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How to not waste time on a side project when trying to get a job

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Re: How to not waste time on a side project when trying to get a job

#41

Post by [deleted] »

dheera wrote: post #40
jefe78 wrote: post #3

I don't understand the logic of this article. My side projects tend to be efforts in self employment, not 'click bait' for an employer. While not everyone has the same approach, this article seems to imply the only value of side projects is for future employers. I'd hate for people to get the wrong impression about the value of these projects.

And many times, my side projects are my way of relaxing. Some people relax by partying, some relax by walking their dog, some relax by spending time with their kids. And my choice of relaxation time is often just building something interesting that has zero self-employment or market value, but is just funny or cool. It is refreshing to do something for pure happiness and fun, after dealing with the unhappy real world…

[deleted]

Re: How to not waste time on a side project when trying to get a job

#42

Post by ronilan »

I have nothing to add to the article, but just wanted to point out regarding that YouTube instant thing:

1. Feross never got the job he was "offered" and reportedly "accepted"[1]. He went on to do other things.

2. He is on Patreon, and you can support his Open Source efforts here: https://www.patreon.com/feross

3. Or... you can try and hire him. He was excellent to begin with and seemes to have only gotten better through the years.

4. 2010. That was an era. "Must have been love, but it's over now."[2]

[1] https://techcrunch.com/2010/09/24/youtube-instant-instant/ [2] https://youtu.be/s-XolL_1dN0

Re: How to not waste time on a side project when trying to get a job

#43

Post by codingdave »

fardo wrote: post #8
ch4s3 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you elaborate on why that might be the case?

Regardless of how impressive your side project is, unless it is a very special exception (e.g. you’re head maintainer of a linux distribution or open source tool the company hiring you is extensively using and needs your expertise on), it’s only getting you into the door to talk to people, and it’s not a route around the interview process. So, ultimately that process is going to be whiteboard coding, because it (let’…

Yes/No -- In my last job hunt, I talked to more than one employer who said they had declined people who rocked the whiteboarding, but had nothing else to show. People are building teams who can work together, communicate well, and dedicate their efforts to completing projects together. Good whiteboarding is a prerequisite to being part of a team... but not the entirety of a hiring decision.

Re: How to not waste time on a side project when trying to get a job

#44

Post by lkrubner »

kraftman wrote: post #7

It would be interesting to know what proportion of employers even look at your Github, let alone dig into detail enough to investigate your side projects to this level. I work on quite a few side projects in my own time because I enjoy it, but I've never been asked about my projects on Github or my blog.

This surprises me all the time. Most people hire me without ever doing any research on me. I get to a job interview and they ask me if I know what "object oriented programming" means. Had they searched for my name, they would have found my name on the Wikipedia page for object oriented programming:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-oriented_programming

And I've never gone to a job interview where people knew I had a blog, even though I list the blog on my resume:

http://www.smashcompany.com/

I have to assume that other people put a blog on their resume, but its a mostly un-used site, so the maybe the employers get in the habit of ignoring personal sites? I've written on hundreds of technical topics over the years, but no one is ever aware of this when I arrive in a job interview.

Likewise, no one has ever checked my projects on Github.

Re: How to not waste time on a side project when trying to get a job

#45

Post by wolco »

pulkownik wrote: post #21

I am confused now. I have been working on my side project almost 2 years (started working on it a couple of months after my first job in it). Firstly my plan was to deploy this project and open to users finally, however after some time, I realized that there is a lot of similar web pages and it is not a good idea. So I decided to work on this project as some kind of battlefield for testing new frameworks. Finally I e…

Show it, it at least shows you care something to work on it in your spare time.

Re: How to not waste time on a side project when trying to get a job

#46

Post by quickthrower2 »

symlinkk wrote: post #38

Why do I have to build side projects and memorize algorithm trivia to prove to employers that I know enough to do a job? What's the value of my degree if it doesn't tell employers that I know what I'm talking about? Why are software engineers the only ones with this problem (can you imagine if doctors had to memorize random trivia to get a job)?

Doctors have to memorize a lot of information to just do their job. They have to have the answers to a lot of things or look incompetent as Googling would make people lose their trust. I think we have it cushy.

My experience is that side projects mean nothing to employers (as an experienced dev) and memorizing algorithm trivia is rarely needed. Usually doing a coding test with internet access is the norm.

Re: How to not waste time on a side project when trying to get a job

#47

Post by Scarbutt »

codingdave wrote: post #43
fardo wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regardless of how impressive your side project is, unless it is a very special exception (e.g. you’re head maintainer of a linux distribution or open source tool the company hiring you is extensively using and needs your expertise on), it’s only getting you into the door to talk to people, and it’s not a route around the interview process. So, ultimately that process is going to be whiteboard coding, because it (let’…

Yes/No -- In my last job hunt, I talked to more than one employer who said they had declined people who rocked the whiteboarding, but had nothing else to show. People are building teams who can work together, communicate well, and dedicate their efforts to completing projects together. Good whiteboarding is a prerequisite to being part of a team... but not the entirety of a hiring decision.

Having side projects to show doesn't prove one can work together on a team, communicate well, nor dedicate their efforts to completing projects together.

Re: How to not waste time on a side project when trying to get a job

#48

Post by vonmoltke »

codingdave wrote: post #43
fardo wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regardless of how impressive your side project is, unless it is a very special exception (e.g. you’re head maintainer of a linux distribution or open source tool the company hiring you is extensively using and needs your expertise on), it’s only getting you into the door to talk to people, and it’s not a route around the interview process. So, ultimately that process is going to be whiteboard coding, because it (let’…

Yes/No -- In my last job hunt, I talked to more than one employer who said they had declined people who rocked the whiteboarding, but had nothing else to show. People are building teams who can work together, communicate well, and dedicate their efforts to completing projects together. Good whiteboarding is a prerequisite to being part of a team... but not the entirety of a hiring decision.

I have yet to be on a team where good white boarding was a prerequisite.

Re: How to not waste time on a side project when trying to get a job

#49

Post by user5994461 »

kraftman wrote: post #7

It would be interesting to know what proportion of employers even look at your Github, let alone dig into detail enough to investigate your side projects to this level. I work on quite a few side projects in my own time because I enjoy it, but I've never been asked about my projects on Github or my blog.

Noone looks at the github.

Source: https://thehftguy.com/2016/10/24/heres-how-to-make-a-good-gi...

Re: How to not waste time on a side project when trying to get a job

#50

Post by gitgud »

stefantheard wrote: post #23
pulkownik wrote: post #21

I am confused now. I have been working on my side project almost 2 years (started working on it a couple of months after my first job in it). Firstly my plan was to deploy this project and open to users finally, however after some time, I realized that there is a lot of similar web pages and it is not a good idea. So I decided to work on this project as some kind of battlefield for testing new frameworks. Finally I e…

I would also love to know the answer to this. I have an app that is nowhere near what I would consider ideal quality-wise but it's a project that is done, deployed, and open source. Do I even mention it? I wouldn't as it stands.

Well, IMHO it depends on the company, position and interviewer. But something I've learnt is:

- Programmers love good code

- Entrepreneurs love good products

So it's not always the quality of the codebase that matters when showing your side projects. Sometimes the product itself is more valuable.

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