What do hiring managers see on my GitHub profile?

GitHub has become an essential tool for many developers and tech professionals, providing a platform to showcase their skills, experience, and portfolio of work. As a result, hiring managers and recruiters often turn to GitHub profiles when evaluating candidates. In this article, we will explore how hiring managers screen and assess a candidate's GitHub profile and what you can do to ensure that your profile makes a positive impression. Whether you're actively searching for a new opportunity or just want to keep your profile up-to-date, understanding how hiring managers view your GitHub profile can help you stand out from the crowd.

Why would they open my GitHub?

Well, to start with - because you have linked it in your resume. You are right, most recruiters likely base their decision to proceed with your candidacy on your resume, so it is crucial to work on it by following these guidelines. But some of the experienced recruiters would actually open your GitHub as well to get some signals for that decision. A lot of hiring managers would also open your GitHub profiles and projects to quickly double-click on your work.

There are various other reasons why hiring managers/recruiters open your GitHub profile -

• It shows proof of your work (projects, contributions, consistency, quality of code, etc.)

• How comfortable you are in collaborating with Git

• It shows the quality of your code

In the following section, we will examine 5 important aspects of your GitHub profile to significantly enhance your odds of being selected during the job application process.

How can I improve my GitHub profile?

1. Profile page

This is the first impression of your GitHub profile which makes it the most important aspect to focus on. Ensure that you have the following added for a great first impression -

• Add a profile README - This is a new feature of GitHub in which you can write a professional description of yourself just like your resume. There are a lot of GitHub profile generators as well that can get you started. Try to focus on your important projects, experience, and skills.

• Bio - This can include a catchy one-liner for yourself, your location, and where you work right now. This can serve as a good overview of the profile to get interested for further evaluation.

• Pinned repositories - If you have your important projects on GitHub, try to pin those repositories on the top so that they can be easily accessed by whoever is reviewing your profile.

2. README.md

The majority of the profiles that we have seen on Reczee TalentHub have not updated the README of their repositories. In a lot of cases, README.md is also the first impression if the hiring manager opens your repository directly from the project listing on your resume. If you have the following in your READMEs, you have a very high chance of getting shortlisted when someone reviews the README -

• Live deployment links/Playstore or Appstore links - If your project is deployed somewhere, it becomes very easy to quickly view how the end result looks. Even if a non-technical person/recruiter reviews your profile it gives direct proof of what you can build. Adding such data also signals to the hiring manager that you are capable of doing end-to-end projects (development to deployment).

• Describe end-user functionality - This is as important as having links to your final deployments because it shows what you have set out to build in this repository. When a hiring manager is quickly glancing through these links, it can show the kind of projects you have built and their complexity.
• Setup instructions - Adding how to set up your repository as a developer has multiple benefits -
  • It encourages engagement from your peers to contribute which can bring more visibility to your project.
  • It can enable a technical hiring manager to quickly set up your project locally and play around (this is not feasible for most hiring managers as they won't be able to spend so much time per candidate to decide).
  • It can signal how well you can document your work which is very important for any organization that you are planning to join.

3. Commit messages

It is very important to have a good commit message in software engineering. Commit messages provide context and insight into code changes, making them crucial for effective collaboration and project management. Ensure that your commit messages have the following -

• Apt length - Try to ensure the commit messages have an appropriate length (10-70 characters).

• Description - Talk about what the code change is about. This can help you as well as the reviewer in understanding how the activity history is laid out.

4. Contributions

Having good contributions on your GitHub profile can be a great first impression. These are some of the points to note -

• Open source contributions - This has the most significance on your profile. If a hiring manager spots contributions to really popular open-source repositories, your profile has a good chance of getting shortlisted for further interviews (you can start with small contributions but ensure that you don't stop there).

• Side-projects - If you have worked on various side-projects, it can have a positive impression on your candidature showing your inclination to self-learning and commitment towards your work.

• Don't fake the contributions - If you fake your calendar graph with private contributions or dummy commits without relevant content, it can actually serve as a big red flag for your application.

5. Code quality

Code quality is a really important metric to see how good a software engineer is. You can follow these quick tips to ensure

• Linter - Most of the popular languages/frameworks have linters that help you detect potential issues with syntax or code style violations.

• Coding guidelines - Ensure that your code has shorter methods, comments at relevant places, good variable names, etc. that can showcase you as a really good software engineer.

Conclusion

In conclusion, your GitHub profile can play a significant role in your job search and career advancement. Hiring managers use it as a tool to assess your technical skills and get a better understanding of your coding abilities. By keeping your profile updated, adding meaningful projects, and showcasing your expertise, you can make a strong impression and stand out from the competition. A well-maintained GitHub profile can be a valuable asset in your job search and a great way to demonstrate your skills to potential employers. So make sure to give your profile the attention it deserves, and showcase your best work to improve the chances of getting your next job.

If you're looking out for a job, you can apply for open positions here and create your Reczee TalentHub profile to get notified of new opportunities. 🎉

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