How to use work samples effectively in your job application

By the Reach team · Updated October 12, 2026

Work samples help a lot in fields where the output is the job (design, writing, engineering, marketing, video, data viz) and very little in fields where nobody can open your work (most finance, operations, and regulated roles). Where they do help, one or two samples chosen for the specific role beat a long list of links, because a reviewer who spends under a minute on you will look at one thing, not twelve.

Where portfolios are expected, and where they are not

The useful question is not "do I have work I am proud of?" It is "does this field's hiring process normally include looking at artifacts?" In our experience, the answer falls into three rough groups.

Treat the table as a tendency, not a rule. Individual companies differ, and a small startup hiring an operations generalist might love a one-page process doc you built. But if the job posting never mentions a portfolio, a repository, or "examples of your work," assume the default is that nobody will go looking.

Why samples get ignored even in the right fields

Candidates in portfolio-friendly fields still get no response, and the sample itself is often the reason. The common failures are boring.

• The link does not open. Private Google Drive folders, expired Notion pages, a portfolio site that asks for a password, a GitHub repo set to private. A reviewer will not request access. They will move on.
• It needs an account. Anything behind a login or a "request to view" gate loses most viewers at the gate.
• It is too broad. A homepage with forty projects asks the reviewer to do the curation you should have done.
• It does not match the role. Brand illustration shown to a team hiring for data visualization is not evidence of fit, however good it is.
• It has no context. A screenshot of a finished screen says nothing about the problem, your role, or the constraints. For engineers, a repo with no README is the same problem.
• It is slow or heavy. Large PDFs, autoplaying video, and sites that take a long time to load all cost you the one minute you had.

Why a targeted sample beats a link dump

A reviewer going through applications is usually trying to answer one question: could this person do the work we have open? They are not trying to learn everything about you. A link dump (portfolio, GitHub, Behance, Medium, personal site, LinkedIn, all at once) forces them to choose, and most will choose nothing.

A targeted sample does the choosing for them. If the role is a B2B SaaS onboarding designer, you point to the onboarding redesign and say so in a sentence. If the role is a backend engineer on a payments team, you point to the repo that handles retries and idempotency, not your weekend game. The reviewer opens one link, sees something relevant, and the rest of your application inherits that credibility.

Two samples is a reasonable ceiling for a single application. Three is the most we would defend, and only if each one covers a different thing the posting asked for. Past that, you are back to making them curate.

How to link without friction

Friction is anything that makes the reviewer do work or wait. Remove it before you submit.

Check the link as a stranger

Open every link in a private or incognito window, ideally on your phone as well. If you see a login screen, a permissions error, or a layout that falls apart on mobile, fix it. Many reviewers triage on a phone.

Link directly to the piece, not the homepage

Use a URL that goes to the exact case study, article, or repository. If your portfolio is a single long page, link to the section anchor. "See my portfolio at" followed by a homepage is the weakest form.

Put the link where it will be seen

Include it in three places: near the top of the resume under your contact line, in the first or second paragraph of the cover letter or message, and in any "website" or "portfolio" field of the application form. Do not rely on a single location, because parsing systems sometimes drop hyperlinks from uploaded files. Print the plain URL, not only linked text, so it survives conversion to plain text.

Add one sentence of framing

Next to the link, say what it is and why it is relevant. For example: "A redesign of a checkout flow for a mid-sized retailer; I led research and the final UI." That sentence is the difference between a reviewer clicking and a reviewer scrolling past.

Keep the format boring

A web page loads on any device. A PDF is fine if it is small and has a clear first page. Avoid downloads, zip files, and anything that needs special software. For video, link to the hosted page with a short title rather than embedding a file.

Respect confidentiality

Many people cannot show their real work. Options that hold up: recreate the problem with fake data, write a case study that describes process and outcome without screenshots, or build a small side project that demonstrates the same skills. Do not post material you are contractually barred from sharing. Hiring managers notice, and it can follow you.

Match the sample to the posting

Read the job description for the two or three things it stresses most, then pick the sample that speaks to those. A short mapping exercise is usually enough:

1. List the top requirements from the posting in your own words.
2. Next to each, write the closest project you have, or "none."
3. Choose the project that covers the most important requirement and is the most recent or most polished.
4. If a second project covers a different requirement, add it. Otherwise stop.

For writers, this might mean a different clip for a technical audience than for a consumer one. For engineers, it might mean pinning the relevant repositories and writing a clear README rather than sending a profile link. For designers, it often means maintaining a short master portfolio and a tailored page or PDF for specific applications.

When to skip the sample entirely

If the field does not expect it, and nothing you have is relevant, leave it out. A weak or irrelevant sample is worse than none, because it gives the reviewer something specific to be unimpressed by. A resume with concrete, quantified-where-honest accomplishments is a better use of the space. If you do have a strong, relevant piece in a field that rarely asks, include it anyway, but treat it as a bonus, not the center of the application.

The tailoring cost, and where automation fits

The honest downside of all this advice is time. Choosing the right sample, writing the framing sentence, and checking the link for each application adds minutes that add up across dozens of applications. Tools can help with the mechanical parts, such as keeping a library of samples tagged by skill and inserting the right link and blurb for each posting. Reach does some of this. The caveat is that automation can pick the wrong sample as easily as the right one, so review what goes out, especially for roles you actually want.

For more on the other parts of an application, see the guides index.

A short checklist before you send

• Does the posting suggest a portfolio or samples matter in this field?
• Are you sending one or two pieces, chosen for this role?
• Does each link open in a private window and on a phone, with no login?
• Does each link go straight to the piece, with a plain URL printed?
• Is there a sentence explaining what it is and what you did?
• Can you talk about it for five minutes without notes?

If you can answer yes to all of those, the sample is likely to be seen. Whether it is liked depends on the work, but at least it will not be ignored for avoidable reasons.