Noah Stokes reviewed over 2,000 design portfolios in a year and found 90% fail immediately because designers skip the basics. Hiring managers want to see you cared about the work. Master typography, color, layout, and spacing to land in the top 10%.
If you're applying for design jobs right now, here's what you need to know. A hiring manager who's seen over 2,000 portfolios in a single year says the bar is shockingly low. Noah Stokes has been a design director at Dribbble, he's designed systems at Weight Watchers, and he's been a talent acquisition manager for multiple companies. And I asked him, what does he actually see when he opens a portfolio?
If I was able to look at a couple thousand portfolios in 2025, I maybe reached out to 10% of those. So 90 of those portfolios didn't pass that initial sniff test. So if you. That's why I led with, like, I'm excited to see it. I'm hopeful that this is going to be a great portfolio. 90% of them are not. So if you put in that attention to detail, if you put in that love, it will stand out. In today's world of folks who are applying to jobs, but generally, like, it's not hard to stand out. It's not hard to stand out if you put in some effort.
He's hopeful that it will be great, but unfortunately, 90% are not. Think about that. The person hiring you isn't looking for perfection. They're looking for someone who clearly cared. That's the bar. And most people don't clear it because they skip the fundamentals. Typography, color, layout, spacing. If you get those right, you're already in the top 10%. Send this to a designer who's job hunting right now.
