Job-seekers, the era of the one-size-fits-all résumé is over. Artificial intelligence (AI) can now be used to craft personalized CVs that highlight your core competencies, all tailored to each and every job application you submit.

Despite these digital developments, authenticity remains key in the eyes of employers. With many companies now utilizing software to screen and flag automated content, how can you use AI to your advantage without sacrificing your own voice?

The key is to leverage AI as a springboard, not a crutch. Read on to learn how you can weave your own experiences and achievements into AI-suggested content and showcase your unique value to each and every potential employer.

What can AI do for you? 🤔

As anyone who’s ever applied for a job can attest, creating an effective résumé is no easy feat. Condensing a career’s worth of accomplishments onto a single page requires considerable time and effort, further compounded by the need to tailor it for each application. That’s where AI comes in.

Nearly 50% of job-seekers have already reported using it to help write their résumés, while 7 in 10 said they had a better response rate from companies when they employed AI-generated materials. A recent study from the National Bureau of Economic Research also confirmed that those who received “algorithmic assistance” in their résumé-writing process were 8% more likely to get hired than those who didn’t.

Even if you’re not an early adopter, there’s still time to learn how AI can help you land your dream job.

If you’re starting with a hand-crafted résumé, you can run it through an AI tool like ChatGPT and ask for edits and rewrites to make it more effective. Providing the job listing can also help the system leverage its understanding of the role to optimize your work.

AI can jumpstart the process for those starting from scratch by providing a framework to follow and text to tweak. With your input, it can generate a professional summary, blurbs about your past positions, and bullet points highlighting your achievements, all tailored to the position you’re pursuing. It can also revise your existing resume to address any key points you may have missed.

Even better, you can use AI to streamline the process of customizing your résumé for different jobs. Inputting an individual listing into an AI-powered assistant like the Merlin GPT generates a condensed catalog of helpful information, including the company’s mission and values, the job’s key responsibilities and ideal candidate profile, and the main problem this role is meant to solve for the organization. It also provides relevant keywords to sprinkle throughout your CV based on the job’s description. In addition to saving you hours of research, having this data on hand is invaluable in ensuring your résumé reflects what the company is seeking.

Craft, don’t copy ✍️

If this all sounds too good to be true, it’s because there’s a catch. While AI can be used as a tool to streamline the résumé writing process and generate compelling content, it can’t serve as a replacement for your own critical thinking and editing.

Copying AI-generated text may save time, but it can come across as hollow and inauthentic — especially if it hasn’t been fact-checked and doesn’t accurately reflect your skills and experiences. More importantly, plagiarism can lead to disqualification from the application process entirely.

Think of AI as a collaborator rather than a copy-paste machine. Use it to spark ideas and refine your own language, but hold the reins and own your narrative. In the words of design leader Feridoon Malekzadeh, “The AI’s output is only going to be as good as the input you give it. The more information and direction you can feed it, the less likely it is to sound generic.”

Pass the ATS test ✅

As it turns out, AI isn’t just for candidates. Companies are increasingly using automated tools called Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to sift through and select résumés from the pile they receive. In fact, 99% of Fortune 500 companies are filtering résumés they receive through AI before a human ever sees them.

It’s important to know that ATS don’t read your résumé — they parse it. With that in mind, you can position yourself to make it past the bots by focusing on formatting. Stick to plain, readable text with clear headers to ensure the information you’ve shared is actually being pulled and processed. Photos and graphics are unlikely to be read correctly by AI, so it’s best to show off your creative flair later in the process.

In the same vein, ATS looks for specific keywords to identify candidates with relevant experience. Some companies even configure their ATS to score and rank résumés based on certain terms, with higher-ranking résumés having the highest number of designated keywords. These high-ranking résumés move along to human screening, while the rest are discarded by the system.

Though not intuitive, it’s key to remember that these keywords have to be exact. If an ATS is searching for candidates who have “experience in social media” and your résumé states that you’re a “TikTok and Instagram expert,” you may be dropped for not using the right keywords despite meeting the technical qualifications.

While you can and should work with the system, don’t try to game it by including hidden keyword-stuffed text or direct lines from the job description. Even if you make it past the first round, the company will catch on. Your qualifications and experience should speak for themselves, and highlighting them in a clear and honest way will make you stand out to both AI and human reviewers.

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Want to dig deeper into the new AI-powered world of work?

Watch the recording of Gymnasium’s livestream Level Up Your Job Search with ChatGPT and learn how to refresh your résumé, cover letter, and LinkedIn bio with Merlin — a custom GPT created by special guest Feridoon Malekzadeh.

Crafting Résumés in the Age of AI was originally published in Gymnasium on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

AI just got personal. Whether you’re looking to generate professional-level logo designs or predict upcoming stock market prices, it’s now easier than ever to create a custom Generative Pre-trained Transformer, or GPT, to meet your specific needs. Using a paid ChatGPT plan, anyone can configure their own chatbot with a simple prompt and the click of a button.

But what’s the difference between a custom GPT and the original ChatGPT? How does it work, and what can it do for you? Learn the answers to these questions and more on Aquent Gymnasium’s latest livestream — or read on for a summary of the discussion.

Custom GPTs vs. ChatGPT

It’s all in the name! In essence, custom GPTs are exactly what they sound like: specialized versions of ChatGPT. ChatGPT is trained on a wide variety of subjects, but even with individualized instructions, it still operates within its trained parameters and guidelines. With a custom GPT, you can ensure laser focus on specific datasets and knowledge bases and adherence to unique tones and perspectives.

