technical decision and why you made it. Include a section called 'What I Learned' that's honest and personal. > **GitHub Contribution Graph Is Not a Portfolio** > A green contribution graph tells employers you commit code regularly. It tells them nothing about the quality of that code. I've reviewed candidates with 365 consecutive green days whose actual code showed fundamental misunderstandings of async/await. Don't optimize for the GitHub graph — optimize for 2-3 projects with deep, thoughtful implementation. ## The Portfolio Website: Necessary or Overkill? A portfolio website is worth building if: you're applying for front-end or full-stack roles (the portfolio IS a demonstration of your skills), you're targeting companies where design sensibility matters, or you have enough to show. It's not necessary for back-end or DevOps roles. ## What Compensates for a Thin Portfolio If you're early in your career and your portfolio is thin, there are substitutes: open source contributions, blog posts that demonstrate technical depth, certifications in cloud platforms (AWS/GCP associate-level), and referrals from people the hiring company trusts. ## My Actual Portfolio Journey Honest timeline: I've been building this portfolio for 18 months. My first version had 5 tutorial projects. My second version had 2 real projects (AI Gymbro and an ERP module) and doubled my callback rate. My third version (current) added this blog, case studies for my work, and more depth on the projects. ## Sources & Further Reading - Glints — Junior Developer Hiring in Indonesia — https://glints.com/id/lowongan/ - GitHub — Writing Good READMEs — https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/managing-your-repositorys-settings-and-features/customizing-your-repository/about-readmes - Netlify — Deploying Portfolio Projects — https://docs.netlify.com/get-started/ > **Key takeaway:** Junior developers get more interview callbacks from 2-3 deep, original, deployed projects with honest English documentation than from a large volume of tutorial clones or a green GitHub contribution graph. Prioritize a live demo, a custom domain, and a README that explains real technical decisions and what you learned. ## Source links - https://glints.com/id/lowongan/ - https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/managing-your-repositorys-settings-and-features/customizing-your-repository/about-readmes - https://docs.netlify.com/get-started/ ## FAQ ### How many projects should a junior developer have in their portfolio? Quality beats quantity: 2-3 deep, original projects are more impressive than 10 shallow tutorial clones. Interviewers want to see real architectural decisions and evidence that you can build without hand-holding. A portfolio of 10 CRUD apps only shows you can follow tutorials. ### What makes a portfolio project stand out to interviewers? Every project should pass the 'What problem does this solve, and who has this problem?' test. Framing your work around a real problem — even a small one — demonstrates product thinking that employers value. Interviewers also look for whether you can explain your technical decisions and write code you'd be comfortable showing a senior developer. ### Does a green GitHub contribution graph help your job application? Not as much as most developers think. A full contribution graph tells employers you commit code regularly, but says nothing about code quality. The author has reviewed candidates with 365 consecutive green days whose actual code showed fundamental misunderstandings of async/await. Focus on 2-3 projects with deep, thoughtful implementation instead. ### What tech stack should a junior developer use for their portfolio in 2025? The post recommends Next.js with TypeScript, PostgreSQL (or Supabase), NestJS or Express for backend-heavy projects, and Tailwind for styling. These are the most in-demand skills in Indonesia's tech job market and internationally. Being proficient in widely-used, 'boring' technology is more valuable than barely understanding trendy alternatives. ### What can compensate for a thin portfolio early in your career? Open source contributions, blog posts that demonstrate technical depth, cloud platform certifications (such as AWS or GCP associate-level), and referrals from people the hiring company trusts can all substitute for a slim project portfolio. For those targeting international or foreign-company roles, a live deployed project with a professional domain and English documentation delivers the highest ROI. --- - HTML version: https://www.matthewswong.com/en/blog/portfolio-junior-developer-guide/ - Bahasa Indonesia: https://www.matthewswong.com/id/blog/portfolio-junior-developer-guide/ - Site index for agents: https://www.matthewswong.com/llms.txt - Sitemap: https://www.matthewswong.com/sitemap.xml - API description (OpenAPI): https://www.matthewswong.com/openapi.json