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Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?

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Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?

#101

Post by futureastronaut »

SilurianWenlock wrote: post #61
futureastronaut wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's mostly a bikeshed and a signaling thing. Only a "noob" wouldn't know about enumerate(), right? The program could be brilliant in much higher level ways, but mid/senior only-knows-Python hot shot will jump on your anti-idiom like a dog on a dropped hamburger. Including such anti-idioms in your public code can filter out people like that.

Where are you meant to learn this?

Python's list of built-in functions is fairly small https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#built-in-fu... (but to be clear, I wouldn't ding somebody for forgetting about one of them).

Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?

#102

Post by Benjammer »

zepolen wrote: post #56
Novashi wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

False dichotomy, and if you actually witness this first hand and only have two options in your candidate pool, you might need to spread your net a bit further. Also the original post was about READMEs only, so if they have unmaintainable code, the README really doesn't matter that much, does it? Developers are at various stages in their expertise when they go looking for jobs. READMEs are nice but try not to let your…

> README quality is a pretty weak signal. It's a fantastic signal of what the quality of the code will be. Lack of a README indicates many things, including unmaintainable code either via lack of experience or rushed work. But hey talk is cheap and you seem to know a lot - so how about you link an open source project you've published ;)

Hi, I'm a recruiter! I like long walks on the beach, witty quips, and shaming my clients for not making my job easier for me!

Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?

#103

Post by zZorgz »

Speaking as someone with a decent github profile, we need to get out of the notion that github profiles are important. Anything substantial or noteworthy of interest should really be on the candidate's resume. Even personal websites are more worthwhile going through than github profiles in my opinion.

Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?

#104

Post by bjourne »

zepolen wrote: post #37
Novashi wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>that's a huge groan and turn off and you lose tons of strength (credibility) as a candidate. Toxic and off putting. You put too much weight on relatively minor things. It’s preventing you from fairly considering the rest of the candidate. You could be the one to teach them to do READMEs well.

So choose between: 1. A developer who doesn't respect himself first and foremost to write a README/maintainable code so that his future self and others can have an easier time. 2. A developer who cares about communicating his work to himself/others and making the environment easier for everyone to work for the future. Right.

I don't agree with zepolen's comments at all. But can you guys who use "downvote to disagree" kindly please stop? You are just making Ask HN worse for all of us by turning it into an echo chamber. This isn't Reddit FFS.

Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?

#105

Post by praneshp »

JshWright wrote: post #73
Edd314159 wrote: post #10

As 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 fin…

While you don't actively penalize folks, it's worth pointing out that candidates with an active GitHub profile often _do_ have an advantage in the scenario you describe.

Similar to how a much better developer has an advantage over me in an interview

Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?

#106

Post by closeparen »

Aeolun wrote: post #4
gargarplex wrote: post #2

As 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.

Personal projects can give signal about someone's interests, level of investment, sense of adventure, etc. They're also often an explicit relief valve from "dotting the Is and crossing the Ts" at work, so not a great way to assess professional/production code quality.

If I see a tower of inscrutable Haskell on someone's Github, that is a great thing: both that they have the urge to do it, and the good sense to scratch that itch away from the company's codebase.

Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?

#107

Post by jki275 »

chimen wrote: post #72

I ask both Github and StackOverflow profiles. In Github I look for code style & quality, tests written, open source project participation (often good indicator of quality code when accepted). In SO I look for issues created as an indicator of one's struggles and overall expertise. Both profiles offer me a strong view over one's position and the data really helps me to filter out prospects. 95% of the times when they…

I’ve never written a SO post, and barely have a github profile.

I’ve been coding since the 80s.

Some people don’t live on social networking - and that is, after all, exactly what those sites are.

Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?

#108

Post by baq »

raviolo wrote: post #46

I’ve been writing code for over 20 years yet I don’t have anything that I can share in a public repo. My employer would sue me immediately. I don’t imagine I will be looking for a job via the “normal process” with recruiters and all, but if I did, would I need to put out stuff to github? Would I need to spend 6 months just writing random but nice-looking code so I’m not rejected due to not having github profile? I th…

You just tell the truth. Create a repo that says in the readme that you can’t show any code you write if you’re concerned that not having a profile is a problem.

Re: Ask HN: What do recruiters look for in a GitHub profile?

#110

Post by yeahitslikethat »

bjourne wrote: post #104
zepolen wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So choose between: 1. A developer who doesn't respect himself first and foremost to write a README/maintainable code so that his future self and others can have an easier time. 2. A developer who cares about communicating his work to himself/others and making the environment easier for everyone to work for the future. Right.

I don't agree with zepolen's comments at all. But can you guys who use "downvote to disagree" kindly please stop? You are just making Ask HN worse for all of us by turning it into an echo chamber. This isn't Reddit FFS.

And fading out comments just because people here disagree with them is super annoying.

If 4 ppl disagree with something No one else is even able read it??

We shall all only say that which no one will disagree with.

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