Let’s say you want to create a virtual tech support advisor that’s programmed to provide expert-level tech support, or maybe something more fun, like a GPT that takes personal details and interests and turns them into one-of-a-kind heartwarming holiday cards. By tailoring the custom GPT to your specifications, anything is possible.

Custom GPTs are also ideal for organizations that require AI integration with consumer-facing applications. Not only can you provide them with proprietary information and defined guardrails for its use, but you can ensure that it utilizes a specific brand voice when interacting with customers.

How the magic happens

Taking the first step towards creating your own GPT is as simple as creating a ChatGPT account and entering a prompt in the GT Builder’s “Create” mode. You can enter as many or as few details as you’d like — even the most bare-bones request will produce a response, but as with all AI systems, clear and specific instructions always generate the best results. No matter how involved your prompt is, the system will get the answers it needs from you by asking refining questions about your intended audience, preferences regarding the bot’s tone, and topics the bot should specialize in.

As you engage with and provide more information to ChatGPT, you’ll notice the fields in the Builder’s “Configure” mode will begin to auto populate and change based on your input. You can watch your initial prompt transform based on your conversation with the bot and make further modifications based on the results you’re seeing. There’s also an option to connect it to a third-party API or enable extra capabilities like web browsing, access to the DALL-E text-to-image model, and code interpretation. Perhaps most importantly, the custom GPT builder allows you to upload files containing specific data or knowledge you need your bot to understand and reference. Be sure to save your original prompt for reference before you get started, since it won’t be recoverable through ChatGPT once you begin fine-tuning it.

Once your chatbot has been customized to your liking, you can publish and share it with an audience of your choice or debut it in the public GPT Store. If any issues arise, you can always go back and edit the bot after it’s been published.

The power of a custom GPT

Now that you’re equipped with the knowledge you need to make your own personal GPT, you might be wondering — what else is in it for me? You already know that custom GPTs have the advantageous ability to be more specific and personalized than ChatGPT, but they also have the potential for scalability and adaptability and enhanced content creation.

Your GPT evolves with you, adapting to your needs as you grow. It’s your virtual sidekick, ready to tackle whatever challenges come your way. Need to quickly handle an influx of customer inquiries? Want content for a newly-launched blog page? By heading back to the GPT Builder and modifying your prompt, you can ensure that it evolves at a seamless pace.

Speaking of content creation, custom GPTs can be trained with niche datasets to produce high-quality specialized articles and social media posts. By providing data relevant to your particular industry or topic of choice, you can save time and resources by creating what is essentially an AI assistant that produces this content in a voice and style consistent with your brand.

Want to learn more about creating a custom GPT? Walk through the process with the Aquent Gymnasium team in their livestream. Be sure to subscribe to Aquent Gymnasium on YouTube and stay tuned for more livestreams.

DIY AI: Building Your Own Custom GPT was originally published in Gymnasium on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has established itself as one of the hottest topics in tech and beyond. In particular, large language models (or LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Midjourney have taken the main stage thanks to their ability to understand and generate human language and images. As a professional, you may be wondering: How do LLM tools work? Can I use them in my workflow? Are there strategies I can use to improve my results?

Luckily, the minds behind Aquent Gymnasium recently answered these very questions on a livestream, and it’s available on YouTube to watch (and rewatch). If you’re short on time, read on for a fact-packed summary of the discussion.

So, what are LLMs?

In a nutshell, large language models are advanced programs that use artificial intelligence to process and produce human-like language, images, and more. While software is typically programmed with specific, step-by-step instructions, LLMs draw upon a neural network that was trained with a massive dataset that draws on sources like books, code repositories, and the entirety of the web. Through this dataset, the model learns and eventually understands the patterns and relationships between words.

Even if you’ve never heard of LLMs before today, you’re almost certainly familiar with the way they’re used. Take the autocomplete feature on smartphones, for example. Most of us have had the experience of watching our device predict our next words in real time, but have you ever wondered how it knows what we want to say?

LLMs are trained on text data, which helps it to learn the patterns and relationships between words. This training allows the tool to predict the most likely word or sequence of words when given a prompt. The model takes the prompt, processes it, and outputs a probability distribution of all possible words. This process repeats as the user continues to type, and the model updates its predictions based on new content and context.

For instance, imagine you’re texting a friend about food and want to express your love for French fries. Typing out the partial phrase “I love French…” will result in the model calculating the likelihood of your next word through the context of the conversation. It will deduce that there is a higher chance of the next word being “fries” and a lower probability of an unrelated or nonsense word like “movie” or “the.”

ChatGPT and Midjourney

Two particular AI platforms, ChatGPT and Midjourney, have taken off thanks to their capacity for taking simple prompts and turning them into unique content. Midjourney can take natural language and convert it into original images, whether you need an illustration for your book or a storyboard to visualize your marketing strategy. ChatGPT, on the other hand, gained notoriety for its uncanny ability to generate natural language. This particular model has been fine-tuned for a seemingly endless number of language production tasks, including summarization, translation, text completion, and even question-answering.

The way they work is as complicated as you’re likely imagining. The GPT in ChatGPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, meaning that it creates new content, has been trained for a particular job, and understands context and relationships. The model uses specialized algorithms to find patterns within data sequences, which are then ranked by human trainers to reinforce the best responses and filter out the filler.

Midjourney operates similarly, with language and diffusion models helping it to understand the meaning of the prompts and produce a distinctive picture. When a prompt is submitted, Midjourney begins with a field of static-esque visual noise that is gradually removed through diffusion. The end result is an image representing the concepts described in the original prompt.

