# Build a portfolio that tells your story | Figma for Edu Early Career Week Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dEqxMwCSgY Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/6dEqxMwCSgY Generated: 2025-12-12T15:35:26.518+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview Recruiters and design managers from Figma, Notion, and Shopify advise early career designers that initial portfolio reviews happen in 3 to 5 seconds, prioritizing immediate visual craft, accessibility, and ease of access, while strongly discouraging the use of post-it notes or whiteboards as primary process documentation. **Key Points:** - The initial review time for a portfolio is extremely brief, with one recruiter stating they spend "probably, like. 4 or 5 seconds" on the first glance, focusing on visual design, typography, and overall aesthetics or "vibes". - Ease of access is crucial; difficulty like digging through hoops or inputting lengthy passwords signals potential lack of attention to detail or UX thinking, although it may not be an immediate disqualifier. - Panelists strongly advise against showing process documentation like post-it notes or whiteboards, with Chris P stating, "if you do post-it notes, or whiteboards very quickly. I... I pass." - For structure, candidates should prioritize quality over quantity, featuring 1 to 2 high-quality case studies, and potentially including a section for explorations or play to show curiosity. - Storytelling in a case study should follow a narrative arc (setup, confrontation, resolution), maintaining a 70% work, 30% context setting split, and explicitly stating the role and contribution. - AI proficiency is increasingly important, and candidates should showcase how they use these tools to enhance their design process, as this can differentiate them from more senior designers entrenched in old workflows. - A common mistake is providing too much information; candidates must learn to edit down, ensuring the portfolio is highly curated, simple, and easy to contact the applicant from. **Context:** This session, part of Figma for Education's Early Career Week, focused on building a portfolio that effectively tells a designer's story, featuring design managers and recruiters from major tech companies like Figma, Notion, and Shopify. The speakers—Joanna (Figma recruiter), Kai (Figma design operations), Chris P (former Shopify consultant), and Chris A (Notion design recruiting)—shared candid insights from their hiring experiences regarding what captures their attention immediately and what demonstrates readiness for an early career role. ## Detailed Analysis The panel established that first impressions are swift, with recruiters spending only 3-5 seconds assessing visual appeal, aesthetic 'vibes,' and accessibility, noting that cumbersome site navigation is a negative signal. Quality far outweighs quantity; candidates should feature only their best 1 to 5 projects, ensuring design fundamentals like hierarchy and typography are impeccable. A major pitfall identified was over-contextualizing process work; panelists stressed a 70% work to 30% context ratio, explicitly advising against including raw post-it notes or whiteboards, which signal junior status. Strong storytelling involves clearly articulating the problem, contribution, challenges, iterations, and final resolution, borrowing narrative techniques from mediums like film. Furthermore, showcasing technical curiosity, especially regarding AI tools, is vital for early career designers to leapfrog peers entrenched in older workflows; candidates are encouraged to use AI to enhance projects rather than just stating they know the tools. Finally, panelists emphasized the importance of community engagement (Twitter, local meetups) and showing personality, urging designers to be authentic and edit ruthlessly to present a clean, memorable narrative. ### Initial Review Process - Review time is 3 to 5 seconds - First impressions rely on visual design, typography, and aesthetics ('vibes') - Accessibility and ease of navigation provide immediate UX signals - Hard pass on portfolios featuring post-it notes or whiteboards as primary process documentation. ### Portfolio Structure and Depth - Quality over quantity is paramount, suggesting 1 to 2 incredible case studies are sufficient for early career - Candidates should include a section for explorations or 'play' to demonstrate curiosity - Deep dives into case studies occur only after the initial positive glance confirms core components are present. ### Storytelling and Craft - Strong storytelling requires clear setup, confrontation (challenges/iterations), and resolution - Maintain a 70% work, 30% context split, ensuring clarity on role and contribution - Candidates should adopt narrative techniques from film (e.g., Hero's Journey) to structure their case studies. ### Motion and Technical Skills - Motion must be tasteful and restrained; avoid excessive, distracting animations - Prototypes are highly encouraged as they showcase technical chops and curiosity about new tools like AI - Videos and GIFs must be high quality and thoroughly tested for cross-device performance. ### AI's Impact on Hiring - AI proficiency is becoming a mandate (e.g., at Shopify) - Candidates must reframe the question from 'how to showcase AI' to 'how to use AI to make projects better' - Embracing new technologies creatively allows junior designers to leapfrog senior designers resistant to workflow changes. ### Common Pitfalls and Advice - Pitfalls include being inauthentic, providing too much detail ('Kill Your Darlings'), and making contact information hard to find - Always include passwords for gated content, as reviewers will skip protected work otherwise - New designers should focus on making a lot of stuff to develop taste, be confident, and actively participate in design communities online like Twitter.