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Discussion on: New Dev? Job-Hunting? Avoid These GitHub Mistakes!

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katafrakt profile image
Paweł Świątkowski

"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.

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aritdeveloper profile image
Arit Developer • Edited

But the very word "portfolio" sounds to me like something done to impress, polished in every aspect, showing only selected best pieces.

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 believe there are situations when a polished profile is worthy thing

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.

I just wonder if we don't put too much pressure on how the Github profile should look

Now this is another discussion entirely lol, one I'm willing to have of course. Thanks!