APPENDIX H: RESUME PORTFOLIO BUILDING CAPSTONE PROJECTS

HONEST-CLAIMS GUIDANCE Describe what you built, not what you hope it could become. Use verbs that match the evidence: use "built," "tested," "designed," and "measured" only when you did those things, and never use "deployed" or "scaled" unless you did so for real. Attach a number to a claim only when you can show where the number came from, and say what the number was measured on. Say who did what if you worked with others or with an assistant, since honest credit builds trust. Keep a short evidence folder for yourself with test outputs, screenshots, and logs, so that you can answer any question about a claim with something real. In an interview, it is better to say "I did not get to that, and here is how I would" than to stretch the truth, because a good interviewer will test your claims, and your honesty will count in your favor. When you finish this appendix, you will hold five small projects that you can run, explain, and defend, and that is what a portfolio is for.