Notably, ChatGPT has a free version that can be used regardless of what you choose to use it for — whether it’s coding, writing, or even designing a video game. While Midjourney requires a paid subscription, it offers affordable tiers at varying prices. Given their accessibility, convenience, and proficiency, a plethora of professionals are now wondering how these tools can be used on the job — and how to optimize their results.

The power of a prompt

Imagine you’re starting a new job as a UX designer, and you’ve been tasked to create two different landing page prototypes for an e-bike product. You’re instructed to create one mock-up geared towards college-aged students and the other focused on attracting an older generation of customers.

Your instinct may be to run to Google to comb through content and search for stock photos, or to use placeholder “lorem ipsum” copy in your landing page prototype. However, you could use AI, specifically ChatGPT and Midjourney, to get a more efficient start on this project. While they shouldn’t be used to generate your entire final product, they serve as a great kick-off point.

So, where do you begin? With precise prompts that include what you want the AI to produce and any other relevant details. In this example, your first prompt might ask for a paragraph of copy for an e-bike that is targeted at college students and focuses on the value, earth-friendliness, and practicality of the product. You could also ask the AI to generate a list of marketing considerations for your chosen target groups, audience-specific images, or a call-to-action.

The most important thing to know when crafting your prompts is that the more context you include, the better your results will be. Other best practices include specifying tone or voice (e.g. humorous and friendly or serious and professional), limits on the length of the output content, and individual terms to exclude.

It may also be necessary to refine, rephrase, or elaborate on your prompt if your result isn’t as desired. ChatGPT in particular has a useful “Regenerate” button, which requests an alternate output based on your initial prompt. This allows the model to better understand what you need as it goes, shortening its learning curve.

While detailed prompts can produce interesting results, keep in mind that LLMs will fabricate information if given the opportunity. Remember to review and fact-check all your results, especially if they’re intended for use in a professional setting.

Learn more about AI and LLMs

To get the full lowdown on LLMs and how they can be used at work, watch the livestream here. Be sure to subscribe to Aquent Gymnasium on YouTube for more content like this.

AI Mockup Magic: Prototyping Landing Pages with LLMs was originally published in Gymnasium on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

No matter your role or field, it goes without saying that you should always have a résumé on hand. For developers, however, there’s another way to share and showcase your work: a portfolio.

Wait, I need a portfolio?

For job-seekers in the software development industry, an online portfolio is just as important as a cover letter or résumé. Think of a portfolio as the first step in the interview process, representing you and your personal brand. Even if you’re not actively looking for a new role, showing off your skills through a public portfolio comes with a host of benefits. In addition to attracting prospective employers and dream clients, a portfolio helps you exhibit your best work and stand out in an ever-growing sea of experienced developers. Illustrating your accomplishments and highlighting your premier projects will both increase your credibility and help you rise to the top in what has become a highly competitive industry.

So, where do I start?

It can be overwhelming to build a portfolio from scratch, but a best practice is to ask yourself the following: “What kind of work am I trying to get?” and “Who is the most important audience for my portfolio?” This might require research and even a bit of soul-searching, but it’s crucial to understand your end goal and who will be helping you get there.

Once you’ve answered these questions, an About page is a great place to begin and establish a strong first impression. Research suggests that visitors form an opinion about a website in less than one second — and your About page may be the first thing readers click when they visit your portfolio. While there’s no right or wrong way to write this self-summary, the key is to focus on what’s most important to you. Are you an advocate for accessibility? Are you a champion for design systems? Is tweaking web performance your obsession? Are PWAs your passion? Is the JamStack your jam, or are you a PHP nerd? Explain how you got started and why you love it. If you find it difficult to determine exactly what’s important to you, consider your past accomplishments and future goals for inspiration.

To help readers put a face to your name, it’s recommended that you include a profile photo. A headshot can increase credibility, make your portfolio more memorable, and foster a sense of virtual connection between you and your visitors. In the same vein, incorporating your personality and having fun with your introduction can make it more relatable and engaging. Using an authentic voice, adding in a bit of humor, or dappling your words with a relevant Emoji or two will grab readers’ attention and paint a full picture of who you are as a person.

Although your About page should serve as a succinct introduction, it can also be helpful to highlight your professional experience with short testimonials or quotes from former employers or colleagues. Whether you reach out to them directly for a quote or pull from your LinkedIn Recommendations, an endorsement or praise from a satisfied customer or co-worker assures your reader that you’re both trustworthy and capable.

Lastly, your About page needs to make it easy for readers to contact you with any questions, comments, or proposals. That’s the whole point of a portfolio, right? There are many options for conveying this information, including a contact form or a list of personal websites and profiles. However, readers may find it easier if you simply outline one preferred method of contact. It can be a phone number, an email address, or even a WhatsApp username, as long as it’s clear and your potential client can reach you with ease and confidence.

What else should I include?

In addition to an About section, your portfolio needs a headline or tagline: a summary of who you are, what you do, and what sets you apart. Stay away from clichés and try to make it a conversation-starter for maximum impact. For example, if you’re a UX designer and pride yourself on creating engaging and scalable products, you might include those two adjectives in your tagline to generate interest and curiosity.

Perhaps most importantly, your Featured Projects section will showcase recent or notable work that demonstrates your skill set and what you’re capable of doing. In addition to work you’ve created for clients and employers, include any personal projects or experiments you’ve conducted on your own. Have you ever attempted to optimize a friend’s photo gallery for faster loading times? Maybe you once created a mock-up for a new app you dreamed up. Add it in to show off your innovation and creative thinking skills.

