Ask HN: Github as resume, what does it really mean?

cheald · on Jan 3, 2013

As someone who has done plenty of candidate screenings, an active Github account is a big plus. I get to see how you interact with others, I get to see your code style, how you approach version control, how you deal with bug reports and feedback, and I can get a sense of your programming prowess in a context that isn't cooked up for some interview.

Accounts that are just vimfiles and the skeleton of a never-again-touched project are boring. Forked repos are neat, because they show what you're interested in and what you've been exposed to. Forked repos that you've contributed to are even better. Your own projects that others have filed issues and pull requests on is the motherlode; that tells me a ton about how you do the job I'm hiring for.

rbsn · on Jan 6, 2013

Thanks. This is actually a really nice insight to see how employers may read someone's GitHub profile.

zalew · on Jan 3, 2013

It's a programmers' version of "a picture is worth a thousand words".

I don't like putting an equal sign between opensource and github, but that's another story.

> If you were an employer, what would you look at on a github account?

Examples of actual working code, obviously.

If there is some proof of collaboration with other programmers on solving problems together (not only sering as your code dump), it'd be a bonus.

codegeek · on Jan 3, 2013

I am a relatively new Git and Github user. I am just an average gitter/githubber but when I look at my own public github profile, it makes me realize the following:

1. It tells me that I can use Git/Github (even if not advanced). Probably not a big deal but still.

2. By looking at the projects that I have either forked or initiated on my own, it tells you what kind of things I might be interested in building. Of course, there could be many other things that are not listed there but still gives you an idea. For example, forking Git itself vs. forking jquery. May be I am more of a backend engineer vs. frontend engineer. May be I am into opensource projects or just like to write my own utilities. All these things can tell you a lot about me.

3. You can immediately see what programming languages I am using. For example, my github is primarily about python (duh!!) and I wrote one simple project to convert financial statements (QFX format etc.) into csv using python. Again, I know thats child's play for the pros but hey, I learnt python doing that.

4. You can also learn if I lean towards any specific frameworks/tech/libraries etc. For example, I am into Flask framework for web dev.

5. How I document things. E.g.README.md etc. This is useful as well to understand if I can communicate what I am building with others. Also shows how I collaborate with other teams/project members.

Hope this helps.

Peroni · on Jan 3, 2013

Github profiles (moreso if they are regularly maintained) are an incredibly useful preview for us when we screen CV's.

For what it's worth, we've (Hacker Jobs UK) interviewed a few CTO's & Tech Directors over the last year or so and asked them all the same questions including How much value do you place in a Developers personal projects such as github & demo sites when they apply for a job with your company?.

If you got to our blog and search for 'Hacker Jobs Meets" you'll find the relevant posts. http://www.hackerjobs.co.uk/blog

freedrull · on Jan 14, 2013

Wow, I think the new profiles on github are a definite improvement for this kind of situation. :D