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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?

#41

Post by xcambar »

jcroll wrote: post #8
xcambar wrote: post #3

You want your side projects to help you get the job. They must demonstrate as achievements instead of hobbies. For this reason, I'd default to no, don't list side projects, unless you make it a strong argument for the position you're applying to. Are you a major contributor to a tech used in company? Have you written a book about it? Did you grow a community? Have you reached significant traction or revenue? Any yes…

I like your answer I just wonder: I used this project to teach myself kubernetes. If someone asks me how I know kubernetes what do I say? I suppose I say it was on a side project I did

Then by all means mention the project. To me, what matters in this specific answer is not the side project, but the learning opportunity and associated curiosity.

All bonus points, especially if the company uses k8s or if you can answer aptly "why did you choose k8s?"

FWIW, I'd expect 3 kinds of answers: 1. "This was a right fit because..." 2. "I knew this was NOT a right fit but I wanted to learn" 3. "I thought it was the right fit but I was wrong because..."

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

#42

Post by shard »

Jenk wrote: post #21

I always ask candidates if they have anything to show off. I am _always_ more interested in what people do as a side project than I am of what they have done professionally. Hyperbole time but I think it conveys the message: People do side projects for better reaons than they do professionally. At worst it's because they want to quickly learn/achieve something for their next job. Compared to professional experience,…

I think it depends on just how senior this position is. Senior developer, sure. VP of engineering, no. Team lead, maybe. If you list side projects, it needs to scale with your position. A VP's side project would scale up to a viable business of its own, which then is no longer a side project but a work experience entry in the CV.

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

#43

Post by dannyw »

majewsky wrote: post #31
Jenk wrote: post #21

I always ask candidates if they have anything to show off. I am _always_ more interested in what people do as a side project than I am of what they have done professionally. Hyperbole time but I think it conveys the message: People do side projects for better reaons than they do professionally. At worst it's because they want to quickly learn/achieve something for their next job. Compared to professional experience,…

I appreciate your sentiment. At the same time, looking at side projects runs the risk of discriminating against qualified candidates who don't have time for side projects because of other commitments (e.g. childcare or care for elderly relatives) or who choose to pursue non-IT hobbies to keep a work-life balance. How do you avoid treating such candidates unfairly?

If I am trying to hire someone into my team, I want to make use of all relevant and appropriate signals that can help me make a better decision. I consider side projects to be an appropriate and often valuable signal.

While it is unfortunate that side projects have some selection bias against those who are time-poor, it also feels wrong to me to discriminate against people who can demonstrate their skills and impress through their side projects.

Like, if there are two candidates and all else are equal, and one has a really impressive side project that demonstrates positive traits (whether it's technical expertise, novelty, relevant skills, or communication/community), it's going to be hard to... actively ignore that?

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

#45

Post by sha256kira »

deregulateMed wrote: post #37
majewsky wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I appreciate your sentiment. At the same time, looking at side projects runs the risk of discriminating against qualified candidates who don't have time for side projects because of other commitments (e.g. childcare or care for elderly relatives) or who choose to pursue non-IT hobbies to keep a work-life balance. How do you avoid treating such candidates unfairly?

As someone with kids and side projects, I have doubts about "not having time". I could do 2 hours of productivity after the kids go to sleep and I'd still have 2 hours for entertainment. I exercise too. So let's make it even more reasonable. How about 30 minutes, 4 times a week? >Meaningful progress So then do an hour or 2? I make progress in 30 minutes and sometimes keep going. If the point is for a resume, you coul…

I do find that I have time for side projects even with my wife and I working full time with a one year old but some / most weeks I feel like Im going to drop dead and that is in part because I find myself with little time for exercise and other self care. I just think its worth regurgitating the adage that every child really is different and so is every tech job. My friends that end up working till 9pm and on weekends regularly or have more demanding children are living in completely different realities and my heart goes out to them every day. With all this said my side projects end up being very consuming and not necessarily geared towards looking good on a resume.

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

#46

Post by Rapzid »

From the recent bit of looking around I have done for Senior and Staff roles the typical process after screening is;

* Behavioral interview(s)

* Some form of pair coding excercise

* System design interview

Side projects have never really come up explicitly, but my GitHub profile is included in my deets and I'm sure people have viewed it.

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

#47

Post by CodeGlitch »

The best bang for buck would be to spend your spare time gaining a certification, for example Java, CompTIA, AWS, Azure, etc. This IMHO is far better on your CV then a side-project, as it shows a willingness to perform continued learning. Your side project could be using tools and techniques that you learnt decades ago, which could be fine but my org is only interested in cutting-edge stuff (for example).

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

#48

Post by journey_16162 »

deregulateMed wrote: post #37
majewsky wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I appreciate your sentiment. At the same time, looking at side projects runs the risk of discriminating against qualified candidates who don't have time for side projects because of other commitments (e.g. childcare or care for elderly relatives) or who choose to pursue non-IT hobbies to keep a work-life balance. How do you avoid treating such candidates unfairly?

As someone with kids and side projects, I have doubts about "not having time". I could do 2 hours of productivity after the kids go to sleep and I'd still have 2 hours for entertainment. I exercise too. So let's make it even more reasonable. How about 30 minutes, 4 times a week? >Meaningful progress So then do an hour or 2? I make progress in 30 minutes and sometimes keep going. If the point is for a resume, you coul…

I work on something which will either be a side project for CV or a small business if I'm lucky - in either case most of the work at the time relates to development. On a typical week I put 30 - 40h into it (I don't work full time so I can afford it) and it still goes so damn slow. And the project is not anything crazy, just a standard Electron desktop app.

I can hardly imagine how someone could build anything at 2h/week. 30 min is barely enough time for the brain to switch gears.

I fully get how someone does not have time for side projects - they have life besides work, while I barely do.

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

#49

Post by simonw »

majewsky wrote: post #31
Jenk wrote: post #21

I always ask candidates if they have anything to show off. I am _always_ more interested in what people do as a side project than I am of what they have done professionally. Hyperbole time but I think it conveys the message: People do side projects for better reaons than they do professionally. At worst it's because they want to quickly learn/achieve something for their next job. Compared to professional experience,…

I appreciate your sentiment. At the same time, looking at side projects runs the risk of discriminating against qualified candidates who don't have time for side projects because of other commitments (e.g. childcare or care for elderly relatives) or who choose to pursue non-IT hobbies to keep a work-life balance. How do you avoid treating such candidates unfairly?

I remind myself that I've worked with fantastic colleagues who don't run any side projects, and I definitely don't want to miss out on someone like that.

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

#50

Post by mxuribe »

pryelluw wrote: post #2

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

I was going to mention that if you somehow turned your side project into a side hustle, that could be received well, because it shows you were able to evolve your project into the business (maybe even monetization) direction...but that would require really careful, nuanced explanation...so i defer my position to what @PragmaticPulp rightly stated about being very careful in how that distinction is presented (to avoid concerns around distractions, etc.).
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