While it may be an afterthought for some, it’s important to remember to ensure cohesion of the overall layout, including your logo, typography, color palette, and any imagery you choose to include. A good rule of thumb is to treat the user experience of your portfolio as if it were for a client — added embellishments like custom cursors and gratuitous pop-up windows can work against you by distracting from the content you’re featuring. Aim to keep your design simple and familiar rather than complex and cluttered. This means utilizing whitespace, leaning into minimalism, and keeping menus and buttons in standard areas.

Where should I host my portfolio?

Many developers choose to link to their GitHub profile in lieu of a traditional portfolio, but there’s a better way to attract attention. To really set yourself apart from the crowd, use a self-hosted and self-designed website. In addition to appearing polished and professional, this website will serve as a featured project in itself.

If you prefer to use GitHub to share your work, be sure to create a profile-level README to display your tagline, About page content, and any repositories you want to highlight. This section will be placed above pinned repositories once it’s created, so it will be the first thing readers see when they visit your page. The GitHub profile-level README feature also allows more content than the GitHub profile bio and supports markdown for full creative control.

Want to dig deeper into this topic? Gymnasium’s got you covered with these Take 5 video tutorials:

• Taking Your Portfolio Case Studies to the Next Level
• Crafting a Concise About Page
• Making a Great First Impression With Your Portfolio
• Storytelling for Designers
• Designing Accessible and Responsive Websites

BTW: Developers Need Portfolios Too was originally published in Gymnasium on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

If you’re involved in the creation of digital products, you’re aware of the importance of having a portfolio to showcase your work. Whether you’re actively looking for a new job or considering a career change, it’s one of the first things you’ll be asked to share. Having said that, I’m willing to bet that if you ask 9 out of 10 professionals if they’re happy with the state of their portfolio, the answer will be “No.”

Chances are high that any given portfolio has one or more of these problems:

• Recent job and/or project history is missing or lacking in details.
• The design of the website is dated.
• The work shown doesn’t accurately represent the type of work you want to do in the future.

This is not a new problem. But as the Director of Learning for Aquent Gymnasium, part of my job is to pay attention to trends in the web industry, and I had a hunch that the role of portfolios had changed in recent years. To put this theory to the test, my colleague Justin Gagne (Design Lead) and I developed a pilot portfolio workshop for a small group of designers and developers.

Going into the workshop, we had a few assumptions about what we would encounter. Some of those assumptions were accurate, but there were a few surprises as well. So I’d like to share those surprises — or as I like to call them “insights” — with you, in the hopes that they will save you some time and effort when you begin to update your own portfolio.

Why is it so hard to work on your own portfolio?

Before sharing my insights, it’s worth defining our goals for the workshop. We knew that despite understanding the importance of a portfolio, many people felt overwhelmed or blocked from working on them and weren’t quite sure why. To provide structure and help, we had to understand what the specific challenges were.

Make no mistake, the challenges are real. In fact there’s an old proverb (bordering on cliché) that I’ve heard many web professionals reference over the years which is “The shoemaker’s children go barefoot.” This is generally used as an explanation for why one’s portfolio website has been so neglected. After all, if one is busy working on other people’s projects, that leaves little time and energy to work on your own.

There’s some validity to this, it definitely is easier to postpone your own project than it is to postpone one for a client or your regular job. After all, those pay the bills and one needs to be pragmatic.

But there are a few other reasons why working on your portfolio is difficult:

• One of the most challenging aspects is deciding what to include. Web professionals typically work on many projects in any given year, but not all of them may be relevant or appropriate to showcase in a portfolio, sometimes there are even legal reasons: for example many companies have NDAs (nondisclosure agreements) which prohibit the sharing of visuals or projects done while under contract or while employed.
• People also have trouble deciding which projects best represent their skills and abilities, and this often leads to avoidance or focussing on the wrong things, such as taking a week to look for “the perfect” typeface or color scheme for their site.
• Another challenge is figuring out how to organize and present one’s projects while finding the right balance between showcasing the work and providing context and explanation.

When you add all of these challenges up, not to mention the fact that you have no project manager looking over your shoulder, it’s not surprising that portfolios get neglected. There’s also the question of motivation. If you’re happy and comfortable in your current gig, why burn extra calories on nights and weekends to do something that feels difficult? The problem is when circumstances change, if you suddenly need an up-to-date portfolio and you’re doing it under financial stress or time pressures, you’re now making a hard job even harder.

Content truly is king

Our original plan for this workshop was quite ambitious and included sessions on using mood boards and Figma prototypes to head in the direction of visual design. However, we ended up reducing the scope and in the end, it evolved into more of a writing and content strategy workshop. As veterans of the web industry, the old phrase “Content is king” came to mind. This means different things to different people, but for us it represents our belief that people spend a disproportionate amount of time on the visuals, the tech stack, and other aspects of their portfolios, and not enough on the core words and message they want to convey.

The path to good content started with a few deceptively simple questions we asked our attendees:

• What sort of work do you want to get in the future?
• How would you describe your “personal brand” in a sentence or two?
• What past projects are you most proud of, and how could you turn them into case studies?

Make no mistake, these are hard questions to answer! Which is exactly why we asked them. By directing their focus to these difficult questions and giving them some tools to answer them, we helped attendees avoid the common trap mentioned earlier: namely the tendency to get distracted when faced with “the hard stuff.”

