GitHub is one of the profiles that companies and recruiters always check to make sure candidates applying for a job have further projects outside their work experience or not. Murilo Marques, software engineer, and VanHack’s Premium Academy instructor, recently conducted a fantastic open masterclass detailing how tech professionals can create a great profile on GitHub. We gathered some of Murilo’s most valuable lessons. You will see that GitHub is much more than a code repository and can be an exciting tool to maximize your chances during a hiring process. So here we go, 5 steps for creating a GitHub profile like a pro.
According to GitHub, more than 73 million developers and more than 4 million organizations are present on the platform. So in only one place, you can find people and companies and share your code, collaborate, and network with them. Moreover, it’s free and has everything you need to showcase your skills.
1 – GitHub bio and README: show the world your story and priorities
First things first, go to the Bio square in your profile and add a short but interesting description of your professional experience, personality, and belief. “So people can read and start to understand who you are. What is your personality? What do you believe in? What do you like to do? What do you not like to do? You can put anything that describes you the best here and you are the best person to do that”.
Murilo created a fictional robot called Bob VanHacker to use to create a GitHub profile. So Bob’s bio reads:
“I am a robot built to teach and inspire people. My goal is to help people find their dream jobs and thrive through technology.”
What will your bio say about you?
The second important step is to create a repository with the same name as your GitHub Username to create a profile README.md. All you need to do here is click on “repositories” and “new”. Next, write what to want to appear on your profile’s front page and make sure to select the “public” option. The text will show on your profile automatically.
“Markdown is the language of README. It’s special because you can combine it with HTML. You can add some other flavors to that”, Murilo explains. If you want to make your README more interesting, Murilo says that open source codes are available online for free that help you add icons, links, and statics to your profile.
Next, organize your pinned repository and ensure the most relevant ones come first. Then, when you list your projects on GitHub, only the last six get displayed on your front page. That’s why it’s essential to select which ones you want to be highlighted manually. To do that, click on “customize your pins”, then type the name of the repository you wish to pin, select it, and click on “save pins”.
👉🏾 How to create a GitHub profile and get noticed by recruiters
2 – Contributions and favorites: start interacting with other developers
The whole point of a public profile is starting conversations, right? So how about heading over to someone and letting them know you appreciate their work? Please search for your favorite projects and STAR them by selecting the star icon in the upper right corner of their page. “The owner of this project is going to be notified that someone else is supporting his/her job; someone else wants to know a little bit more about it”, Murilo says. Your front profile page will automatically display the projects you started. While you are at it, don’t forget to follow the people you find most interesting.
3 – Project profile: showcasing your best
Now that your profile is looking good let’s turn our attention to each of your project’s information. Head over to your repository and select a project. If you click on the cog icon, you will be shown an option that allows you to add extra information to each project. Please make sure all of them have descriptions and tags/topics, this way, your work will be easier to find.
Just like with the README for your profile, GitHub allows HTML features for the project’s README as well. Murilo suggests you use this space to list relevant project details such as technologies used, requirements, set-ups, and, most importantly, its purpose. “Show the person reading it that you care. Make it predictable. It should be predictable… like clean code”, Murilo suggests.
Our instructor’s project details look like this:
- Purpose
- Technologies
- Requirements
- