Job postings are written in a language of their own. "Participate in the development and maintenance of functional test plans that adequately test the defined requirements" is a real bullet from a real posting, and if you're job hunting it's easy to read that, decide you don't qualify, and close the tab.
So I started doing the opposite. I take a posting apart bullet by bullet, work out what each one is actually asking for, and design the smallest app that would let me answer "yes, here's where I've done that." Not a fake job - a real, buildable project that demonstrates the same skill.
What each bullet gets
- Plain English. What the employer is really asking for, without the corporate phrasing.
- A sample app. One small project that would prove the skill.
- A build outline. The screens, data, and rules to actually make it.
- Portfolio proof. The screenshots, README sections, and commits that show it happened.
Job titles in the library
Search or pick a job title to see how its posting bullets translate into portfolio project ideas.