DIY Tip: You don’t have to be part of a workshop to work this way. Open up a document and begin by answering these three questions:

• What sort of work do you want to get in the future?
• How would you describe your “personal brand” in a sentence or two?
• What past projects are you most proud of, and how could you turn them into case studies?

Next, consider keeping all your work in writing as long as possible before moving on to the design phase. Keep it simple and start with an About Page. If you want some context and structure, consider checking out our 5-minute tutorial on the topic.

Accountability really works

Accountability was the foundation of our workshop. When someone is working on their own with no oversight, self-imposed deadlines are incredibly difficult to follow. So, creating a formal structure that asks people to show up at a set time each day as part of a group was key. All workshop attendees knew what they were getting into. We didn’t call this a “bootcamp,” but it had a similar vibe — don’t sign up unless you’re willing to commit and put in the work.

To avoid a traditional “authoritarian” model where the teacher is the center of focus, we split people into breakout groups to give them a chance to inspire, help, and commiserate with each other. Additionally, because this was a remote workshop conducted by conference call, we also created a forum on our classroom site with daily assignments that required people to give feedback to get feedback.

DIY Tip: You can use this technique on your own by bringing in a collaborator early into your portfolio writing process. The only qualification for this person is to be someone you trust, and the simplest exercise is to read your content out loud to them (or vice-versa). You’d be surprised how effective this technique is. In fact, I’ve found that hearing my words out loud will instinctively prompt me to make useful revisions even before I receive “official” feedback from my collaborator.

Your portfolio is less important than you think

This insight might seem counter-intuitive, so bear with me. The role of the portfolio has changed substantially over the years; for example, the days of lugging a physical case of printouts to an interview are long gone. The role of the online portfolio has also changed over the last 10 years and specifically since 2020 when remote interviews and work suddenly became commonplace due to the pandemic. Here’s the big takeaway: the way people find your portfolio has changed.

Today, chances are it’s not a search engine that brought someone to your portfolio site. Instead, intermediaries such as LinkedIn, Behance, Instagram, or GitHub are gateways to your lovingly crafted portfolio website. In many ways this changes the context and expectations your visitors have of you before even reading a single word on your site.

It’s also safe to say that people aren’t spending a whole lot of time looking at your content. According to a recent eye-tracking study, recruiters typically spend an average of 7.4 seconds looking at résumés. While résumés and portfolios are different, I suspect the conclusion is the same: the main audience for your portfolio is skimming your content quickly, not studying it in depth.

Rather than be discouraged by this, my stance is that anyone looking to make an impact with a portfolio can use this to their advantage. Take a step back and focus on the core aspects of what a portfolio is good at:

• It remains a great tool to communicate your ideas and approach to creative projects. No matter what your role, explaining your process and thinking is always going to be important.
• Meeting someone in person or by phone or video is still the gold standard, but a portfolio continues to be an excellent way to establish your credibility and trustworthiness. Specifically, it allows you to emphasize your strengths such as your track record of producing high-quality work, or your ability to complete projects on time and on budget.

Here’s the final insight: more than ever you need to focus on the sort of work you’d like to do in the future, define it with clarity, and then promote it loud and clear across all platforms. Yes, this includes the portfolio, but also your LinkedIn profile, your resumé, and any other social media you deem appropriate. This is hard work, no doubt, but it will pay off in the long run.

DIY Tip: You can perform a quick content audit of your own professional profile in a few minutes. Open up all your existing material at once: this might include a LinkedIn profile, resumé, portfolio, etc. Now do a quick compare and contrast: is everything aligned across all the platforms? For example, is your recent work up-to-date? Do you have a clear personal statement specifying the work you would like to do and is this message consistent? If you want to delve deeper into this topic, check out this 5-minute tutorial.

Final takeaways

There’s an old saying in advertising: “If you don’t define your brand, other people will.” Typically, this refers to companies, but it applies to people and their portfolios as well. If you don’t define what you stand for and what makes you unique, your visitors will simply do it for you based on their own assumptions.

Our attendees told us that the most valuable aspect of the workshop for them was being given the chance to put time into writing and reflecting on their message and the actual value they had brought to past projects. The second most valuable takeaway was that the group setting gave them a much needed outside perspective. Sharing your work and inviting peer feedback might feel vulnerable… because it is! But if you want your portfolio to be the best it can be, it’s worth stepping out of your comfort zone.

Mind you, everything I described in this article are things you can do yourself, no workshop required. All it requires is a little time, commitment, and a document editor. Remember, standing out in the crowd these days is less about eye-catching visuals or skills and more about being crystal clear on what you’re good at and what work you want to do in the future. So what are you waiting for? Start improving your portfolio!

Want to be the first to know about future Gymnasium workshops? Get on the list.

Improving Your Portfolio is Easier Than You Think was originally published in Gymnasium on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As technology becomes central to every part of life, the need for accessibility has never been more urgent. The path forward starts by asking: how can we make tech truly inclusive? To help answer this question, we spoke with Aaron Gustafson, instructor of Gymnasium’s free Modern Web Design course and Principal Strategist on Microsoft’s Accessibility Innovation Team.

In addition to leading the AI for Accessibility grant program — which works to improve independence for those with disabilities by funding the development of new assistive technologies — Gustafson identifies and invests in technological advancements that improve access for everyone across the board.

He recently joined us as a special guest on Gymnasium’s livestream, where he shared insights on building a more inclusive future. You can explore the session in the format that works best for you:

• Watch on YouTube
• Watch on LinkedIn Live
• Read the GitHub Transcript

Before we dive into the process of improving user experiences for all, it’s crucial to define and understand the scope of accessibility.

