In the general circumstance, when I'm hiring, I like to understand candidates' skills and experience. Looking at their contributions to open source I can see h

In the general circumstance, when I'm hiring, I like to understand candidates' skills and experience. Looking at their contributions to open source I can see how they code, how they behave in code reviews, how they behave in email discussions, etc -- all directly relevant to what I'd be hiring them to do. So ... yes, having a history of open source contributions can demonstrate your abilities, which can help get you hired. In this specific instance, I suspect it's too late. If the position is already advertised, and there's already 200 applicants ... I don't think contributions now are going to help much.