I built 5 projects before getting my first interview.
The first 2 got me ghosted.
Project 3 got me noticed.
Projects 4-5 got me hired.
The difference? I stopped building what tutorials told me to build and started building what recruiters actually care about.
If you’re self-taught and wondering why your portfolio isn’t getting responses, here’s what to build instead.
❌ Stop Building: Todo Apps, Weather Apps, Calculators
Why they don’t work:
- Every beginner builds them
- Too simple to showcase real skills
- Recruiters have seen 10,000 of them
The harsh truth: These projects say “I can follow a tutorial” not “I can solve problems.”
✅ Build This Instead: Project #1 - “Clone Something Real”
What: Pick a feature from a real app and r…
I built 5 projects before getting my first interview.
The first 2 got me ghosted.
Project 3 got me noticed.
Projects 4-5 got me hired.
The difference? I stopped building what tutorials told me to build and started building what recruiters actually care about.
If you’re self-taught and wondering why your portfolio isn’t getting responses, here’s what to build instead.
❌ Stop Building: Todo Apps, Weather Apps, Calculators
Why they don’t work:
- Every beginner builds them
- Too simple to showcase real skills
- Recruiters have seen 10,000 of them
The harsh truth: These projects say “I can follow a tutorial” not “I can solve problems.”
✅ Build This Instead: Project #1 - “Clone Something Real”
What: Pick a feature from a real app and rebuild it.
Examples:
- Twitter’s infinite scroll feed
- Spotify’s search with filters
- Instagram’s image upload with preview
- Uber’s live location tracking
Why it works:
// Todo App teaches you this:
const addTodo = () => {
todos.push(newTodo);
}
// Cloning Twitter teaches you THIS:
const fetchFeed = async (page) => {
// Pagination
// Infinite scroll
// Loading states
// Error handling
// Rate limiting
// Image optimization
}
What recruiters see: “This person can build features we actually need.”
My example: I cloned Instagram’s image upload. Learned file handling, image compression, progress bars, and preview generation. Got asked about it in 6/10 interviews.
✅ Build This Instead: Project #2 - “Solve YOUR Problem”
What: Build a tool that solves a problem YOU actually have.
Why it works: Real problems = real solutions = interesting to talk about.
Examples from my journey:
- Built a browser extension that blocks YouTube recommendations (saved 2 hours/day)
- Created a script that auto-applies to jobs (applied to 100 companies in 1 hour)
- Made a dashboard tracking my LeetCode progress with charts
The magic question in interviews: “Why did you build this?”
Bad answer: “I followed a tutorial”
Good answer: “I was wasting 2 hours daily on YouTube, so I built this to block distractions. Saved me 60 hours/month.”
Recruiters love this because it shows initiative and problem-solving.
✅ Build This Instead: Project #3 - “Real-Time Anything”
What: Build something with live updates. Chat app, collaborative editor, live notifications, multiplayer game.
Why it works: 90% of developers avoid this because it’s “hard.” That’s your advantage.
The tech that impresses:
// WebSockets (Socket.io)
socket.on('message', (data) => {
// Real-time updates
});
// Or Server-Sent Events
const eventSource = new EventSource('/api/stream');
// Or WebRTC for peer-to-peer
const peerConnection = new RTCPeerConnection();
My example: Built a collaborative whiteboard. Multiple users draw simultaneously.
In interviews, I said: “I handle 50+ concurrent users with optimized socket events, batching updates to reduce server load by 95%.”
Their response: “When can you start?”
The Framework: What Makes a Project “Hire-Worthy”
Every good portfolio project has these 3 things:
1. Complexity You Can Explain
Not complicated for the sake of it. But complex enough that you learned something hard.
Example: “I implemented JWT authentication with refresh tokens and role-based access control.”
2. A Problem It Solves
Not “I built this to learn React.”
But “I built this because finding parking near campus was impossible.”
3. Live Demo + Clean Code
- Deploy it (Vercel, Netlify, Railway)
- Write a README explaining WHAT and WHY
- Add screenshots/GIFs
- Keep code clean with comments
My Actual Portfolio That Got Me Interviews
Project 1: Twitter clone (infinite scroll, image uploads)
Why: Showed I could handle complex state management
Project 2: Job application automation tool
Why: Solved my own problem, showed initiative
Project 3: Cloud Based File Management System
Why: Demonstrated advanced technical skills
Total time: 12 weeks
Interview callbacks: 12 companies
Success rate: 5x higher than my first portfolio
Your Action Plan (Start Today)
Week 1-3: Clone one feature from Twitter/Instagram/Spotify
Week 4-6: Build a tool that solves YOUR problem
Week 7-10: Build something real-time (chat, notifications, collab tool)
Then:
- Deploy all 3
- Write clear READMEs
- Add to LinkedIn/GitHub
- Start applying
The Truth Nobody Tells You
You don’t need 10 projects.
You need 3 projects that show:
- You can build real features ✅
- You can solve problems ✅
- You can handle complexity ✅
Todo apps show none of this.
Stop building what every tutorial teaches.
Start building what every company needs.
What’s the most interesting problem you’ve faced recently? Drop it below—that’s your next project. 👇
Links:
- Follow me on X - click here
- My Portfolio - click there