I Rebuilt the Portfolio Around What a Recruiter Actually Sees

I started this site like a lot of personal projects start: with the part I was excited about. Pixel UI, little dashboard panels, a clock, a calendar, a fishing avatar, and a tiny game. Fun to build. Easy to overdo.

The problem showed up when I looked at the homepage like someone hiring for IT support or junior security work. The first screen did not need more personality. It needed to answer boring questions quickly.

Who am I? What roles am I aiming at? Where am I based? What have I built? Where is the CV?

That became the real brief. Keep the style, but stop making the visitor work for the information.

The build turned into more than a static portfolio. I added Payload CMS so project cards, notes, site copy, and media can be managed from /cms. Production uses Postgres for content and Vercel Blob for media. I also added a local import script so I can test the same content before pushing anything.

The annoying parts taught me more than the layout did:

• Vercel Blob rejected duplicate filenames, so uploads needed unique names.
• The old admin routes had to be closed so /cms was the only real admin area.
• The homepage was cleaner after I removed projects from the first screen.
• A public CV needed private details removed before it belonged on the site.

That is why I now think of the site as a small production CMS project, not just a portfolio. The next step is better project screenshots, cleaner CMS fields, and a Notes section that keeps following the projects instead of becoming frozen launch copy.