What is Accessibility?

In the realm of digital technology, “accessibility” describes the extent to which the devices, systems, and tools we use to work and communicate are usable by everyone. More specifically, the W3C states in the latest edition of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2) that all web content should be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for every user.

“When I first learned about accessibility, I only thought of it as making the web usable to people with screen readers… but I’ve come to understand how broad accessibility truly is,” Gustafson said. “To me, accessibility is doing everything we can to remove the barriers that prohibit people from being able to meaningfully participate and thrive in the world.”

According to the World Health Organization, 16% of the world’s population — more than 1 billion people — live with a disability. In the United States, the CDC reports that 28.7% of adults have some form of disability. Among these individuals, 5.5% have a vision disability, and about 6.2% have a hearing disability. It’s important to recognize that these numbers are likely even higher, as many who live with a disability do not self-identify as such.

Designers and developers take these diverse experiences and capabilities into account when creating accessibility-focused features, which can be as simple as the ability to zoom in on a portion of text or as complex as text-to-speech software that interprets images and videos. No matter the objective, the goal remains universal access, regardless of user abilities.

Current Challenges and Solutions

In addition to the W3C guidelines, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires websites, mobile apps, and digital content to be accessible to all. Despite the mandate, some of the world’s biggest tech companies still struggle. A more recent example: Threads, Meta’s 2023 platform launch, initially lacked robust alt text editing options, causing widespread accessibility concerns.

The problem isn’t limited to high-profile launches either. According to the 2024 WebAIM Million report, 96.3% of home pages still have at least one detectable WCAG error — a slight improvement from previous years but still a sobering figure. Brands and businesses must become more aware of accessibility needs within their customer base.

“Ultimately, the issue is awareness,” Gustafson explained. “The vast majority of web folks don’t understand the importance of accessibility because even the most basic level of testing isn’t even on their radar.”

So how can we raise consciousness and make accessibility a core tenet of development and design?

“Better education in business schools, computer science and design programs, and developer bootcamps would go a long way,” Gustafson said. “Societal awareness is another big factor. This is why it’s so important to see people with disabilities accurately represented in media, like television and movies… I think most people, once aware of the barriers they’re erecting, will want to change the ways they do business, design, program, and generally conduct their lives to ensure more people are included.”

Making Tech More Accessible

One popular strategy among larger companies is the use of Accessibility Overlays. This software is designed to automatically detect and fix accessibility issues at scale using artificial intelligence. While an instant fix may sound appealing, it falls short compared to thoughtful, individualized solutions.

“It’s akin to a home renovation in which you see that there’s a big hole in the wall and, rather than properly replace and mud in a fresh piece of drywall, you just wallpaper over it,” said Gustafson. “Adding an overlay does not solve your website’s fundamental accessibility problems. Those problems are a result of the non-inclusive business, design, and development processes. We should be thinking about how to build inclusive products from the jump.”

Rather than taking the easy way out, Gustafson recommends that companies invest in tools and training for their teams on how to diagnose and remediate specific accessibility issues. There are a number of valuable free resources available, including the browser plugin Accessibility Insights, which can detect issues such as color contrast problems and missing labels programmatically. Whether starting small or thinking bigger, this investment makes teams “aware of the ways they erect barriers to accessibility so they naturally avoid making those mistakes.”

“Accessibility work is important and has a tremendous impact on our society. Designing and building accessible experiences ensures our products and services can reach more people, which also impacts a company’s bottom line,” said Gustafson.

“Whether you want to look at it from the altruistic perspective of working to empower your fellow human beings or you want to focus on the success of your business, accessibility is something you should be investing in.”

Ready to take the next step toward creating a more accessible web? Gymnasium’s Accessibility Collection is packed with courses, tutorials, webinars, and articles to get you up to speed on web standards, best practices, and guidelines.

Advocating for Accessibility with Aaron Gustafson was originally published in Gymnasium on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

If you’re still not sure what the metaverse is, you’re not alone. Only half of people around the world are familiar with the concept, and even fewer can define it. Despite this, it’s evolved from a trending topic to a permanent fixture in the modern digital world, with major brands such as Facebook, now Meta, and Microsoft already exploring opportunities to introduce this new arena to their audiences. But what exactly is it — and what does it take to become a part of this growing virtual universe?

🔮 Defining the digital future

In essence, the metaverse is a shared virtual space powered by the Internet and enhanced through extended reality (XR) technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). It has the potential to facilitate meaningful, multidimensional user interactions and experiences by integrating the physical and digital worlds. Whether you want to talk to new friends from across the world, browse real or virtual products, or even build your own house from the ground up, it can all be done in the metaverse.

It may be a recent trending topic, but the metaverse isn’t actually a contemporary concept. Unsurprisingly, its origins are rooted in science fiction, namely the 1984 novel Neuromancer by William Gibson and the 1992 book Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Gibson’s work introduces the concept of an interactive cyberspace known as “the matrix,” while Stephenson actually describes a virtual world called “the metaverse” (yes, he coined the term three decades ago). In Stephenson’s metaverse, users could pick an animated avatar to represent them, attend simulated events like live concerts, and even buy digital property. Sound familiar? Thirty years later, this idea of a 3D online universe has morphed from a geeky fantasy to a tangible, albeit virtual, reality.

