Why I Ditched Terminal UIs for Recruiters
I built a terminal-style portfolio.
Black screen. Commands. ASCII vibes.
It felt clever. It felt personal. It felt very me.
And almost everyone said the same thing:
“This is cool… but recruiters won’t get it.”
They were right.
The terminal UI problem 🧠
Terminal portfolios are fun for developers.
They signal:
- You’re technical
- You’re confident
- You like bending conventions
But recruiters don’t explore. They skim.
They want:
- Who are you?
- What do you build?
- Can I understand this in 10 seconds?
A blinking cursor asking them to type help already lost half the room.
The uncomfortable realization ⚠️
My terminal UI wasn’t failing because it was bad.
It was failing because it required participation.
Recruiters don’t want to interact.
They want to recognize.
That’s when it clicked:
A portfolio isn’t a playground. It’s a signal amplifier.
The pivot 🎯
I rebuilt my portfolio as:
- UI-first
- Motion-driven
- Immediately readable
Big typography.
Clear sections.
Subtle animation instead of clever commands.
Same personality. Different delivery.
The irony?
More people noticed my work after I made it simpler.
What I learned ✅
- Cool ideas still need clear entry points
- A portfolio is not for you, it’s for your audience
- You can still be creative without being cryptic
I didn’t kill the terminal UI idea.
I just stopped forcing it on people who didn’t ask for it.
Curious how it turned out?
I rebuilt my portfolio to be UI-first, motion-heavy, and recruiter-readable
without killing the personality.
If you want to see what that pivot looks like in practice:
👉 https://zeno-guy-portfolio.vercel.app/
Fair warning:
I still overengineered it. Just more responsibly this time.
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