This is the experience of how my GitHub profile got me a job at Spotify. The key was my GitHub profile and the various repos I had worked on the years before. This post will be personal, and the key takeaway is the importance of a portfolio. It doesn't have to be a good portfolio (mine certainly wasn't). But having a portfolio can be the difference between getting the job or not.
Spotify Interview
Before Spotify, I worked as a software engineer at a different company. It was my first job after university and it was all right. I learned how software was being developed professionally which was fun and interesting. One day, I get an e-mail from Spotify and they were asking for applications for 3-month internships. I immediately sent them my CV.
A couple of days later I receive a phone call and I get called for an interview. The day of the interview is approaching and I'm starting to feel sick 😨. On the day of the interview, I had a fever, but I took some medicine and went there anyway. The interview did not go well. We talked and did some coding exercises on the board. I completely blacked out (partially because of the medicine). The last thing I said was "Please, check out my GitHub profile" and they said they would.
After the interview, I was so disappointed in myself 😔. I returned home to my job, which now seemed boring and bleak.
The Call Back
A few days pass and I get a phone call. It was the recruiter! He said they liked me and would like to offer me the internship! Wow, what a feeling! 😃 I accepted, and a few weeks later I quit my current job. My friends and colleagues were surprised I would quit my full-time job for a 3-month internship, but I didn't care. My two greatest passions in life are technology and music, and I was going to be working with both! 💻🎸
Internship Ends
The deal with the internship was, that if they liked me they would offer me a permanent job. The date when my internship was ending was quickly approaching. I was nervous, but I had learned so much and met a lot of people from different parts of the world so I was happy either way. We had a meeting and they said they would like to offer me a permanent job. Again, bliss! I felt such a relief and of course, excitement!
My GitHub Profile
Later, I was talking to someone in my team about my interview. I told her how bad it went, and how surprised I was to still get the offer. She told me something like "Yeah, they told me it went bad. But when we looked at your GitHub profile we saw that you actually can code. And that's why we wanted you".
My profile did not contain a lot; some HTML, CSS, and JavaScript websites I had built for fun and to learn. Before the interview, I looked through the code to make sure it looked nice and tidy.
Conclusion
I got an internship that later led to a permanent job at Spotify, thanks to my GitHub profile. I realized how crucial having a portfolio is. It doesn't have to be the best, just something to show what you can do. This was 6 years ago. I still work at Spotify, now as a Senior Software Engineer. It turned out to be an amazing place to work so I haven't found a good reason to leave.
If I can do it, you can too!! 👊 Thanks for reading.
Connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, or GitHub
Originally published at prplcode.dev
Top comments (33)
I love these stories. My GitHub profile got me VC funded. Now I'm the CEO of a small startup with 5 employees looking to change the world :)
Every time I see similar stories, like yours, I smile inside of me ^_^
That's awesome to hear :D Best of luck to you, Thomas!
It's good to hear that the interviewers did not dismiss you outright for a "bad interview". I have had the privilege of working in open source projects for 10+ years, which means I have a massive amount of proof that I can code. I've also been blogging for 11 years.
All of those paper trails can help ensure a good match with me and potential employers.
And cheers on landing what sounds like your dream job.
You land an internship with just HTML, CSS & JS? This is so inspiring 🙌🔥
This was really an inspiring story🔥
Thanks Vinit! 🙏 And again, good to connect with you on LinkedIn :)
It's really great for me too🙌
I think open source contributions makes a profile stand out..
congratulations!
Thank you for sharing your experience! I completely agree with you. Portfolios are not just for designers. We can write any skill we want on our resume but having a (personal) project that puts that skill into practice has more impact.
When I stopped stuffing my resume with whatever skill I learned in uni, I started landing the high-quality internships I was dreaming of. Now, I make sure every skill on my resume is backed up with a professional experience or a personal project.
You don’t have a professional experience to back up a skill set ? Create one with a personal project! They do matter. :)
I love your attitude! Yes, 100% agree with everything you said.
GitHub does the thing ))
That is super cool!
As someone who is looking for his first break into the tech industry, this is extremely motivating.
Inspirational congrats! A good GitHub profile can really make a difference.
I liked the Simon's honesty. Good guy!
Nice story. And inspirational. Thank you for sharing.
Really Inspiring...!!
This is just inspiring, congrats man, I'm really happy for you <3
Thank you, Manuel!
Thank you for your motivation. We can do everything if we want and try to keep our motivation.