I am being asked for my GitHub on resumes. How do I approach this?
August 6, 2024 10:08 PM Subscribe
I moved into I guess vaguely solutions engineer and director level roles. I still code and wouldn’t mind it but usually my coding is playing around with like protobufs, how you’d use them (C++, Rust are completely different obviously than JavaScript), etc. this is just a latest example. Nothing worth putting up on GitHub. Should I put fake projects up? I’m applying for director and senior positions, so I find it odd I’m asked to do coding tests and GitHub. These are for smaller companies where the CTO probably is actively involved in day to day. What would they be looking for?
Like a lot of what I’m looking at deals with organizing large teams and code bases as that’s the hardest part: removing bottlenecks. Some roles are blockchain related and the math isn’t scary but again my career progressed to feasibility, budgets, general strategy, etc. I have made that clear. While I’m comfortable in Rust, C eh less so on assembly. Point being I’m not sitting and doing code all day but figuring out if the solution is a fit for the problem. If I look at other senior positions at the company it’ll be like 12 line Rust crates “fixes endianness problem should be incorporated upstream to Rust next release.” And it is some sort of obscure comparison on certain conditions. Something with utf8 and zero copy that I just don’t deal with even though it made sense.
So this is a two parter:
1. Are hiring managers looking that I know coding or that I do this regularly that posting a bug that’s so low level is common? Like should I do some sample projects showing I know the language basically or is it if you have to ask…
2. There’s white board and one coprogramming test across these companies. Are they expecting side code or tricky questions (is he asking the right questions)? I could pseudo code but typically when I program now it’s not ultra optimization if that makes sense.
I’m just trying to figure out how to navigate this and not misrepresent myself but also don’t count myself out early. Is this low level type of knowledge expected? It sounds fun working with smart people who can focus on these things but I can’t tell if this is common or I somehow got in a circle of people essentially working on fundamental CS issues.
Like a lot of what I’m looking at deals with organizing large teams and code bases as that’s the hardest part: removing bottlenecks. Some roles are blockchain related and the math isn’t scary but again my career progressed to feasibility, budgets, general strategy, etc. I have made that clear. While I’m comfortable in Rust, C eh less so on assembly. Point being I’m not sitting and doing code all day but figuring out if the solution is a fit for the problem. If I look at other senior positions at the company it’ll be like 12 line Rust crates “fixes endianness problem should be incorporated upstream to Rust next release.” And it is some sort of obscure comparison on certain conditions. Something with utf8 and zero copy that I just don’t deal with even though it made sense.
So this is a two parter:
1. Are hiring managers looking that I know coding or that I do this regularly that posting a bug that’s so low level is common? Like should I do some sample projects showing I know the language basically or is it if you have to ask…
2. There’s white board and one coprogramming test across these companies. Are they expecting side code or tricky questions (is he asking the right questions)? I could pseudo code but typically when I program now it’s not ultra optimization if that makes sense.
I’m just trying to figure out how to navigate this and not misrepresent myself but also don’t count myself out early. Is this low level type of knowledge expected? It sounds fun working with smart people who can focus on these things but I can’t tell if this is common or I somehow got in a circle of people essentially working on fundamental CS issues.
I'm not sure about your particular role, but in general my impression is that a lot of people who program (myself included) have Github accounts, and even if they don't have their own projects there, they use them to report bugs, submit patches to programs they use, and so on. For example, I don't have any of my own projects on Github, but I do have a history of pull requests, patches, commits, etc to other projects.
It's like the moral equivalent of checking someone's social media, but for their programming work.
Presumably, what they're looking for is to see these things, not fake projects or filler to "prove" yourself. My guess is that if your role isn't one where you're expected to be actively programming, it's probably not a big deal if you don't have one.
posted by etealuear_crushue at 11:06 PM on August 6 [3 favorites]
It's like the moral equivalent of checking someone's social media, but for their programming work.
Presumably, what they're looking for is to see these things, not fake projects or filler to "prove" yourself. My guess is that if your role isn't one where you're expected to be actively programming, it's probably not a big deal if you don't have one.
posted by etealuear_crushue at 11:06 PM on August 6 [3 favorites]
My slight experience with an hr person looking at my utterly pathetic github is that they were incredibly impressed.
posted by sammyo at 5:51 AM on August 7 [2 favorites]
posted by sammyo at 5:51 AM on August 7 [2 favorites]
I might spruce up my projects by putting everything in good order, but I think primarily they’re looking for the fact that you have a GitHub account and you’re familiar with how to use it.
I’ve hired people who claimed to be coders and I really wish I had been able to see a sample before they started. While coding is not necessarily part of the job you’re looking for, and understanding of what’s involved may be crucial.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:57 AM on August 7 [1 favorite]
I’ve hired people who claimed to be coders and I really wish I had been able to see a sample before they started. While coding is not necessarily part of the job you’re looking for, and understanding of what’s involved may be crucial.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:57 AM on August 7 [1 favorite]
2. There’s white board and one coprogramming test across these companies. Are they expecting side code or tricky questions (is he asking the right questions)?