Before the metaverse took form as a virtual world, there was also Second Life’s debut in 2003. Similar to the modern day metaverse, it was created as a venue for escapism and leisure. Users logged in to create intricate “second lives,” with some even marrying other players and raising families within the online platform. As Second Life grew, its experience evolved from fun fantasy into something more true to life with the introduction of property ownership rights, an in-world currency, and the ability to buy and sell goods.

Much like its unintentional prototypes, the modern-day metaverse is essentially a 3D version of the web — but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Metaverse proponents see the space as somewhere you’ll be able to develop and live your digital life parallel to the physical world, especially when it comes to developing and fostering relationships. Through the power of VR and AR, casual interactions and conversations can become highly immersive and reminiscent of real life.

Beyond the commercial hype of virtual fashion and shopping experiences, the technologies behind the blurred lines of the metaverse have the potential to redefine online interactions as much closer to the experience of doing so in person. In the words of Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta (formerly known as Facebook), the metaverse’s defining quality is “its feeling of presence, like you are right there with another person or in another place.”

So, how exactly does the metaverse cultivate the feeling that social media corporations have been trying to capture for over a decade? The difference lies in the various XR technologies that make the metaverse possible, specifically the combination of VR and AR.

🐝 Breaking down the buzzwords

The metaverse is designed to change the way that we consume content, transforming it from flat 2D to a fully immersive and dynamic 3D environment. This experiential metamorphosis wouldn’t be possible without XR, VR, and AR — three powerful technologies and hot topics that are often confused for one another. While they’re similar in effect, it’s important to understand the differences between what they can do, especially in the context of the metaverse.

XR encompasses both VR and AR, and it also includes MR (mixed reality) which combines real and virtual elements to create an entirely new world. VR’s value lies in its ability to produce a computer-generated, 3D space that users can interact with and explore. It’s come a long way from the clunky arcade helmets of the ’90s and early aughts, with sleek, sophisticated systems from brands such as Oculus and Google becoming accessible to the mainstream. These headsets provide 360-degree views and include motion-tracking sensors to blend physical and virtual reality. This technology and its sensory synchronicity allows the user to feel as though they’re part of the virtual environment, giving the metaverse the sense of presence that Zuckerberg touts.

For a different kind of interactive experience, AR takes elements of the real world and creates a new dimension by adding sound, images, or other stimuli — think Pokémon GO and branded Snapchat filters. In the metaverse, this might involve utilizing GPS data to personalize your surroundings or superimposing components of your actual environment into the landscape of a video game.

It’s important to underscore that to achieve a true XR, VR, or AR experience, users must be able to naturally interact with the virtual content. This level of immersion is what places the practice in a different category than everyday 3D movies and simulations, making way for the metaverse and its corresponding technologies to become the new digital frontier.

😎 Get immersed in the metaverse

To explore this new virtual world, all you really need is an Internet connection. While VR glasses can allow for a more three-dimensional encounter, there are multiple metaverses currently accessible online and offering a wide variety of free opportunities for all, regardless of your equipment or experience.

If you’re looking for fun in the metaverse, you should start with Nowhere. Chatting face-to-face with friends, interacting with performers at live shows, and even partying in a packed nightclub are possible in the space that brands itself as the “metaverse for entertainment.” Spatial, a social and cultural meeting space in the metaverse, also hosts a wide array of events including lectures, private gatherings, concerts, and user-curated art galleries with purchasable paintings. Spatial currently offers more than 350,000 virtual spaces to explore, all of which can be accessed via smartphone, computer, VR, and AR.

For community-based events and meetings, Gather is the answer. It takes the concept of Zoom to the metaverse, adding features like interactive whiteboards and games to make video chatting a more intuitive and dynamic experience.

Want to start creating immersive experiences of your own? First, you need to learn the basics. Check out Gymnasium’s free courses UX Fundamentals and 3D Modeling for Virtual Reality Creation to get started.

Relevant resources from Gymnasium

• Using Motion and Web Animation Responsibly
• Creating Accessible Web Animations
• Creating Accessible Audio and Video Content

Dive deeper into the metaverse

• Why Every Brand Needs a Web3 & Metaverse Strategy
• What It Will Take for Augmented Reality to Become Our Reality
• Value Creation in the Metaverse
• Metaverse Technology: Unpacking the Hype
• Demystifying the Metaverse
• How Brands Can Enter the Metaverse
• Marketers Explore Metaverse Worlds
• It’s Time for Businesses to Embrace the Immersive Metaverse
• A Brand Guide to the Metaverse

Meet the Metaverse: A Virtual World of Potential was originally published in Gymnasium on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Design systems have been a hot topic in the design and development community for years — and for good reason. Not only can design systems reduce silos and improve collaboration and communication between teams, but these living libraries can help these teams to create a consistent look and feel across a multichannel user experience.

With that being said, design systems aren’t just for designers. While designers and developers are instrumental in building and maintaining a design system, the inclusion and input of other voices to create a shared language is essential — product managers included.

Product managers are central to the success of design systems.

Product managers wear many hats and operate at the intersection of several teams. This is why, in the words of Gymnasium instructor Ethan Marcotte, product managers are in a unique position to bring order to a broader design system.

Even if your position doesn’t require you to work directly with a design system, it’s crucial for you to take the steps toward understanding its role in your organization, its impact on your teams, and its requirements for success.

“I think we all have a responsibility to support the creation and maintenance of a sustainable design system,” said Lola Sizemore, a product manager at Aquent. “Product managers need to work closely with UX designers and have a clear understanding and weigh in on the decisions behind design standards, especially when they impact the success of the user experience.”

