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Ask HN: for senior positions is it advisable to list side projects on your CV?

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Re: Ask HN: for senior positions is it advisable to list side projects on your CV?

#151

Post by lolinder »

austincheney wrote: post #149
xenocratus wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're gravely generalising, as if everyone who does side projects has to do them the same way you do. And even disregarding this, you're still not proving my point wrong. You're saying personal projects show you can work in some set of conditions that have little to do with how work in a company gets done. Yeah, you can "prove" yourself somewhat when you're on your own, does that automatically translate to being a g…

As an employee you do what is assigned plus administrative things. That is incredibly limiting. On a personal project you accomplish whatever you want, regardless of demand or ambition or challenge. You are your own principle audience. You aren’t trying to prove anything. You are trying to build something. Unless you are the kind of person just likes building things I suspect it will be impossible to understand.

You're still missing OP's point: an employer needs people who can take assignments and do them. Deemphasizing the evidence of that skill in favor of evidence of ability to complete passion projects isn't necessarily a good move on a resume.

For the record, I am someone who just likes building things. I totally get why building things on your own is more enjoyable. I just don't think that an employer really cares all that much about that.

Re: Ask HN: for senior positions is it advisable to list side projects on your CV?

#152

Post by ergocoder »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #5
pryelluw wrote: post #2

I do mention my side open source side projects, but not side hustles.

This is a good distinction. Side projects = Fun project that demonstrates skills Side business = Ongoing obligation that could distract from your job. Be careful in how you present them.

Side project isn't really impressive though like a to-do app in Rust. Yeah, that doesn't mean anything.

Side business actually is. Because it means you can build, launch, acquire, and retain; and you have to deal with customers.

This means you do have skills to be in a senior position.

Re: Ask HN: for senior positions is it advisable to list side projects on your CV?

#153

Post by austincheney »

lolinder wrote: post #151
austincheney wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an employee you do what is assigned plus administrative things. That is incredibly limiting. On a personal project you accomplish whatever you want, regardless of demand or ambition or challenge. You are your own principle audience. You aren’t trying to prove anything. You are trying to build something. Unless you are the kind of person just likes building things I suspect it will be impossible to understand.

You're still missing OP's point: an employer needs people who can take assignments and do them. Deemphasizing the evidence of that skill in favor of evidence of ability to complete passion projects isn't necessarily a good move on a resume. For the record, I am someone who just likes building things. I totally get why building things on your own is more enjoyable. I just don't think that an employer really cares all…

The necessary technical competence is identifiable in the personal projects. In my experience though the prospective employer is incapable making any such determination from provided evidence.

I suspect that technical competence is an irrelevant aside to what you are looking for. It sounds like you are looking for someone who can check a box, perhaps copy/paste or a gear on an assembly line. If you are strictly looking for a box checker then I would suggest hiring people who never mention personal projects of any kind on a resume. You are looking strictly for labor, a hard worker, not initiative. Work harder, not smarter, and your targeted candidate will do exactly that.

The whole point of personal projects is the opposite: initiative building something new because there is a passion to build, grow, and improve.

Re: Ask HN: for senior positions is it advisable to list side projects on your CV?

#154

Post by Jenk »

bmj wrote: post #102
Jenk wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes that's one of the many caveats. I myself have zero time for side projects due to family etc. so I am fully sympathetic. And side projects are side projects. I was fascinated by a candidate's beer brewing project (there are some very relatable skills in management and organisation, supply chain dependencies, etc) as one example of a non-tech side project.

This is interesting. You say "side project" and I hear "hobby." (Unless, of course, this candidate was starting a brewery, in which case, that is a hobby turned side project.)

Yes, they had started their own brewery :)

Re: Ask HN: for senior positions is it advisable to list side projects on your CV?

#155

Post by quickthrower2 »

TameAntelope wrote: post #12

I've been hiring a couple of senior positions, and so far the most appropriate way I've seen side projects highlighted is with a link to the applicant's GitHub. Honestly, finding a well maintained and substantive project in a person's GitHub would impress me, and that candidate would certainly stand out. So often people link their GitHub accounts, but when I visit, I only see toy projects and book exercises. As part…

It’s better to link to specific projects unless you keep the GitHub super pristine for interviews.

Mine has a few gone nowhere forks, scrap books, silly projects etc.

Re: Ask HN: for senior positions is it advisable to list side projects on your CV?

#156

Post by quickthrower2 »

relaunched wrote: post #19

There are two plays you can make by listing a side project. For example, if the project is in some way commensurate to the role. For example, if you are applying for a VP of engineering job at a large technology company and your side project is co-author and commit rights to a major open source project, say Python or a well known and use library and you're actively involved. Or, if it's on the resume to demonstrate y…

It’s about strategy: you don’t know what the interviewers are looking for. Being human they may be dazzled by side projects and it may help get the job at company A because person 13 was interviewing that day but make no difference at B and C. But you get more offers and negotiate a better compensation at B.

In other words interviews are human and messy, not strictly logical.

Re: Ask HN: for senior positions is it advisable to list side projects on your CV?

#157

Post by boon »

cryptoz wrote: post #132

Last year, I interviewed for a senior role where the interviewer actively made fun of my side project. They suggested without directly stating it that they thought it was a dumb side project toy app, despite it being quite complex and not trivial. Doesn't dissuade me. That interviewer was the stupid one, not me. My best lesson learned is to make sure that your side projects that are involved, look involved. If it is…

Sounds like that was potentially a good way to weed out a terrible place to work.
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