How to write a work sample or case study that gets you hired
At the heart of every portfolio are work samples and case studies. We call those "Projects" here at Showspace.
Projects can be written from the first person perspective or the team perspective. If multiple people contributed to the project, we recommend writing from the team perspective. Then when we release the "tagging" feature (ETA Q1 '23), you can tag them and they can have the project on their portfolio too! This is a great way to memorialize your work together and build team bonds even after your work is done.
While our GPT-Powered AI can help you quickly generate a base template, we recommend using the template below to continue to refine the narrative.
Background
Optional section where you can provide background information on the situation, and explain why it is important or relevant. Including this is case-specific depending on the audience you're intending to distribute your project to.
If you expect to distribute this project outside your organization at any point, we recommend sharing context accordingly.
For example:
- Company context
- Industry context
Problem
Describe the problem or challenge the team faced that inspired the work. Aim for at least 1-2 short paragraphs.
- Why was it painful?
- Can you quantify the pain?
- How did you know users were frustrated?
- Do you have screenshots, pictures, quotes, videos, or any content to support the story with?
Solution
Explain the solution or approach that was taken to address the problem. Aim for at least 1-2 short paragraphs here as well. Feel free to add in your team members names to the project where relevant.
- What was the process of coming up with the solution?
- What was the solution you arrived at?
- What were the challenges along the way?
- Any screenshots, pictures, videos, or other content to add?
Results
Share the results or outcomes of the solution, including measurable success or impact. User quotes and metrics are also great here. We recommend using bullets.
- What was the result of the project?
- Can you quantify it?
Team/Contribution
What did you (and if you had a team) and everyone contribute to the project? We recommend bulleting out your team here as well, as shown below.
If you create a project just for yourself, we recommend calling this “Contribution” where you bullet what you did in a similar style to your resume.
John Smith - Product Manager- Led team of 5 engineers and a designer
- Conducted user interviews to better inform solution
- Develped web app in Next.js and Supabase
- Conducted user interviews to better inform solution
Example Projects
While every project is different, and yours may not fit into the mold above, here are some examples of projects we think are good to look to for inspiration. You can also browse the Explore page.
On Demand Web App Help for Sixty
Bootstrapped Furnished Housing Startup for StayNÔM
Student Master Viewer for BloomTech
