Crafting a Great Junior Engineer Portfolio
2020-09-25
Something we see commonly asked in gamedev by students and juniors is how to put together a good engineering portfolio!
So let’s get you some help! Meet Luke, a senior engineer at LoG. 👋
During 2020, we advertised for a junior engineer role, so in just a few weeks Luke read and reviewed over 100 junior applications. With this in mind, he has some tips and advice fresh in his mind for anyone out there looking for some guidance in creating or revising their own portfolio.
👇 Luke’s Advice 👇
Know your audience
When you send in your application - it’s for someone to read. Consider what sort of information about you the reader is looking for, and make sure it’s easy to find. For junior positions, we get A LOT of applications. It isn't uncommon to have to evaluate 100+ applications (true story 👀). The window you have to sell yourself in is small, so make the most of your opportunity for a great first impression.
Include your personal work
By this, we mean outside of your school projects. This shows a capacity to be self-directed in your learning and helps highlight what interests you the most. It also allows you to differentiate, as everyone comes away with similar work from school projects and assignments.
Make it easily digestible
Help the person reading your portfolio find the best things you've done quickly! Pick out a handful of things (three to five is great) to highlight and give them a short and easy to find summary. Do include a deeper dive into all the fun technical details, but this is secondary to seizing that moment you have to really grab someone's attention with each project.
Show your process
Your portfolio is a great opportunity to showcase your engineering process. What did you try that didn't work? Why didn't it work? How did you address that? No one knows everything, but highlighting how you solve problems will help you stand out.
Using Visual Aids
Videos or pictures are great for easily communicating something! If you choose this route for presenting your work make them easy to find and consider having a shorter version in a prominent place.
Bonus Tips
- A single polished feature is more effective at showing your skills than a full game.
- If the project was a team project, this is great (shows teamwork), but be sure to highlight and discuss your contributions.
- Don't send links to source code - especially for a full project. No one is going to have time to review your code, no matter how good it is.
- Having an interest in game design and art is great - just remember if you are applying to be an engineer, you want to first and foremost highlight your engineering side.
We hope this helps!
<3 Luke, Vix and the LoG Crew