How I Landed a $75k Remote Job with a 2-Page Portfolio and No Recruiter
I bypassed every recruiter, every ATS system, and every application form. Here's the exact process — including the part that felt ridiculous but worked.
The Setup: Underemployed, In-Office, $51k
In March 2023, I was underemployed, in-office, and making $51,000. I wanted remote, senior, and significantly better paid. I gave myself 60 days.
The Portfolio: Two Pages, Built in One Sunday
Two pages. Built on Notion (free). Took one Sunday afternoon.
- Page 1: Three case studies — a project I'd led, a problem I'd solved, a result I'd driven. Each one had a number.
- Page 2: A one-paragraph "why I do this work" and a 30-second Loom video walking through my thinking on Project 3.
No design skills needed. No developer required. The simplicity was the point — it looked like work, not a job application.
The Outreach: 15 Companies, Not Job Listings
I found 15 companies I actually wanted to work for. Not job listings — companies. I found the name of the relevant team lead or hiring manager at each one on LinkedIn.
I sent 15 personalised connection requests with this note: "Hi [Name], I've been following [Company]'s work on [specific thing] — genuinely impressive. I'm not cold-pitching — just connecting with people doing interesting work in this space."
9 of 15 accepted.
Three days later I sent a follow-up to each: "I put together a short portfolio of relevant work — would love your honest take on whether it's the kind of thing your team looks for. Here's the link."
The Result
- 4 of 9 replied. 2 booked intro calls.
- One call became a formal interview process.
- Offer: $75,000 — 47% more than I was making.
- Time from first connection request to signed offer: 6 weeks.
- Applications submitted through job boards: zero.
The job wasn't posted. The recruiter wasn't involved. The ATS never saw my name. I got the job because I made it easy for a real person to see real work and have a real conversation.