Most UX portfolios fail not because they lack good content — but because they’re designed only for the designer, not the recruiter.

Think about it. When someone opens your portfolio from your LinkedIn — they don’t have 10 minutes. They have 20 seconds. In that moment, they’re not trying to read every case study. They’re just scanning. They want to know: “Are you worth shortlisting?” And that decision often happens before they read a single paragraph.

But that’s only one side of the story.

Because once you’re in an interview — visuals and vibes alone won’t help. Now they’ll dig into your thinking. They want the decisions, the trade-offs, the depth. And if your portfolio doesn’t hold up under that kind of scrutiny… it won’t matter how good the first impression was.

So don’t design only for the glance. Design for the deep dive too. Your portfolio needs to do both.