Should you have a PM portfolio? The answer is: it depends on where you are in your career and what you're trying to accomplish.
But here's what I can tell you with certainty: most PM portfolios I see are mediocre at best. They either reveal too little (generic descriptions of features) or try too hard (elaborate case studies about insignificant projects).
Let me show you what actually works.
Who Needs a Portfolio (And Who Doesn't)
You should probably have one if:
- •You're breaking into PM from another field
- •You're early in your career with limited experience
- •You have impressive projects that are hard to explain in a resume bullet
- •You want to demonstrate skills that don't show up in traditional job history
You can probably skip it if:
- •You have 5+ years of PM experience at known companies
- •Your resume speaks for itself
- •You're not applying to roles that explicitly request case studies
- •You don't have time to make it good
A mediocre portfolio is worse than no portfolio. Seriously. If you can't invest the time to make it great, skip it entirely.
What Hiring Managers Actually Want to See
When I review PM portfolios, I'm looking for answers to a few questions:
- •How do you think about problems? Show me your process, not just the output.
- •Can you make tradeoffs? What did you deprioritize and why?
- •Do you understand customers? Show evidence of user research, not assumptions.
- •Can you work with constraints? Real-world PMs don't have unlimited time and resources.
- •What happened after launch? Results matter more than deliverables.
Most portfolios fail because they focus on "what we built" instead of "why we built it that way" and "what happened next."
The Anatomy of a Good PM Case Study
Here's a structure that works:
Context (Keep it brief)
- •What was the product/company?
- •What was your role specifically?
- •What was the timeframe?
The Problem (This is important)
- •What problem were you solving?
- •Who was experiencing this problem?
- •Why did it matter to the business?
- •What data or research surfaced this problem?
The Constraints (Show reality)
- •What limitations did you face?
- •Timeline, resources, technical debt, political challenges
- •What was already ruled out?
The Process (Show your thinking)
- •What options did you consider?
- •What research did you do?
- •How did you make tradeoffs?
- •Who did you involve and why?
The Solution (Not just mockups)
- •What did you ship?
- •What was specifically your contribution vs. the team's?
- •What got cut and why?
The Results (Critical)
- •What happened after launch?
- •What metrics moved?
- •What did you learn?
- •What would you do differently?
What to Include
Strong portfolio pieces:
- •Products you actually shipped (with results)
- •Side projects you built yourself
- •Design exercises you did for interviews (if you got positive feedback)
- •Product teardowns that show analytical thinking
- •Strategic docs you wrote (redacted as needed)
Potentially strong, if done well:
- •Hypothetical product improvements with clear methodology
- •Responses to case study prompts
- •Analysis of product decisions (why companies did what they did)
What to Skip
Remove these immediately:
- •School projects (unless truly exceptional)
- •Features you "contributed to" with vague involvement
- •Anything you can't talk about in detail
- •Generic product teardowns without original insight
- •Long lists of tools you've used
- •Testimonials from coworkers (feels desperate)
Also remove:
- •Case studies where you can't share results
- •Projects where you were mostly project managing, not product managing
- •Anything under NDA that you're bending rules to include
Formatting That Works
Keep it scannable: Hiring managers skim. Use headers, bullets, and visuals strategically.
Lead with a summary: Each case study should open with a 2-3 sentence overview including the result.
Include visuals thoughtfully: Screenshots, mockups, and diagrams help—but only if they add information. Don't pad with images.
Make it accessible: A simple website or PDF works. Don't require login or make people download apps.
Keep it short: 2-3 strong case studies beat 6 mediocre ones. Quality over quantity.
The Portfolio Website Question
Do you need a custom portfolio website?
It helps, but it's not required. Options in order of effort:
- •Notion page (low effort, works fine): Easy to maintain, looks clean enough
- •Simple portfolio site (medium effort): Squarespace, Wix, or a basic template
- •Custom website (high effort): Only if you have design/dev skills or want to show them off
Don't spend three months building a portfolio site when you should be applying for jobs. A clean Notion page with strong content beats a beautiful website with weak content.
The Product Sense Exercise Alternative
Some PMs skip traditional portfolios and instead include "product sense exercises"—their analysis of real products and what they would change.
This can work well if:
- •You don't have shipped products to discuss
- •You have strong analytical and strategic thinking
- •You pick products relevant to your target companies
Structure for a product sense piece:
- •Product overview (brief)
- •What's working well (shows you can appreciate good work)
- •What could be improved (prioritized, not a complaint list)
- •Specific recommendation with rationale
- •How you'd measure success
The key is depth over breadth. A thorough analysis of one product beats surface-level takes on five products.
How to Talk About Confidential Work
Much of PM work is confidential. You can't share revenue numbers, strategic initiatives, or details about unreleased features.
Ways to handle this:
- •Focus on process and approach rather than specific outputs
- •Use relative metrics ("increased conversion by 40%") rather than absolutes
- •Describe the type of problem without revealing proprietary details
- •Get explicit approval from past employers for specific pieces
- •Clearly mark what's redacted and why
Interviewers understand confidentiality. What matters is that you can articulate your thinking and approach, even if the details are obscured.
The Bottom Line
A portfolio is a tool, not a requirement. It's useful for specific situations—career transitions, early careers, unique projects that need explaining.
If you build one, remember: hiring managers want to see how you think, not just what you made. Process over output. Results over activities. Depth over breadth.
And if you don't have time to make it good? Skip it. Your energy is better spent on networking, preparing for interviews, or working on projects that could become portfolio pieces later.
Portfolio ready? Now nail the rest of your application. Read The PM Resume That Gets Interviews and Writing a PM Cover Letter That Doesn't Suck.