Portfolio Workshop Breakthrough: Beyond the CV
Portfolio Workshop Breakthrough
Had a portfolio workshop today that completely shifted my perspective. Initially felt confused about the purpose of a portfolio - why create another webpage when I already have a CV? The distinction felt unnecessary.
But then someone explained how portfolios showcase personality, design taste, and who you are beyond just skills and projects. That sparked something for me.
Key insight: A portfolio is essentially a landing page - but for yourself as a product. Instead of selling a service or product, you’re presenting yourself. This analogy clicked immediately:
- What problems do I solve?
- What are my advantages?
- How do I perform?
- What’s my personality like?
Think of yourself as a product and write a landing page for that product. Connect it to actual projects and link to your CV for the formal details. This framework makes so much more sense than just “another project showcase.”
This reinforced how powerful analogies are for learning - they bridge new knowledge with existing knowledge, accelerating the learning process. The compound effect: the more you know, the faster you learn new things.
Daily Standups Experiment
Tried implementing daily standups with my small team. Mixed results so far - teammates find it tedious and unnecessary. Honestly, I feel the same sometimes.
But since it’s such a widely adopted practice, there must be benefits we’re not seeing yet. Three meetings is too short to judge properly.
Interesting observations:
- People often resist daily standups when they haven’t accomplished much - awkward to say “I didn’t do anything today”
- Actually provides a structured opportunity to ask for help early, rather than struggling alone
- Allows team members to reprioritize and offer assistance before problems become critical
- Better to ask for help at the beginning than wait until the very end
Still want to experiment with this methodology in future group projects. The theory makes sense on paper, even if the immediate experience feels tedious. Need longer-term data to evaluate effectiveness properly.