I've submitted a fair amount of job applications that often request for a GitHub profile.
I'm however convinced most don't look at it or only take a cursory glance at it.
What do recruiters look out for?
Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?
1–10 of 226 posts
Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?
#2As a recruiter I can answer this! I do not speak for all recruiters. As a recruiter who is also a programmer, my approach may be nonstandard.
* I want to see thoughtful README files. If the README is whatever was generated default by the framework and not edited at all, that's a huge groan and turn off and you lose tons of strength (credibility) as a candidate.
* I want to see your code looking pretty. Consistent indentation, run through a linter, good comments, and so forth. Would I be able to contribute to and maintain this code?
That's pretty much it. The most important thing that companies want to see is employment history, either at brand name companies or somewhere where you've already been doing the job they're hiring for.
Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?
#3I'm not convinced that the Github profile is for recruiters alone. As someone doing hiring at the company, I want to see it myself.
So what am I looking for? Clean code that's more than just boilerplate. Comments, good logic, some sense of purpose. There can be garbage repos in there, too, but I expect there to be some that show off who you are.
In short, they want to see who you are. If your Github isn't showing who you are, you're not helping yourself by providing it to the recruiter.
Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?
#4As a recruiter I can answer this! I do not speak for all recruiters. As a recruiter who is also a programmer, my approach may be nonstandard. * I want to see thoughtful README files. If the README is whatever was generated default by the framework and not edited at all, that's a huge groan and turn off and you lose tons of strength (credibility) as a candidate. * I want to see your code looking pretty. Consistent ind…
I really don’t see why these things are relevant at all.
It’s a personal Github profile. Why would anyone add thoughtful readme’s or a clean coding style if they’re the only contributor?
I mean, those things are great of course, but not sure if I’d expect it on Github.
Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?
#5As a recruiter I can answer this! I do not speak for all recruiters. As a recruiter who is also a programmer, my approach may be nonstandard. * I want to see thoughtful README files. If the README is whatever was generated default by the framework and not edited at all, that's a huge groan and turn off and you lose tons of strength (credibility) as a candidate. * I want to see your code looking pretty. Consistent ind…
Everything you say makes sense on the surface. But it scares me a little bit.
Do you ignore all my half-done prototypes and junky hacks and experiments?
Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?
#6I look for things to chat about. That's it. If there aren't any then I'll find other things to chat about.
It's almost like a dating profile. You use the items as jump-off points to start a conversation and get to know the other person better.
Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?
#7As a recruiter I can answer this! I do not speak for all recruiters. As a recruiter who is also a programmer, my approach may be nonstandard. * I want to see thoughtful README files. If the README is whatever was generated default by the framework and not edited at all, that's a huge groan and turn off and you lose tons of strength (credibility) as a candidate. * I want to see your code looking pretty. Consistent ind…
Everything you say makes sense on the surface. But it scares me a little bit. Do you ignore all my half-done prototypes and junky hacks and experiments?
Or your proprietary work you don't own IP to. Ironically, some look to GitHub to somehow correlate with employment history. Many employed are too busy sinking development time in source that's never releasable. Some companies may contribute to certain OSS projects publically but a lot of their core business code base is protected.
Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?
#8As a recruiter I can answer this! I do not speak for all recruiters. As a recruiter who is also a programmer, my approach may be nonstandard. * I want to see thoughtful README files. If the README is whatever was generated default by the framework and not edited at all, that's a huge groan and turn off and you lose tons of strength (credibility) as a candidate. * I want to see your code looking pretty. Consistent ind…
I really don’t see why these things are relevant at all. It’s a personal Github profile. Why would anyone add thoughtful readme’s or a clean coding style if they’re the only contributor? I mean, those things are great of course, but not sure if I’d expect it on Github.
Some use GitHub as a portfolio, it seems. Mine is/was mostly a dumping ground of half finished ideas in my college days.
Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?
#9Since most people’s work is going to be in private repos, Ive always thought the most consistently valuable signal is the contribution graph.
But that’s just my opinion.
Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?
#10As a hiring manager, I glance at it and take a brief look at anything interesting. It’s good for talking points at the interview, perhaps to ask the candidate to expand upon and explain the work.
If the profile is empty, I close the tab and find something else to talk about. I will never, ever penalise a candidate for an empty GitHub profile. So many people just do not have time for open source and that’s totally fine.
GitHub activity helps lubricate conversation at interviews, but it should never be taken as anything other than a superficial representation of the candidate’s ability or experience.