For the majority of my career my website has just been a better styled/interactive version of my CV and cover letter. Even now that I'm having a blog it still doesn't include any case studies or actual paid work. It's never been an issue, especially because most of my work has been paid software that's behind NDAs, do I can't really make the code public and would have to anonymize screenshots anyway.
Usually I write a cover letter in which I explain briefly what my skills are, what projects I've worked, what my roles were, and what kind of projects I'm interested in working on, and then mention I can walk them through my work in detail during a meeting.
The times I've been involved in the hiring process from the other side, I didn't care much to see a portfolio beforehand either. What's important for me is that before we have the interview, I get a clear picture of:
What your main skills are
Which areas you work with and want to work with
What type of projects and companies you've worked at
What roles you take in projects
Your personality
How that's communicated is less relevant to me. It just has to be done in a clean and understandable way. That can be a portfolio, an online cover letter, a video, a well organized github account (with extra context provided in a separate document), link to your blog, or anything else.
I do like seeing the actual work during interviews, but for me personally I don't need to see it upfront. And I haven't really come across a lot of places where having a portfolio makes a big difference.
Disclaimer, this is from a Norwegian perspective. I've also been applying and hiring for more senior roles. I notice hiring cultures tend to be quite different between different countries, and especially different from the US.
It's great to hear a perspective from the other side of the hiring process. All of those things you mentioned are super important and can be presented in various ways. Thank you so much for sharing and it's so cool to hear the hiring process from a different country! The US is a little bit different but all of the info is still extremely important.
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For the majority of my career my website has just been a better styled/interactive version of my CV and cover letter. Even now that I'm having a blog it still doesn't include any case studies or actual paid work. It's never been an issue, especially because most of my work has been paid software that's behind NDAs, do I can't really make the code public and would have to anonymize screenshots anyway.
Usually I write a cover letter in which I explain briefly what my skills are, what projects I've worked, what my roles were, and what kind of projects I'm interested in working on, and then mention I can walk them through my work in detail during a meeting.
The times I've been involved in the hiring process from the other side, I didn't care much to see a portfolio beforehand either. What's important for me is that before we have the interview, I get a clear picture of:
How that's communicated is less relevant to me. It just has to be done in a clean and understandable way. That can be a portfolio, an online cover letter, a video, a well organized github account (with extra context provided in a separate document), link to your blog, or anything else.
I do like seeing the actual work during interviews, but for me personally I don't need to see it upfront. And I haven't really come across a lot of places where having a portfolio makes a big difference.
Disclaimer, this is from a Norwegian perspective. I've also been applying and hiring for more senior roles. I notice hiring cultures tend to be quite different between different countries, and especially different from the US.
It's great to hear a perspective from the other side of the hiring process. All of those things you mentioned are super important and can be presented in various ways. Thank you so much for sharing and it's so cool to hear the hiring process from a different country! The US is a little bit different but all of the info is still extremely important.