Though it looks like you've gotten some pretty detailed responses already, I think these questions are shared by a lot of open source contributors, so I'll give my input on things that I've observed or experienced personally.
2 - Should I ask whether I can work on the issue every time I want to do so?
While I definitely wouldn't say that it's required, by showing interest in addressing an issue you can potentially save yourself or others some time by ensuring that someone isn't already actively addressing the issue.
3 - What happens if I claim the responsibility of wanting to solve an issue and after few days of trying I can't? Is it a bad thing to start the open source "career" as the guy that can't finish?
I know that this can seem daunting, but I've found that if you revisit the issue and explain your attempted method and where you're getting stuck, another contributor may be able to relate and help you get back on track or your explanation may potentially help others solve the issue.
4 - Do I do anything if I have contributed but after a week the pull request hasn't been accepted?
This is something I've encountered quite a few times and I've found that sometimes with a bit of investigation, you can usually tell whether the repo is either no longer being maintained or if your pull request has just gone unnoticed by the project maintainers.
Though, in either scenario, it can be helpful to @mention one of the project maintainers to ensure that they are notified of your pull request.
5 - How about me taking the initiative of: correcting spelling, adding instructions to the readme, or (my favorite) creating demos. Should I just open an "issue" (even though it's not technically an issue) and ask if they want it, or should I just make the pull request and see what happens?
I would say that the obligation to open an issue with the suggestion probably depends on the subjectivity or size of the addition or change. Additionally, many projects have various flags for issues that aren't necessarily "issues" that maintainers can apply.
Also, to address a point in #6, I would personally avoid emailing the repo maintainer unless they have explicitly stated that emails are welcome somewhere in the project's documentation.
I read that new contributors should blog about it. I do not get that, what would I blog about? Isn't that just a tweet's worth of content "I contributed yet again". I'm serious, I'd love to get into this in every way I can!
I hadn't heard this, but I can see how relatable testimonials from new contributors could make others feel more comfortable contributing themselves.
I've had few personal goals I needed to solve hence programming has been a hobby till now, as I start looking for work, do these contributions go on my CV under "work experience"?
I've wondered this same thing. The conclusion I've come to is that if you feel like your CV is lacking other relevant work experience or your contributions have been sizable, then I would include them. Otherwise, I would expect that they'd visit your GitHub (which you should definitely include) if they're interested in seeing your open source contributions.
Though it looks like you've gotten some pretty detailed responses already, I think these questions are shared by a lot of open source contributors, so I'll give my input on things that I've observed or experienced personally.
While I definitely wouldn't say that it's required, by showing interest in addressing an issue you can potentially save yourself or others some time by ensuring that someone isn't already actively addressing the issue.
I know that this can seem daunting, but I've found that if you revisit the issue and explain your attempted method and where you're getting stuck, another contributor may be able to relate and help you get back on track or your explanation may potentially help others solve the issue.
This is something I've encountered quite a few times and I've found that sometimes with a bit of investigation, you can usually tell whether the repo is either no longer being maintained or if your pull request has just gone unnoticed by the project maintainers.
Though, in either scenario, it can be helpful to @mention one of the project maintainers to ensure that they are notified of your pull request.
I would say that the obligation to open an issue with the suggestion probably depends on the subjectivity or size of the addition or change. Additionally, many projects have various flags for issues that aren't necessarily "issues" that maintainers can apply.
Also, to address a point in #6, I would personally avoid emailing the repo maintainer unless they have explicitly stated that emails are welcome somewhere in the project's documentation.
I hadn't heard this, but I can see how relatable testimonials from new contributors could make others feel more comfortable contributing themselves.
I've wondered this same thing. The conclusion I've come to is that if you feel like your CV is lacking other relevant work experience or your contributions have been sizable, then I would include them. Otherwise, I would expect that they'd visit your GitHub (which you should definitely include) if they're interested in seeing your open source contributions.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the comment. I found it very useful.