How to Build an Effective GitHub Profile

Finding a job is now easier than ever. Engineering jobs are amongst the most demanded, growing at a fast rate. Engineers receive offers daily. So, you might be wondering, why spend time preparing for interviews?

Here's why: as a Latin American engineer you have access to opportunities around the globe. Your location is no longer a limitation, you can choose where to work, no matter if the company is headquartered in Silicon Valley or Sao Paulo. 

If you wish to work for the best companies, you will have to compete with the best and you'll need all of the tools available to stand out.

However, nowadays, to achieve any of your goals as a developer, you must find ways to make yourself visible to the people that need your services. Here’s when the game of self-marketing comes into play and we stress the importance of a well-groomed profile on social media and development platforms, such as GitHub.

 Why do I need a complete GitHub Profile?

GitHub is the world’s largest software development platform where millions of developers and companies build, ship and maintain their software. The cloud-based web development platform provides developers with opportunities to collaborate on projects around the world, become active contributors to the web and software development community, as well as share, store and manage their coded masterpieces via the leading distributed version control system.

Think of GitHub as the equivalent of a designer’s portfolio for programmers, but better! It presents an opportunity to not only show off your professional skills and previous work to recruiters - and future employers in the interview process - but also give them insight into how you think, perform, communicate and work, both on your own and with others; and whether you are following best practices and coding principles. In other words, it’s a handy tool for recruiters to match skills and confirm that a candidate applying for a remote job really can do what they claim on their CV. 

What’s more, with an extensive and ever-growing online community of over 56M users, the exposure and insight that the development platform provides each developer is unbeatable. It’s like a social network for software developers, UX designers, and software engineers, where you can discover, connect with and learn from others, as well as putting your own brand forward in its best light.

An up-to-date and active GitHub portfolio is the best way for web developers to build a professional brand, attract activity, and pave the way for future job opportunities. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at how to build an effective GitHub profile to win over those hard-to-please recruiters.

 A Step-by-Step Guide to own a GitHub Profile Set to Impress

Let’s get down to business. Start by setting yourself a target goal or vision to help you tailor your profile accordingly. Perhaps you’re a freelance web developer looking for a new remote job, or an open-source contributor in search of a new project, or maybe you’re a software developer looking for remote software engineer jobs. Whatever your goal may be, make sure you are always building your profile with your target audience in mind.

• Get your profile on point:  A complete profile is a promising profile. It shows recruiters that you are organised, professional and committed. Choose an appropriate professional profile photo (a friendly smile will be well valued), an updated job status and a complete bio including not only your previous and current employers but also links to any other websites that showcase your work. 
  
  
• Refine your repositories: The aim of the game is to make the best possible impression on the recruiter and other viewers. So, it’s worth spending some time sifting through your repositories and pinning those you want to showcase so they appear at the top of your profile. Avoid copy-pasted code from tutorials and instead, make your demo interesting by highlighting problems you have solved, or codes you have created. Make sure to add a short description on each repository to quickly sum up what the project was about and capture the viewer’s attention. 

• Don’t forget the ReadMe: Make sure all your projects have a ReadMe file to make them publicly accessible. In the description make sure to tell viewers what the code is for, how to build and install it, what stage it is at, and how to contribute. Think of the repository description as the headline and the ReadMe as room for elaboration.
  
  
• Build a consistent contribution chart: This is one of the first things a recruiter will look at, so it’s important to be an active contributor on open source projects. Think of it as evidence of your ability to work well in a team and to prove your passion for coding. 
  
  
• Use Commit Messages: Demonstrate your ability to communicate and document effectively. Commit messages are an important part of the documentation process explaining why your code was changed and how you added value.

• Build a Community: Help other users on their open source projects. Solve issues, carry out joint projects, make warnings for possible errors or look for past projects in the libraries and try to improve them. This will not only show that you are an active user, but also demonstrates dedication and commitment towards your work.
  
  

Bonus Tip: If you feel in need of some inspiration, use the search function to check out your competitors on the GitHub development platform. Put yourself in the shoes of the recruiter and tweak your profile so it shines high above the rest.

Make the most of today and start improving your profile! We suggest checking out profiles of other GitHubers to get inspired: 

1. Fabien Potencier
2. Tayler Otwell
3. Linus Torvalds

Not only will you learn different ways of enhancing your work experience but you may get to know people that could become future work colleagues.