You never really know. Sometimes you get someone who just wants to make sure you can do basic coding, other times you get somebody who has heard that you can toss people extremely weird problems in interviews to “see how they think”.
(How I think is “I don’t want to work with this person if they think the job is to stand around whiteboards doing clever puzzles on the fly.”)
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 6:03 AM on August 7 [1 favorite]
You never really know. Sometimes you get someone who just wants to make sure you can do basic coding, other times you get somebody who has heard that you can toss people extremely weird problems in interviews to “see how they think”.
(How I think is “I don’t want to work with this person if they think the job is to stand around whiteboards doing clever puzzles on the fly.”)
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 6:03 AM on August 7 [1 favorite]
My son just got his first real programming job, and he asked the same question. To me it's an indicator whether you're a programmer out of passion (who's got one or more projects that you share with the world), or someone who does it for work (and so all your code is behind the employer's walls).
When he was still in school I told him to find a simple thing that he could personally use -- a tracker for weightlifting, for example -- and work on it. Start small, and show your progress online. Then you can show to prospective employers that you have real world experience in all phases of a project, even when you don't. :7)
But at your level, it's an indicator that you still have hands-on experience with the tools that a director or architect is overseeing. Whether that's necessary or appropriate, given the size of the organization, is a question best left to them.
(As a person hiring sysadmins, I would be very excited to see them engaged at all with the developers of any FOSS project -- much less their own.)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:41 AM on August 7
When he was still in school I told him to find a simple thing that he could personally use -- a tracker for weightlifting, for example -- and work on it. Start small, and show your progress online. Then you can show to prospective employers that you have real world experience in all phases of a project, even when you don't. :7)
But at your level, it's an indicator that you still have hands-on experience with the tools that a director or architect is overseeing. Whether that's necessary or appropriate, given the size of the organization, is a question best left to them.
(As a person hiring sysadmins, I would be very excited to see them engaged at all with the developers of any FOSS project -- much less their own.)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:41 AM on August 7
At a small enough company, a director or architect codes. If they don’t code, they might be expected to code review. Definitely ask about the job duties. At big companies, I would not expect coding from a director, and it’s 50/50 for architects.
posted by shock muppet at 7:59 AM on August 7 [1 favorite]
posted by shock muppet at 7:59 AM on August 7 [1 favorite]
I'm a director in a technical field. I do have a GitHub, but I don't put it on my resume and it's not on my LinkedIn (just because I've never thought about it; I should probably add it to LI). I use it actively in a lightweight way for a couple of casual websites I maintain.
I wouldn't recommend building a fake one. I would recommend re-evaluating "Nothing worth putting up on GitHub" -- you never know what you're going to want to refer back to in five years. My code isn't going to impress anyone but I think it does show an inquisitive mind, which is a positive when hiring.
As many have said, the expected degree of coding/hands-on expertise varies widely from company to company. For example, Google passed on me a couple of years ago because I didn't have enough skills in that area. On the other hand, Amazon was happy to have me. I've only been asked to produce code as part of the process once, in the form of a take-home ("get as far as you can in an hour") -- I noted that I wasn't experienced with the desired language. I did get an offer from that company.
My feeling is that it's better to be up front about your abilities; this is one reason why a GitHub is nice, because it allows the hiring company to evaluate a bit better.
posted by Bryant at 8:49 AM on August 7 [1 favorite]
I wouldn't recommend building a fake one. I would recommend re-evaluating "Nothing worth putting up on GitHub" -- you never know what you're going to want to refer back to in five years. My code isn't going to impress anyone but I think it does show an inquisitive mind, which is a positive when hiring.
As many have said, the expected degree of coding/hands-on expertise varies widely from company to company. For example, Google passed on me a couple of years ago because I didn't have enough skills in that area. On the other hand, Amazon was happy to have me. I've only been asked to produce code as part of the process once, in the form of a take-home ("get as far as you can in an hour") -- I noted that I wasn't experienced with the desired language. I did get an offer from that company.
My feeling is that it's better to be up front about your abilities; this is one reason why a GitHub is nice, because it allows the hiring company to evaluate a bit better.
posted by Bryant at 8:49 AM on August 7 [1 favorite]
To me it's an indicator whether you're a programmer out of passion (who's got one or more projects that you share with the world), or someone who does it for work (and so all your code is behind the employer's walls).
To me, it's an indicator that you are a person who doesn't have significant life responsibilities that eat up time and energy outside of work. A required GitHub in a job application generally indicates to me that primary parents need not apply.
posted by potrzebie at 9:34 AM on August 7 [8 favorites]
To me, it's an indicator that you are a person who doesn't have significant life responsibilities that eat up time and energy outside of work. A required GitHub in a job application generally indicates to me that primary parents need not apply.
posted by potrzebie at 9:34 AM on August 7 [8 favorites]
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If it's a recruiter then I'd just assume they're asking the same thing from everyone whether or not it makes sense, and say "I'm not on github."
posted by zippy at 10:18 PM on August 6