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I think treating Github profile as a portfolio is a mistake, made both by developers and by hiring staff. It's not a portfolio - it a set of repositories. If you want a portfolio, build one and link interesting projects (with description etc.) in it.
Thanks for your comment, Paweł. I don't think that GitHub should be one's ONLY portfolio; however, it is an important part of your developer persona, and this article presents some tips for improving that one aspect of your entire profile. That's all. Please tell where my piece sends the message that GitHub is a dev's ONLY portfolio, and I will amend accordingly. Thanks again!
"important part of your developer persona" - yes, totally agree with that! But the very word "portfolio" sounds to me like something done to impress, polished in every aspect, showing only selected best pieces. Perhaps that's just our difference in understanding that term.
Github profile, to me, is more like a workbench you decide to put publicly for everyone to see. Sure, there will be some people saying "your workbench is untidy" and dismissing you for that. On the other hand, tidy workbench means it only for show and nothing real is happening there. My experience is that when I see a polished, tidy Github profile, I usually just skip it. Dirty profiles with many forks, experiments, unfinished tales - that's what I find interesting (as an interviewer).
BUT. Different contexts and different measures. I believe there are situations when a polished profile is worthy thing - in those cases your tips are great. I don't mean to sound condescending or anything - I just wonder if we don't put too much pressure on how the Github profile should look.
Perhaps it is the use of the word "portfolio" that is throwing people off lol! for me, a portfolio is just that: a collection of your work meant to indicate your expertise (or lack thereof). My tips come from the understanding that, as our GitHub repos represent our code "portfolio", it makes sense to make the most of the first impression that that portfolio gives.
I've heard from dozens of developers (across all levels) how a well-organized GitHub made a positive impression on hiring managers. I'm one of them - I had more than one hiring manager comment on how refreshing it was to read my READMEs and get a strong sense of what my apps were about before even test-driving them. That said, I recognize that my tips are certainly not applicable in all situations.
Now this is another discussion entirely lol, one I'm willing to have of course. Thanks!
I find that a dishonest practice. I know how the sausage gets made, when I enter a butcher which is open for business, and it's squeaky clean, I know something is amiss.
Failing is part software development, it is how you get experience and grow. I expect to see failed/unfinished projects. Not finishing personal projects is not a bad thing. You should be able to explain why you abandoned a personal project, generally this would be something like "I lost interest because I found a some other technology I was more interested in."
Of course if all you have to show is projects which you only spend a few days on before abandoning them it doesn't paint a good picture.
thanks for your comment Michiel! I'll amend that paragraph soon to reflect the fact that I do not mean that one should misrepresent themselves, or project an image of perfection. It's simply an option; if you're like me and have dozens of repos, the work you'd like to be judged on can get lost in the mix. Thanks again!
That is a good point. But wouldn't it then be better to create a personal GitHub page where you highlight your favorite personal repos, for resumé sake.
I think some hiring managers also just look at the github activity, in which case having a clean account doesn't really help.
This makes sense to me too; alright I think my
second GitHub accounttip has made enough waves to be revised or removed lol! Thanks for your comment!GitHub has been an important "demo ground" for me when interviewing.
Thanks for your tip about pinning repositories on the profile page -- my GitHub account isn't for show: it's for getting stuff done! But in there are some repos which do demonstrate my abilities and accomplishments, so pinning those makes sense (:
Awesome - I'm glad you found some tips helpful! Best of luck on your continued developer journey! 😄
These are helpful tips for anyone. I'll use these as a guide the next time I revamp my Github presence.
You're welcome Shannon! Thanks for reading!
Github is the atelier of a developer
I honestly don't think that github is a good place to show only your best work. If you are going to check my github, you will see every side-project I've worked on. It's not meant to be a portfolio, but a work table.
If you are only showing the better, polished, clean, and sometimes modified stuff, how do you expect someone to know what are you qualities, and flaws? Having two github accounts is also not really a good idea, for the same reasons. Considering the amount of possibilities to create an actual page to show your work (github pages, netlify, etc..), masking your profile like that doesn't sound really good. In my opinion is not even honest.
Making an analogy, I would say that the github (or gitlab, bitbucket,etc...) is the atelier of the developer. When you see an atelier of a sculptor, you expect to have residues from the material used (like mud, wood,etc) ,tools on the table, and other unfinished works on the corners. The same applies to our github. Of course, our pinned repositories are the ones we are proud of, but our work, our side projects, should be there as well
Thanks for your comments.
As someone who has interviewed software engineers and security engineers I will tell you there is a common theme: they don't have GitHub profiles. I'm not kidding, about 10% of applicants had a website, blog, or GitHub profile to share. If you even had a BLANK GitHub profile it made you stand out. Have ANYTHING on your GitHub profile.
WOW! Thanks so much for sharing! That's crazy, and underlines again my motivation for this piece.
I really really like the points about the README file. I currently am in the middle of building a 30 project project on Github and I am forgetting what features I've built into them so that I can showcase the skills I have.
Thanks and bookmarked!
Github allows for private and public repos. I do my self-study and learning projects privately. If I have something I want to share, I can make the repo public.
Excellent point! Thanks for sharing!
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Great tips! You can also use a gitconnected.com profile to display the projects that you want to feature for a recruiter / hiring manager without needing to worry about the unfinished/undeployed ones.
I did not know this! Thanks for sharing! I may update my article 😄
Awesome! :)