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Heyo! As promised, here's the 100% unsolicited general portfolio advice thread! I've also asked some awesome people for the advice they wish they were told. This is gonna be through the lens of character art but I think a lot still applies to other disciplines hopefully probably https://twitter.com/AaronC3D/status/1349357455583698945
First, understand the level required- find juniors on portfolio day or on AS or discord and work out what they did/showed to get their position. This will save a lot of time in regards to only working on things that you need, and not overshooting or overscoping your projects.
For students, this is especially important because its SUPER easy to just compare your work to your class, rather than the required level to get a gig. Avoid this as best you can because it really kicked my ass when I finished uni.
On top of this, don't overlook aiming for mobile games, or adjacent industries like marketing, advertising etc. Once again, find touchstones and tailor your portfolio as best you can.
Presentation of your work is HUGE, and because its that last sprint at the end of a long project it can be easy to try and cut corners with it. REALLY try and push in this area as it will make your projects stand out among others.
(For characters, lighting, posing and podium are fairly simple ways you can augment your work, and add SO much to final presentation when done right)
Find learning environments to get crit! Discords seem to be super popular for this, and really good for meeting people while you work up your portfolio. Twitter can also be super good for reaching out for advice, just bear in mind people will be busy so be patient and polite!
Get feedback from everyone- students and professionals and everything in between- a lot of the time crit from fellow students or non-professionals seems to be lower priority than other feedback, which is gonna remove a large portion of the people you can learn from.
This carries over to networking too, don't just focus on trying to meet people in industry but other people learning too! A lot of the people I met while working on my portfolio are now professionals, and I've got excellent crit from them for the whole time I've known them
Showcasing both artistic and technical knowledge is gonna be a balance you wanna hit- for technicals, show breakdowns! Unwraps and Topo renders are super useful to show across all game art disciplines. Even if they're not perfect, it'll ALWAYS be better than not showing them
However, remember that you're making art! Try to avoid getting bogged down in the technicals if you can, and approach everything with the attitude of getting your work looking appealing, and then balance that out with believability.
Stick to focused projects that fill gaps in your portfolio- Try to keep your projects focused on hitting something missing in your portfolio, and maybe focus on one key aspect of that discipline so you don't overwhelm yourself.
For Character artists, that could be a project that showcases solid clothing knowledge, or a project that shows anatomy skill or hardsurface for instance. Pick something, and do it to the best of your ability and avoid spreading yourself too thin
Avoid working on or reworking older pieces if you can help it, you'll be improving so fast that going back to work from just a few months earlier will end up with you fighting the work more than improving it.
Remember you're spending SIGNIFICANTLY more time looking at your work than others, and anyone looking at art long enough will start to see flaws and begin ignoring what's awesome.
Your work is still solid despite this, and people looking at it are far less likely to notice the flaws when they are seeing it for minutes, rather than months 
Lastly, take care of yourself. Working up your portfolio can be tiring and stressful, so please remember to step back from time to time and try to relax when you need to. Recognising this is a skill unto itself and I wish I learnt this sooner.
And I think that's it! If anyone wants to add anything please do, I'm definitely not a huge authority on this kinda thing but advice like this is something I wish I had early on when I was learning. Hopefully it ends up helping some people!
Thanks for helping with this friends! @CinnamonPossum @CopleyGeorgia @John_O_Really @HarryWrzyszcz @aparaitre @DaveTheSculptor @Vontadeh @peachy3d and others in the @TheClubDiscord 
