I'm going to second the library idea. If you have a library released and get a few users, you'll start getting bug reports, feature requests, etc. You'll be able to show companies that you were able to manage work effectively (prioritization), write good code, write good tests, etc.
Ask HN: What sort of side-projects are useful for getting jobs?
71–80 of 169 posts
Re: Ask HN: What sort of side-projects are useful for getting jobs?
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Umm, Airbnb interviews are much harder than FB and Google.
From what I remember so far at Airbnb it used to be tough when they were small. I don't know today if they still attract a lot of rock stars. But still, all I had to do was to write up a mini-web app and connect to their API in order to pull out some data, in about 2 hours. Then after this interview they had an onsite with classic CS and culture fit. They were very tough on culture fit and you had to meet with the 3…
Interesting. What does "tough on culture fit" mean exactly?
Re: Ask HN: What sort of side-projects are useful for getting jobs?
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
So what do you do if you lack a degree and professional experience?
It probably varies from place to place but in the Bay Area at least you pretty much have to get a degree of some sort. There are so many programmers out there that the degree/no-degree has become an easy filter for recruiting types and no-degree + no experience (which means no one to talk to about how you work and what it is like to work with you) makes it doubly difficult. That said, it doesn't have to be a degree f…
I've only once in the past 6 years been asked about a degree, and it wasn't even by the people trying to hire me(away from my current employment situation). It was a veto from the CTO who didn't want engineers at the company without CompSci degrees, against all objections. This was by far the odd experience out. People are usually surprised to find out later on that I have no degree.
So, I'll have to disagree about the no degree + experience. No degree + no experience is a very tough spot though. Should still be possible though. As others have stated will probably need an entry level-ish position first and then impress the right people and move across. A bootcamp might also be possible.. Companies do hire right out of there, so with the right aptitude and performance in the bootcamp I can see that gaining a foot in the door somewhere.
Re: Ask HN: What sort of side-projects are useful for getting jobs?
#74Here's a piece of advice from actual experience (from both sides): Invest your time studying for interviews than wasting time building side projects if you're doing this purely for getting a job, period. In my experience, companies don't care about your little side project when hiring--that is, unless your "little side project" had some huge impact or is something they have been aware of--the best you could get is "h…
This 0%. Side projects are how I've gotten all of my real jobs. Side projects* demonstrate that not only can you write code, but that you can also architect and deploy an application that solves real world problems. There's a lot more to software engineering than can be tested by fizzbuzzing on a whiteboard.
* (I'm assuming your side project is an application)
Re: Ask HN: What sort of side-projects are useful for getting jobs?
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The latter will getyou a C-level job for an upstart if it's well executed Could you expand on this? Are you referring to an acquisition?
Not an acquisition. If you can show you've built a XaaS from scratch, were able to acquire a good number of paying users, and were able to keep them happy, then chances are you're well worth the hire. You're high-end startup material. Do this a few times in a row and you can be certain investors will like you. Taking it up a notch each time. People who can do this serially are never out of work.
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Re: Ask HN: What sort of side-projects are useful for getting jobs?
#76Here's a piece of advice from actual experience (from both sides): Invest your time studying for interviews than wasting time building side projects if you're doing this purely for getting a job, period. In my experience, companies don't care about your little side project when hiring--that is, unless your "little side project" had some huge impact or is something they have been aware of--the best you could get is "h…
This 0%. Side projects are how I've gotten all of my real jobs. Side projects* demonstrate that not only can you write code, but that you can also architect and deploy an application that solves real world problems. There's a lot more to software engineering than can be tested by fizzbuzzing on a whiteboard. * (I'm assuming your side project is an application)
side projects show you can clone code on github and push it to your own repo. Interviews show you can articulate what you know in a convincing fashion, and that you have done homework on the company as well as your skills of inference and general personal skills to glean into what sort of answer the particular interview is looking for at the time. Something a lot of people really miss out on when bikeshedding over how terrible whiteboard questions are or interview question xyz is
Re: Ask HN: What sort of side-projects are useful for getting jobs?
#77Here's a piece of advice from actual experience (from both sides): Invest your time studying for interviews than wasting time building side projects if you're doing this purely for getting a job, period. In my experience, companies don't care about your little side project when hiring--that is, unless your "little side project" had some huge impact or is something they have been aware of--the best you could get is "h…
Side-projects can subside for a lack of experience to a degree. A fresh grad's resume with a ton of open source projects will look much better than one without. Or someone who is a developer planning their move into data science will greatly improve their changes by having some experience in machine learning and data analysis even if it's just in a side project.
However, I agree that unless a side-project has very high impact, it doesn't help much to have on your resume for people who have relevant work experience from a previous job.
Re: Ask HN: What sort of side-projects are useful for getting jobs?
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
This 100%. When I'm involved in the interview process I make a point to check out all candidates side projects but over 90% of people don't care. In getting my last job I thought I would have a slam dunk because I have a bunch of cool stuff I work on but nobody cared at all. I failed multiple on site interviews until I gave in and read a couple CSCI 101 books cover to cover. I had too much specialized knowledge and n…
Do you have any recommendations for the best CSCI 101 books to read?
You'd probably just be fine spending a few hours per week working on a MOOC that covers the fundamentals of algorithms and data structures like the ones on Coursera by Bob Sedgewick.
Other fundamental courses might include ones on Computer Networking or Databases like those offered by Stanford Lagunita.
Just keep a list of MOOCs that start regularly (like once a quarter or twice a year) or the self-paced ones and just rotate through them as review.
Re: Ask HN: What sort of side-projects are useful for getting jobs?
#79Interesting to see many comments here claiming that side projects don't matter when looking for a job. I've been actively applying for a full-time dev position for the past 3 months and the most common feedback I receive is "We need to see side projects, OSS contributions so we know how you code." I have about 4+ years in DevOps and in support. I consider myself a programming generalist, which I thought would be enou…
No hard data, but would just add I find quality writing of prose just as hard (or harder) than the creation of quality software.
Re: Ask HN: What sort of side-projects are useful for getting jobs?
#80Side projects are great to get recruiters' attention and also a great filler if you want to show what you can outside of your previous job. But even if you have an awesome side project you may still get rejected. So in the end if you want a job I will focus on getting really good at solving interview questions. It is broken. You can optimize for it.