How to spot a fake developer portfolio
Fake portfolios are rarely obvious. They are usually real work that belongs to someone else, or real work made to look bigger than it was.
The signs
Projects with no history: everything appears in one commit, or the dates do not match the person's story.
Polish with no depth: a beautiful landing page that goes nowhere, or a demo that cannot be run.
Big claims with no number: 'built a platform used by millions' with nothing to see or ask about.
The same project, differently named, in more than one portfolio.
What to ask
Ask what was hard, what they would change, and what broke. A person who built something has a story that goes past the happy path.
Ask to see the code and have them open it with you. Ask them to change something small.
What Nexr does about it
Nexr shows where each claim comes from: connected source for code, a company contact for roles, and a clear 'verified' mark on everything that has been checked. Applicants attach the projects they want reviewed, so a hiring team sees checked work next to the application.
Questions
What is the fastest way to tell if a portfolio is fake?
Check the commit history for the project and ask the developer to walk you through a hard decision in it. Borrowed work usually has neither.
Does Nexr guarantee a developer is genuine?
No platform can guarantee a person. Nexr verifies where work and roles come from, and labels what it has not verified, so you can see what is checked and what is not.
Nexr is the pre-verified portfolio platform for digital creatives. See how verification works.