Why I Stopped Sending Resumes and Built a "Proof of Work" Portfolio Instead

Seng Lee — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 20:52:00 +0000

After 6 months of job hunting and 100+ applications with barely any responses, I realized something brutal: my resume was invisible.

I'm a developer. I had skills. I had projects. But I was competing against thousands of other applicants with the same bullet points:

3 years experience in React
Built scalable applications
Strong problem-solving skills

Recruiters were spending maybe 6 seconds on my PDF before moving on. And I get it—they're drowning in applications.

So I asked myself: What if I could show my work instead of just listing it?

The Problem with Resumes for Remote Jobs

Remote hiring is different. Companies can't meet you. They can't see you work. They're hiring based entirely on trust—and a 1-page PDF doesn't build trust.

What actually builds trust:

Seeing your code in action
Understanding how you think
Getting a feel for how you communicate

A resume does none of that.

What I Built Instead

I spent a weekend building myself a simple portfolio page. Not a fancy personal website with a blog I'd never update—just a clean page that showed:

Who I am (2-3 sentences, not my life story)
What I've built (with live links and outcomes, not just descriptions)
My stack (so recruiters can quickly pattern-match)
One link to share everywhere

Here's what changed:

Before (Resume)	After (Portfolio)
Built a dashboard	Live demo + reduced TTFB by 42%
Experience with React	Actual React projects with code
Good communicator	Clear, well-written project descriptions

The Results Surprised Me

Within 2 weeks of sharing my portfolio link instead of attaching a PDF:

Response rate went from ~2% to ~15%
Recruiters actually mentioned specific projects in their replies
Got 3 interviews where they said "I checked out your portfolio before the call"

The difference? They could see my work before deciding to talk to me.

What Makes a Good "Proof of Work" Portfolio

After going through this process and talking to other developers who made the switch, here's what I learned:

1. Lead with outcomes, not features

Don't say "built a dashboard." Say "dashboard that cut report generation time by 60%."

2. Make it scannable

Recruiters are busy. They should get the gist in 10 seconds.

3. Include live links

Dead projects = red flags. Even a simple deployed demo beats a GitHub repo they won't clone.

4. Keep it updated

A portfolio from 2021 tells recruiters you've been coasting.

5. One URL to rule them all

LinkedIn + GitHub + personal site + Notion = confusion. One link that has everything.

The Tool I Built (and Why I'm Sharing This)

After my portfolio worked for me, a few friends asked me to help them build theirs. That's when I realized: most developers either don't have time to build a portfolio site, or they overthink it and never ship.

So I turned my template into RemoteWorks.pro—a simple tool that lets you create a portfolio in minutes, not days.

I'm not going to pretend this is some revolutionary SaaS. It's intentionally simple:

Pick a template designed for remote job seekers
Add your projects and experience
Get a shareable link (yourname.remoteworks.pro)

It's free to start, and I built it because I genuinely believe portfolios > resumes for remote work.

Try It or Don't—But Stop Relying on PDFs

Whether you use my tool, build your own, or use something else entirely—the point is this:

In 2025, especially for remote roles, showing your work beats describing it every time.

Recruiters are overwhelmed. Give them something they can actually evaluate in 30 seconds.

If you're curious, here's the product: RemoteWorks.pro

And if you've made the portfolio switch yourself, I'd love to hear what worked for you in the comments. Always looking to learn from other devs who've cracked the remote job code.

What do you think—am I wrong about resumes? Has a portfolio actually helped you land interviews? Let me know below 👇

🟢 Just Released: Green Beautiful Color Themes – My New VS Code Theme 🌿✨

Seng Lee — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 14:48:19 +0000

Hey everyone!
I just published my second VS Code theme extension, and I’d love for you to check it out and let me know what you think.

🌿 Green Beautiful Color Themes

A calm, refreshing green-focused theme designed for developers who want a cleaner, more relaxing workspace. Great for long coding sessions where you want something easy on the eyes but still visually sharp.

👉 Download / Install from the VS Code Marketplace:
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=davidleedarkbutterflydev.green-beautiful-color-themes

✨ Features

Fresh green tones for a modern, peaceful UI

Carefully balanced syntax colors

Minimal, clean, and distraction-free

Great for day-to-day coding

💬 I’d love your feedback!

If you give it a try, please let me know:

What you liked

What you'd want improved

Any color tweaks you'd suggest

Your input will help shape the next updates.

Thanks so much — I hope this theme makes your workspace a little more beautiful! 💚

DEV Community: Seng Lee