5 Best Coding Projects To Add To Your Portfolio And Actually Get Hired
The only projects you need on your portfolio— a list curated by researching the portfolios of successful Software Engineers on Twitter.
Congratulations! You’re now a programmer. Hours and hours of sleepless nights of learning how to code have finally paid off.
But what does it all mean? Where do you go from here?
You guessed it right. Now is the time to implement what you have been learning. Now is the time to show your prospective employers or clients what your fingers are capable of coding.
The best and recommended way of achieving this goal is by coding an impressive portfolio from scratch.
Add to that the best projects possible you can manage to code.
Rule of thumb— make sure that all projects chosen are reflecting the needs of employers you have in mind.
For example, if you would like to work for companies like Amazon or eBay, including an E-Commerce site to your portfolio is a good idea.
Make sure your portfolio has a clean UI design and has at least a hint of professionalism. Other than that, it’s your time to shine baby!
Without any further ado, here we go.
1. A Dating App
Coding a fully functional dating web app is fucking impressive!
I totally recommend having something like Tinder or OkCupid on your portfolio.
Remember to add/show the source code of your project.
Also, a short brief, explaining the process and the technologies and languages used in programming the whole app should be included.
Otherwise, how will people know that you are not a script kiddie and that it is really you who programmed the project in the first place?
2. An E-Commerce Store
If I were to recommend one project to add to a programming portfolio it would be an e-commerce project.
There are no shortage of e-commerce web apps to draw inspiration from.
Alibaba, Amazon, Shopify, Etsy, small stores a like et cetera et cetera.
The cool thing about this e-commerce project is the freedom that comes with it.
You can choose to either build something massive like Amazon or you can simply build an online store for a small business.
Either way it will still look great on your portfolio.
3. A Food Delivery App
We’re a generation highly dependent on apps like these.
The demand for fast food ordered online through smart phones that customers want delivered at the front door in 3 mins around the world has peaked and will continue to do so.
This means that the demand for programmers like you and me to build and maintain these technologies will continue growing.
So having a project like UberEats, Deliveroo or Swiggy on your portfolio is a good bet.
4. A Social Media App
If you have the skills it takes to code a social media app then I don’t see any reason why to not include it on your stellar portfolio.
It can be anything like Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, GitHub, or what have you.
The important thing to remember here is to make sure that your project reflect the skills you have learned and mastered.
I mean it doesn’t make sense to have a Facebook app coded in PHP on your portfolio if you can only code in JavaScript. It is a glaring red flag.
5. A Video Chat Web App
Thanks to Covid-19 video conferencing web apps have become popular almost overnight.
There’s a skillset gap that needs to be filled.
If you can code a fully functioning video chatting platform from the bottom up and put it on your portfolio, companies are more than willing to hire you buddy.
You can draw inspiration from the likes of Zoom Meeting, Skype, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime et cetera et cetera.
Important Final Words
Be truthful.
Don’t copy other people’s work and put them on your portfolio. If you worked on a project as a team, make it explicit in the project description section.
Make sure to highlight the role you played in such a project, what were the challenges you faced and how did you overcome them.
There are no shortcuts in the tech industry. You cannot cheat your way through a skill-based industry.
Follow a recommended programming path if feel like you’re not there yet. Trust me— it will save you a lot of trouble.
