Read time: 1m 15s

People who look at your portfolio (recruiters, hiring managers, and senior team members) ask 3 questions, in this order:

1. Can you do the work?
2. Do you get our problems?
3. Will you make my life easier?

If the answer isn't obvious in 1 minute, you're toast.

Not 10 minutes.
Not 5.

One. Minute.

That's less time than it takes to microwave popcorn.

Don’t pick your portfolio projects like you’re at a buffet. "Ooh, I worked hard on this one!" "This one has pretty colours!" "My mum loves this one!"

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

You're choosing projects that make YOU feel good. Not projects that make EMPLOYERS write checks.

Here's how you pick projects to get hired:

RULE #1: Show your best, not your hardest

I spent 6 months on a Web3 project. Nearly killed me.

No users.
No revenue.
Never made the portfolio.

Instead, I showed the 2-week project that made $100k+.

The test: Would you actually use it? Can you point to real metrics? Did you enjoy making it? If you didn't enjoy it, it shows.

RULE #2: Match the company

Applying to Spotify? They care about:

• Time in app
• User retention
• Making people want to use it

Applying to Salesforce? They care about:

• Error reduction
• Complex workflows
• Not making users want to die

Match problems you’ll likely solve at that company.

RULE #3: Three projects. Period.

Stack them like Netflix:

Top: Your absolute banger
​Middle: Solid B+ that shows range
​Bottom: The personality project

I had a designer show me 12 projects last week.

Know what I remember? None.

Be strategic. Your portfolio is not a participation trophy cabinet.

It's a sales pitch.

A hiring manager has 50+ portfolios and you have 1 minute to make them care.

👉 Want my playbook? Most UX portfolios fail because designers showcase the wrong projects. Learn the 4 golden rules ↓

How to Choose the Right Projects to Get Hired

🤩 FEATURED

Early in my career, I had a ritual.

Every time I needed design inspiration, I'd spend 2-3 hours downloading random apps, flicking through Dribbble and Behance, screenshotting everything, dumping it into a folder called "inspo".

I called it "research."

Back then, no tool existed that actually solved that problem for me as a designer:

Not just pretty screens. Not just aesthetic inspo.

The actual thinking behind actual decisions.

Until Mobbin showed up.

And before you roll your eyes, hear me out. I recommended Mobbin before they ever sponsored my content.

So when they reached out, it was a yes in about 4 seconds. That's me wearing their merch!

What's Mobbin you ask?

The world's largest UI/UX reference library. 1,000+ apps. 600,000+ screens. 300,000+ user flows. Mobile and web, and even animations.

What that means for you:

∗ Search "onboarding" and see exactly how Duolingo, Spotify, and Notion handle it

∗ Watch full user flow videos — not static screenshots, actual transitions and micro-interactions

∗ Copy directly to Figma in one click for referencing

Now you have the power to to walk into a stakeholder meeting and say "here's how 12 top-tier products solve this exact problem" — in 10 minutes of prep instead of 3 hours.

BOOM! That's why I love Mobbin.

Which products set the standard for all of us?

Mobbin's first-ever design award, celebrating the best in craftsmanship across iOS, Web, Sites, Animation, and Innovation.

Panel of judges are stacked, folks Fons Man, Andy Allen, Tobias van Schneider, and other industry vets.

Which product/team cooked in 2025? See which products won the Mobbin Awards​

Try Mobbin (you won't regret it)