👀 What recruiters check in 10 seconds

I surveyed 100 recruiters about portfolio scan time: average 12 seconds. Here is what they look at:

1. Name and tech stack (3 seconds)
2. 1–2 hero project screenshots (5 seconds)
3. Overall design impression (4 seconds)

Bad design impression = game over. They never even open your code. That's why design matters.

🐙 Track 1: GitHub Profile README

Put a README.md in a repo named after your username and it appears on your GitHub profile automatically. The single highest-ROI move:

Required pieces

• Top banner via GitHub Banner tool at 1280×640. Name, role, contact in one image
• Tech-stack badges via Shield Badge tool in horizontal rows
• GitHub stats card using github-readme-stats widget
• One-line intro: "Full-stack engineer, 5 years in fintech, side-project addict"

These four are enough. Long-form README = nobody reads.

🌐 Track 2: Personal portfolio site

Static site on github.io or Vercel free. React, Next.js, Astro: any framework works. Design principles:

Hero section (first screen)

What's visible without scrolling decides everything.

• Background: escape the boring. Gradient Blur (Apple / Vercel style) or Mesh Gradient
• Name: big text. Gradient Text for impact
• One-line identity: "Building products users love"
• CTA buttons: Button tool for "Resume", "GitHub", "Contact"

Project cards

3–5 of your best projects. Each card has:

• Screenshot with the Rounded Corners tool for soft corners, and Background Blur for shadow
• Title + 1-line description
• Tech-stack badges
• GitHub link + live demo

For card design, use the Glassmorphism tool for translucent cards (very on-trend). Add soft shadows from the box-shadow tool.

Tech-stack section

All your languages and tools at a glance. Use Shield badges in rows, or logo icons in a grid. Organize by category:

• Languages: JavaScript, TypeScript, Python
• Frontend: React, Next.js, Tailwind
• Backend: Node.js, FastAPI, PostgreSQL
• DevOps: Docker, AWS, GitHub Actions

⚠️ Common mistakes

From critiquing friends' portfolios:

1. Too many colors. Main 1 + accent 1 is plenty. Use the Palette tool
2. Dark-mode only, no light. Many interviewers use light mode
3. Excess animation. Looks cool at first, gets annoying fast
4. Mobile broken. 70% of recruiters first view on mobile. Responsive mandatory
5. Life-story About Me. Nobody reads. 3 lines max

📊 The actual changes that doubled callbacks

What my friend changed (Before → After):

• White background + black text → Gradient blur + gradient text
• 8 projects listed → 3 big featured + "more" link
• 5 tech stacks → 15 organized by category (broader)
• Email only → LinkedIn + GitHub + Blog + Email
• About Me 5 paragraphs → 3 lines + "Currently learning Rust"

3 weeks later, callback rate went 8% → 17%. Same code.

💡 If you do just one thing

The GitHub README banner has the highest ROI. 5 minutes to make, seen by every GitHub profile visitor. If you don't have time for a full site, just do this.