Something about control
Build it anyway.
“You probably won’t get hired because of the projects on your GitHub, but I recommend doing it anyway.”
I found myself giving slightly unconventional advice to an engineer I was working with last week.
I’ll tell you what I meant, but first, a word from our sponsor. (Which is me.)
My first virtual workshop Build Your First REST API in Rust is just over a week away.
We still have a few seats open, and it should be a cozy and interactive session.
I’ve led this at CCNY and LIU Brooklyn, so you can have confidence that two rooms of people did not run away screaming.
If you’ve been meaning to take a peek at Rust, this could be a good opportunity.
The engineer I was working with was doing all the right things in their job search, including the part where we collectively commiserate that hearing back from 1 out of 50 applications has become the norm.
I asked them about their interest in C++ and they responded enthusiastically, but then tempered it with, “But I haven’t done it professionally, so it won’t appear on my resume.”
This is where the conversation pivoted to projects on GitHub. I asked if they could build something anyway, and they seemed to find this intriguing.
As I was saying this, I realized I wasn't really talking about GitHub projects. The project might help their job search, but that's not why I was excited about it.
Realistically, I told them, one or two hiring managers may glance at your project. It may help, but I wouldn’t count on this outcome. If you’re showing up to something interesting to you a few times a week though, that’s already a win. You get to be an engineer, with some sense of control, while the hiring process unfolds around you.
I like those odds a lot better than the 1 in 50 we already know about.
That’s why I say build it anyway.
Anything you are building anyway?
-Tyler