Creating Your Portfolio in Isolation is Hard
My first "get-a-job" portfolio served its purpose; getting my foot in the door.
I had to carry around a printed version back then. Knocking on doors, laying it out on the table and present on the spot. It was brutal!
Since then, I've had my fair share of portfolios — all trying to achieve the same thing.
Either scoring projects, getting hired or simply just having one in case a new opportunity came out of nowhere.
That's what we all want, right?
To practice what you love and get paid well in the process.
The problem is that when it's for ourselves, we turn into the worst designer in the world (for some weird reason.)
Imposter-syndrome, procrastination or perfectionism are all real struggles we need to deal with.
It doesn't exactly get any easier when you're unable to share your struggles with anyone around you.
You don't want your team or boss to find out (having a portfolio is effectively saying you're available on the market.)
Friends and family can empathize, but can't necessarily critique your work objectively.
Then, when you're finally done with your portfolio, you realize the journey doesn't end there. In fact, it's just a means to an end.
Pitching yourself in interviews, dealing with rejection or preparing for new roles are just as important.
Don't Travel the Journey Alone
We live at a strange point in time. Some old doors have closed, but new ones have opened.
We're moving towards a digital revolution and we need great products to support the new economy.
The pandemic and the fact that we're all moving online, has definitely played a role in speeding up the process.
The need for designers that can empathize with human beings and create great experiences has never been bigger.
Case Study Club Pro is an environment designed to ease the struggles of leveling up your career alone, by making it more collaborative, practical and fun.
We help each other move forward by sharing experiences and giving honest feedback.
With members at all stages in their career, you can be certain that you'll have someone to talk shop with.
Whether you're working on your portfolio, writing case studies, or preparing for interviews, this is the place for you.
You'll get the accountability you need to get the job done, practice your presentation skills, and prepare for new roles — all in a place where you can feel safe.
Inside Case Study Club Pro
We provide you with the support, network and practise you need to streamline your portfolio creation and job hunting process.
In addition, we run on all the latest tools to help you connect with the community and do your best work (Notion, Zoom, Loom, Miro and Circle.)
What You'll Get
✓ Experiment, learn and grow in a safe playground
✓ Connect with likeminded designers
✓ Create an industry standard portfolio
✓ Practise your communication and presentation skills
✓ Prepare for upcoming interviews or roles
✓ Get your next big job opportunity
Kenny from Google answering members questions.
Each month we host live "Ask Me Anything" sessions with design leaders from all over the world. You'll get direct access and will get answers to your specific questions around portfolios, hiring, interviews or expectations in relation to roles.
Ales Nesetril, Lead Designer at SRTV, reviewing members portfolios.
Accountability is a big part of the community. To make sure you actually do the work, we host regular review sessions with peers and experts. You'll practice and get more comfortable sharing and talking about your work, which will help immensely in later stage interview settings.
Alex from the community sharing his portfolio pitch (that 4 weeks later landed him two offers.)
Are you starting your portfolio from scratch or prepping for your next interview? No matter where you are in your journey, our working sessions are designed to give you clarity around what your next step should be. In addition, we'll make sure you stay on track and get the work done.
Hello from the private membership space.
This is the heart of the Case Study Club Pro community. Inside, we have meaningful conversations, share great resources and make even deeper connections. You'll also find an overview of upcoming live events and recordings from past events.
Peer Group Matchup
🧠
Thinking about moving from IC to leadership positions? Transitioning from other professions?
There's a lot of preparation involved in a bold career move like that.
With peer groups, you'll get matched up with people that have similar ambitions and goals as yours.
Share ideas, best practices, strategies and tactics to ease your journey.
Practice your presentation skills and get critiqued by your peers, so you can make sure you put your best self into it.
Susan Lin, Design Lead at Cloudflare, said her peer group taught her vital lessons that was instrumental in her career growth.
What Others Have To Say
I've helped more than 100+ designers on their journey. Here's what some of them has to say.
"I would sincerely recommend this class to any designer needing that bit of a push to get started and heading in the right direction."
Chris Piedra
Director of UX at Integra Connect 🇺🇸
"I found it extremely beneficial to see a community of people working through their process and I’m so thankful for the content."
Mary Gower
Freelance UX Designer 🇺🇸
“Jan's compassion greatly helps alleviate the stress of the portfolio-building exercise. I’m glad I chanced upon the program!”
Shilpi Dewan
Conversation Designer at Intuit 🇺🇸
"Thank you, Jan. Taking your class was really helpful for me to get a new job. I’m super thankful for your class!"
Jenna Kang
Senior Product Designer at Riiiid! 🇰🇷
"Thanks so much for putting this class together Jan. I truly appreciate your thoughtful feedback, advice and encouragement."
Steven Weigh
Senior Designer at Cross Compass 🇯🇵
"Jan's feedback was clear, practical, and specific. I walked away with concrete action items that I could implement."
Emilia Totzeva
UX Designer at Centene Corporation 🇳🇱
"The community is very helpful to keep transparency and open communication between students. It also helped me to trust my storytelling skills and developing my writing habit."
Humberto de Sousa
Lead Designer at Hoop 🇺🇸
"The community helped us go faster and further together. I thank Jan for all the hard work and I hope other people can have this experience!"
A Jung Lim
UX Designer at Isobar 🇫🇷
Meet Your Facilitator
Jan Haaland
UX Consultant at Webstep 🇳🇴
I was lucky to discover my passion at an early age, designing my first website in 1996 (fan site for a punk rock-band called The Clash.)
As a professional, I’ve been at it for over 12 years. Working in agencies, huge corporate companies, co-founded a studio, and now (in my final from) as a consultant.
In 2015 I founded Case Study Club (16.000+ members strong) and I've been lucky to have made life-long connections to some amazing people.
I love helping designers on their journey to becoming their best self. I hope I'll get the opportunity to be working with you.
FAQ
Will there be a cost to joining Case Study Club Pro?
Yes, there's a cost if you choose to accept your invitation to join. For new members the cost is currently $29/month or $290/year You can cancel anytime or get your money back within our generous 30-day money-back guarantee.
Is this a course or what?
It started out as a course on building a UX portfolio. However, after asking participants what they really needed, the answer was community, accountability and support. You'll still get all the lessons from the course included, but the new format has a more immersive and collaborative approach. I'm designing this as I would design any other product, which means it will continue to evolve and improve over time.
Should I start from scratch or modify what I already have?
I’d say keep everything you’re happy with and modify the rest. If it’s already working for you the way you intended, then you’re set. Implement what you’ve picked up that could improve your current state. Unlike movies, the second version of your portfolio often makes better sequences.
Are we heading to build an actual website to launch?
The idea is that you should have a website to (soft) launch with at least one completed case study. That way you’re making incremental improvements, instead of waiting for the perfect moment (or until you’ve finished it all). Now, you’ll be kickstarted into action.
I don't feel like I have enough "good" work... Can I still join?
A lot of designers think they need 10x projects in their portfolio. That's not true. In fact, some of the most successful UX portfolios I've seen only have ~3 projects in it. It's how you present your work and position yourself that matters.
One of my jobs in this community is to help you find out what makes your work unique and what to focus on. You don't need a massive project, spanning from A – Z. It could be parts of a project, say you make a case study about how you got from E – F. Everything will become clear once you see the approach.
What if I join and don't like it, can I get my money back?
After you've accepted your invitation and joined Case Study Club Pro, there's a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you don't like it for whatever reason, I'll refund you every cent. No problem!
Have Questions?
Feel free to email me anytime jan@casestudy.club. Looking forward to chatting with you!
All the best,
Jan from Case Study Club
