- One project documented properly beats a list of demos, certificates and unfinished repositories.
- Pick work with a named user, a real constraint and a result someone else relied on.
- Label a prototype as a prototype, because describing a demonstration as a production deployment is the fastest way to lose a hiring reader.
- Document the part you owned, the alternatives you rejected, and what the user operated after handoff.
- Match the project to the posting: a production AI role and a data integration role ask for different evidence.
Project shapes that work
- an API integration that moved data between two systems
- a workflow or service that reached production and had an owner
- a data pipeline with quality checks, recovery and an operating guide
- an AI feature with an evaluation set, access controls, failure handling and a way to review outputs
- a proof of concept that tested a decision and recorded what production would need
The user can be an external customer, an internal operating team, or a community that agreed to try the work. Say what you knew at the start and what you had to find out.
The seven things to write down
- The user problem, the constraints, and how success was checked.
- The system boundary and the part you owned.
- The choices you made and the alternatives you rejected.
- The implementation, deployment, tests and monitoring.
- A failure or a change in requirements, and how you handled it.
- What the user operated after handoff.
- What is still unknown and what you would do next.
Add a short architecture diagram, a small code sample and the handoff note where they help a reader check the work. Remove secrets and customer data. If it was a team effort, separate your decisions from the team's result.
What each kind of role wants to see
| Target role | The evidence it asks for |
|---|---|
| Production AI | Evaluation sets, launch controls, monitoring, adoption |
| Data and integration | APIs, data mapping, cloud or on-premises boundaries, troubleshooting |
| Pre-sales or evaluation | A clear evaluation design and a recorded decision |
Leave out tutorial clones, technology lists, screenshots, and words like "scalable" with no user, constraint or measurement. Do not publish confidential customer details, and do not invent traffic, savings or adoption numbers.
Use this record to write your resume and prepare your interview examples.