from Hacker News

Do Hiring Managers Value Side Projects?

by micropoet on 11/10/20, 3:38 PM with 1 comments

• by uberman on 11/10/20, 4:26 PM

  As someone who is in a hiring position, I don't really consider side-projects, open source contributions, or bootcamps to be implicitly relevant (in a positive way). They do demonstrate a curiosity which is nice, but at some point, they are just as likely to be a negative signal for me. Open source project ownership I find a little more potentially relevant though. I feel there is a better opportunity to review coding, communication and organization skills.

  A side project might be valuable if it was in a stack/tech that you wanted to work with but was not available to you via your current employer or potentially one that you worked on with friends or family as much for social reasons.

  Multiple side projects and I begin to worry that you are someone who chases shiny objects. I don't hire shiny chasers as they tend to be disruptive and every new project tends to result in a fight for implementation via the tech of the moment.