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I'm not sure which comments you are referring to, but there is a lot of truth to the idea that developers (especially frontend developers) are, in some cases de

by dlandis 10y ago

I'm not sure which comments you are referring to, but there is a lot of truth to the idea that developers (especially frontend developers) are, in some cases desperately, trying to build their reputation by contributing to or starting GitHub projects. Notice I said "build their reputation" not "get attention". The fact is it is almost impossible to get a job as a non-junior frontend dev nowadays without a GitHub profile showing a long history of contributions. That leads to a lot of desperate and low-quality projects...and that's just reality not a disparagement. It goes hand in hand with the industry shift (especially for frontend tech) with considering one's GH as an essential aspect of one's resume.

Silhouette 10y ago
It goes hand in hand with the industry shift (especially for frontend tech) with considering one's GH as an essential aspect of one's resume. I wonder how much of that shift is also just perception within a certain bubble/echo chamber, though. There's certainly a trend in online forums and startups to ask applicants for their GH profile, but I suspect this is one of those things that some employers are doing because they think everyone else is. Are those employers really then reviewing all of those profiles to see which include projects where an applicant really made a meaningful contribution and which are just token updates or yet another ad hoc, informally-specified, bug-ridden, slow implementation of half of someone else's popular and established work? The only thing I know for sure about that sort of policy is that it would immediately rule out most of the best developers I've ever worked with. Most of those people are busy building working projects for their businesses/clients/employers during work hours, and then having a life at other times. Some do contribute back to OSS projects or help answering questions on online forums as well, but not as a resume-building exercise, and it's rarely where you'll find the best indications of what they are capable of building.

by dlandis 10y ago

Silhouette 10y ago

It goes hand in hand with the industry shift (especially for frontend tech) with considering one's GH as an essential aspect of one's resume. I wonder how much of that shift is also just perception within a certain bubble/echo chamber, though. There's certainly a trend in online forums and startups to ask applicants for their GH profile, but I suspect this is one of those things that some employers are doing because they think everyone else is. Are those employers really then reviewing all of those profiles to see which include projects where an applicant really made a meaningful contribution and which are just token updates or yet another ad hoc, informally-specified, bug-ridden, slow implementation of half of someone else's popular and established work? The only thing I know for sure about that sort of policy is that it would immediately rule out most of the best developers I've ever worked with. Most of those people are busy building working projects for their businesses/clients/employers during work hours, and then having a life at other times. Some do contribute back to OSS projects or help answering questions on online forums as well, but not as a resume-building exercise, and it's rarely where you'll find the best indications of what they are capable of building.