No
Does contributing to open-source companies increase chance of a job there?
11–20 of 23 posts
Re: Does contributing to open-source companies increase chance of a job there?
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's what first came to my mind as well. I would like to hear from someone with experience just to rest my mind and go ALL IN contributing :D
Also based on my own logic and zero experience on the matter, why should they hire you when you would work so much for them for free? What would be your standing in a job negotiation? Not to say it can't happen. For example, if you make cool features for Gitlab, they may want to reserve it for the paid version but they won't be able to (I hope) unless you were an employee, causing you to surrender your copyright for…
> when they have given no indication that they would even consider it.
That's exactly why I'm asking this question,
> It might be better to spend that free time to build a portfolio of independent projects to showcase to potential employers.
I already have a couple(wordhunt.xyz, getquoter.app), but they do not seem enough to land me a job somehow, and I don't want to apply to 100+ companies to get someone to hire me.
I would like to choose a company that I like and believe are doing a good thing, and then apply and get accepted instead of randomly applying to any company with good pay.
Re: Does contributing to open-source companies increase chance of a job there?
#13Just a theory but I’d bet, for companies like Google and Facebook, grinding leetcode would be less work and more efficient if your only end goal is to work there.
It would be a bit hard for me to get an interview in the first place, I'm not a US citizen.
Re: Does contributing to open-source companies increase chance of a job there?
#14It seems to me this is kind of how Linus Torvalds got his job. I could be wrong there, though. HN comment: "I've known many more or less unemployable people who started contributing to significant open source projects, and based on that got hired to well paid positions." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18378267
I see, thanks for your input.
I would like to know for sure if it is good investment to contribute to the companies that I like :)
Re: Does contributing to open-source companies increase chance of a job there?
#15No, I've contributed to the Linux kernel more than once and never received a job offer from Red Hat, SUSE or Canonical.
I don't think "more than once" can get you a job, my goal was to contribute a LOT, like full-time for 3-6 months on issues that no one wants to work on so I actually impress.
Re: Does contributing to open-source companies increase chance of a job there?
#16Re: Does contributing to open-source companies increase chance of a job there?
#17No, I've contributed to the Linux kernel more than once and never received a job offer from Red Hat, SUSE or Canonical.
I don't think "more than once" can get you a job, my goal was to contribute a LOT, like full-time for 3-6 months on issues that no one wants to work on so I actually impress.
That is a lot of time to work for free. Why not get a regular job and convince your employer to let you contribute to Open Source project they use.
Re: Does contributing to open-source companies increase chance of a job there?
#18this is based on my gut feeling, as someone who is hiring and has FOSS projects we use for work. first of all, there are multiple factors at play: does contributing to FOSS projects increase your chances at getting any job? does it make a difference to which projects you contribute to? both these can be answered with yes. having a portfolio of public contributions is helpful. (personally i think it is unfair to those…
Hey, thanks for your input.
So can I conclude from what you said, that I should have my contributions profile ready for when an opportunity is open at a company I'm contributing to, I have a higher chance to get the opportunity compared to non-contributors?
Re: Does contributing to open-source companies increase chance of a job there?
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think "more than once" can get you a job, my goal was to contribute a LOT, like full-time for 3-6 months on issues that no one wants to work on so I actually impress.
That is a lot of time to work for free. Why not get a regular job and convince your employer to let you contribute to Open Source project they use.
"regular jobs" where I live, offer very bad compensation packages. I see a lot of remote companies offering good pay along with a good environment and good benefits.
Re: Does contributing to open-source companies increase chance of a job there?
#20Just a theory but I’d bet, for companies like Google and Facebook, grinding leetcode would be less work and more efficient if your only end goal is to work there.
It would be a bit hard for me to get an interview in the first place, I'm not a US citizen.
They have offices in many parts of the world, I believe. Also, I imagine sponsoring employment visas is probably something routine for them.
But yes, it's probably harder.