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 π¨. 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 π. 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! π 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! π»πΈ
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!! π Thanks for reading.
Connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, or GitHub
Originally published at prplcode.dev
Latest comments (33)
This is just inspiring, congrats man, I'm really happy for you <3
Thank you, Manuel!
Hi Simon, nice to hear your experience! I don't mean to boast, but I do have an very organized Github profile and a portfolio website with several full-scaled projects (not just todo apps and etc), I did land quite some interviews after 1 year of schooling, including one from Spotify, but what "beated" me is either "lack of working experience" and/or "computer science related education in a university" compared to other candidates at the same time.
I'd say it was your computer science related degree and some years of working experience, PLUS your github profile, that makes you stand out compared to other candidates at that time, which won you the offer. :)
Today it's different, the competition is much higher, as some CS grads already have chances to do summer internship at Spotify or Google. Having a nice portfolio will surely help you stand out, especially if you don't have CS degree or long years of experience, but that being said, CS related degrees and working experiences are still the more weighted points in hiring, at least in my personal experiences so far.
Thank you for your motivation. We can do everything if we want and try to keep our motivation.
Hello Simon! Loved your story. Awesome Github profile you have, 46 repos. I sent you a request to connect with you on LinkedIn.
Cool!
Nice story. And inspirational. Thank you for sharing.
Good post, kudos!
Well described post
Really good article.
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!
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 donβt 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 ))
I think open source contributions makes a profile stand out..
congratulations!