So I'm going to agree with Erica below me, but with a twist.
I think the short answer is yes, with a very large asterisk.
This topic came up the other day when my colleagues and I were interviewing a candidate with no side projects. For me, it was something of a red flag, but for the others, it wasn't. If you have a long list of full-time work, I wouldn't expect you to be devoting much time after hours for more projects.
However, if you are just starting out, side projects will definitely set you apart from other candidates. We love looking through GitHubs and seeing fun projects.
One of the questions I often ask in interviews is, "What are you learning now?" or "What do you want to learn next?" People with side projects consistently provide better and more interesting answers.
Side projects show me that you're committed to continual learning and demonstrably interested in technology. Even more, if you're passionate about a project that excites you, it's thrilling to listen to you tell us about it. When you have candidates with equal qualifications, I've regularly seen the candidate who spoke with enthusiasm about their project receive the job.
If you don't have time for additional projects, I'd at least recommend taking time to stay on top of what's going on in the industry. Subscribe to newsletters and dedicate a little of your time to keeping current about trends and emerging tech. Maybe have an answer ready about the kind of side project you'd like to build (with tech stack details) if you had the time.
Thanks for taking part in the discussion Kimberly.
You confused me for a second because it seems you and Erica are not on the same page, she said no with an asterisk and you said yes with an asterisk. 😁
Form me you made some good points here and I also love to see the passion when I interview a candidate.
From my point of view we (devs doing interviews) need to be careful though that we don't accidentally create a toxic hiring process.
Erica said it quite well in her post: "A mechanic is still a mechanic, even if they don't work on their own car."
Our area is one of only a few where professionals are almost required to improve their skills constantly in their private time and that puts a lot of pressure on us and even more on new starters.
And I think if we (devs doing interviews) should work against it. That was one of my motivations to write the article above.
I definitely understand the confusion. I loved Erica's answer and agreed with a lot of what she said. I think the details were in the asterisk :D.
I appreciate your perspective that expecting side projects may create a toxic hiring process. I hadn't thought of that before and it's a really good point.
Some of the other questions we sometimes ask are, "Is there technology you'd like to learn more about" and "tell me about the favorite thing you've built - either professionally or personally or in school". Maybe these are better ones to lean on that capture the same information: whether the candidate has a GROWTH mindset and likes what they do.
Thank you for sharing your article and your motivations behind it.
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So I'm going to agree with Erica below me, but with a twist.
I think the short answer is yes, with a very large asterisk.
This topic came up the other day when my colleagues and I were interviewing a candidate with no side projects. For me, it was something of a red flag, but for the others, it wasn't. If you have a long list of full-time work, I wouldn't expect you to be devoting much time after hours for more projects.
However, if you are just starting out, side projects will definitely set you apart from other candidates. We love looking through GitHubs and seeing fun projects.
One of the questions I often ask in interviews is, "What are you learning now?" or "What do you want to learn next?" People with side projects consistently provide better and more interesting answers.
Side projects show me that you're committed to continual learning and demonstrably interested in technology. Even more, if you're passionate about a project that excites you, it's thrilling to listen to you tell us about it. When you have candidates with equal qualifications, I've regularly seen the candidate who spoke with enthusiasm about their project receive the job.
If you don't have time for additional projects, I'd at least recommend taking time to stay on top of what's going on in the industry. Subscribe to newsletters and dedicate a little of your time to keeping current about trends and emerging tech. Maybe have an answer ready about the kind of side project you'd like to build (with tech stack details) if you had the time.
Thanks for taking part in the discussion Kimberly.
You confused me for a second because it seems you and Erica are not on the same page, she said no with an asterisk and you said yes with an asterisk. 😁
Form me you made some good points here and I also love to see the passion when I interview a candidate.
From my point of view we (devs doing interviews) need to be careful though that we don't accidentally create a toxic hiring process.
Erica said it quite well in her post: "A mechanic is still a mechanic, even if they don't work on their own car."
Our area is one of only a few where professionals are almost required to improve their skills constantly in their private time and that puts a lot of pressure on us and even more on new starters.
And I think if we (devs doing interviews) should work against it. That was one of my motivations to write the article above.
I definitely understand the confusion. I loved Erica's answer and agreed with a lot of what she said. I think the details were in the asterisk :D.
I appreciate your perspective that expecting side projects may create a toxic hiring process. I hadn't thought of that before and it's a really good point.
Some of the other questions we sometimes ask are, "Is there technology you'd like to learn more about" and "tell me about the favorite thing you've built - either professionally or personally or in school". Maybe these are better ones to lean on that capture the same information: whether the candidate has a GROWTH mindset and likes what they do.
Thank you for sharing your article and your motivations behind it.