🧠 Real Projects vs. Fake Portfolios – What Recruiters Really Want In the tech hiring world, portfolios are more powerful than resumes. But recruiters can easily spot the difference between a real project and a fake portfolio. So, what are they really looking for? Let’s break it down.
🔍
What’s a Fake Portfolio? Fake portfolios often include:
- Copy-paste tutorial projects
- Incomplete or non-functional apps
- No real users, no real purpose
- No live link or README file
- UI straight from templates, with no original thought
These might show you can follow instructions—but
not that you can solve problems.
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What Makes a Real Project? - Solves a Real Problem
Example: A booking app for a local gym or a dashboard for a small business. - Custom-Built Features
You made decisions about design, functionality, and structure—not just followed a YouTube video. - Fully Functional
Complete features, proper flow, and bug-free experience. - Deployed & Shareable
Live project with a link (Netlify, Vercel, etc.) and GitHub repo. - Well-Documented
Includes README, tech stack, problem statement, screenshots, and maybe a demo video.
✅
What Recruiters Really Look For - Original thinking and ownership
- Ability to build and ship real apps
- Clear structure and clean code
- Use of modern tools and best practices
- Proof that you can work like a professional
They’re not impressed by flashy designs alone—they want to see
depth, logic, and results.
💡 Pro Tip Before adding a project to your portfolio, ask:
“If I were the hiring manager, would I be impressed by this?”
If the answer is no—
polish it or replace it.
🔚 Final Thought Anyone can code along with a tutorial. But real developers
build, test, launch, and explain their projects. So stop stacking fake projects.
Build fewer, better, and real.
Launch your Graphy