Design systems make everyone’s job easier — including yours.

There’s no question that a thriving design system requires collaboration between employees across different departments and disciplines, especially product managers. On the flip side, a well-maintained design system can also help to make a product manager’s job easier.

Because design systems serve to streamline the product creation and adoption process, they increase efficiency and confidence in the product itself. Sizemore has experienced this firsthand at Aquent.

“Strong design systems really let product managers and their teams focus on building the best overall experience at a higher level without getting delayed or stuck on a design element,” she said. “Built-out design systems allow us to move forward with confidence in the user interface and its accessibility.”

Take the next step toward understanding design systems.

Whether you’re brand new to design systems or looking to expand your expertise, Gymnasium’s Design Systems for Product Managers course will equip you with the skills to understand and optimize your team’s design system. Enroll today for free to add a new skill to your set and ensure you and your team are on the track to success.

Product Managers: Design Systems Are Your Business Too was originally published in Gymnasium on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In the words of Gymnasium instructor Brad Frost, design systems are “the official story of how an organization designs and builds products.” They serve as living libraries of essential coding and design elements, from standards and guidelines to patterns, with the aim of simplifying and streamlining the ever-complex product creation and adoption process.

By outlining a consistent, overarching design system, those involved in the design and development find themselves producing higher quality work with less time and effort wasted. As an added bonus, this type of structured documentation on the backend can result in a more consistent and cohesive user experience on the front end.

Design systems play an undeniably crucial role in bringing order to the chaos of code and design, but building and maintaining a thriving one can be daunting. Not sure where to begin? Gymnasium recently launched four free courses, taught by the one and only Ethan Marcotte, that tackle the topic from a variety of perspectives.

🎨 Are you a web or UX designer?

The growing ubiquity of design systems has had a major impact on designers and the way that they work alongside their teams, and a comprehensive understanding of these systems is more important than ever. In the Design Systems for Designers course, you’ll learn to build a design system from the ground up. With a focus on design, you’ll tackle the differences between pattern libraries and design systems, learn to extend the use of familiar tools like Figma, Sketch, and Adobe Creative Cloud, and discover next steps to elevate and advance your design system work.

⚙️ Do you code or consider yourself a developer?

Developers can play an integral part in both maintaining and shaping design systems, especially when it comes to the creation and organization of pattern libraries and other reusable components. With Design Systems for Developers, you’ll go beyond the basics to learn the “how” and “why” of design systems, review and practice methods for creating and integrating patterns into a production environment, and define the shape and structure of your own design system.

📈 Are you a product manager or owner?

Even if you don’t work directly with design systems, it’s helpful to understand their purpose, how your team works with them, and how you can help to create a successful one. Design Systems for Product Managers provides a high-level overview of design systems and pattern libraries, including common assumptions and problems, how to define your system’s purpose and principles, and ways to improve design system adoption and relevance.

🤓 Not in the above groups, but want to learn more about design systems?

You don’t have to be a designer or developer to take a deep dive into the world of design systems. Design Systems for Everyone outlines the fundamentals of design systems, from the concept’s definition and history to best practices for creating your own.

Design systems are here to stay, so think ahead now and thank yourself later. Whether you’re a designer or developer, a product manager or owner, or simply someone who wants to expand their skill set, Gymnasium and Ethan Marcotte have a free course tailored just for you.

Develop Your Design System with Four Free Courses was originally published in Gymnasium on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

You’ve likely heard of Blue Beanie Day, the annual worldwide celebration of web standards and accessibility on November 30th, but have you ever thought that one day just isn’t long enough?

In December, Gymnasium extended Blue Beanie Day into Blue Beanie Month, serving up an assortment of accessibility-focused content each day throughout social media. Gymnasium’s free courses and tutorials empower designers and developers alike to build accessible and inclusive experiences.

Take the first step and learn the fundamentals.

Gymnasium shared a two-part tutorial featuring Michael Vano of DEV6 and Jeremy Osborn, Gymnasium’s Academic Director, who demonstrate techniques for checking and fixing common website accessibility issues. The live coding lesson walks you through the multi-step process of improving your website through accessibility testing, all in under an hour.

Want to go beyond the basics of accessibility in design and development?

One course to check out is Modern Web Design, taught by web standards and accessibility advocate Aaron Gustafson, which serves as an introduction to front-end development with a focus on responsive design.

For a more detailed look at what goes into creating an accessible user experience, Designing Accessible and Responsive Websites with Ethan Marcotte outlines a series of front-end techniques to improve the accessibility of your website including designing better focus states, creating flexible typography, building viewport-aware layouts, and making accessible drop caps.

Short on time but still want to ensure your user experience is accessible?

Gymnasium’s Take 5 tutorials cover the essentials of key accessibility-related topics in just five minutes. Each short video shares helpful tips and tricks, such as how to properly implement color contrast, write effective alt text for your images, responsibly use motion and web animation, and improve form usability for everyone.

No matter how you approach the crucial endeavor of making your work accessible to all, Gymnasium’s collection of resources can help — every day of the year. Don your blue beanie and learn more at thegymnasium.com.

If you like this, you might want to check out these resources:

Another Blue Beanie Day by Jeffrey Zeldman

Understanding Progressive Enhancement by Aaron Gustafson

Ethan Marcotte on web design, accessibility and why it matters to journalists, digital storytellers by Miranda Mulligan

I Can See Clearly Now: Color and Accessibility in Design by Milo Goodman

Showing Up for Web Standards and Accessibility Year-Round was originally published in Gymnasium on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.