Portfolio Cheat Sheet

Checklist

1. Content & Communication

  • ✅ Use clear, concise language throughout the portfolio
  • ✅ Follow a consistent project structure
    • Problem → Solution → Tools → Results
  • ✅ Highlight your personal contributions distinctly
  • ✅ Use action verbs and measurable outcomes speedup, accuracy, scale

2. Project Selection & Depth

  • ✅ Showcase 1-6 high-quality, relevant projects
    • depending on your experience and level of detail you want to include
  • ✅ Include a mix of industry-relevant and research-level
  • ✅ Prioritize originality, impact, and clarity over quantity

3. Structure & Navigation

  • ✅ Use clear section headers:
    • About, Skills, Projects, Research, Contact
  • ✅ Keep navigation simple and intuitive
  • ✅ Ensure every project follows a repeatable, easy-to-read format
  • ✅ Include an intro/homepage with name, tagline, and focus area

4. Skills, Tools, & Technologies

  • ✅ List technical skills grouped by category
    • Languages, Frameworks, HPC Tools, etc.
  • ✅ Match tools used to projects where relevant
  • ✅ Mention level of proficiency or years of experience if useful

5. Results & Impact

  • ✅ Include metrics wherever possible
  • ✅ Visualize benchmarks or performance results
    • charts, graphs, tables
  • ✅ Explain what the numbers mean in context
  • ✅ Highlight collaboration, publication, or application outcomes

6. Visuals & Design

  • ✅ Use visuals: diagrams, screenshots, figures to break up text
  • ✅ Include descriptive captions and alt-text for all images
  • ✅ Make sure layout is clean and mobile-responsive
  • ✅ Use consistent fonts, spacing, and color scheme

7. Accessibility & Readability

  • ✅ Use bullet points and short paragraphs for skimming
  • ✅ Add alt-text to all graphics and figures for accessibility
  • ✅ Test font sizes, contrast, and spacing on multiple devices
  • ✅ Keep code examples syntax-highlighted and minimal

8. Hosting & Integration

  • ✅ Host on a reliable platform
    • GitHub Pages, Notion, university website
  • ✅ Include GitHub, LinkedIn, resume, and email prominently
  • ✅ Link to external content with descriptive anchor text
    • repos, blogs, papers, demos

Deploy with GitHub Pages

  1. Create a new repository on GitHub
    • Name the repository <username>.github.io if you want to use your username as the domain
    • If you choose something else, then the website will be available at https://<username>.github.io/<repository-name>
  2. Go to the repository settings and enable GitHub Pages
  3. Clone the repository to your local machine
  4. Create a new file in the repository
  5. Commit the changes and push to GitHub
  6. View the website!

Tip: This website is hosted on GitHub Pages. You can look at the source code at https://www.github.com/students-sc/workshops

GitHub Pages Settings

GitHub Pages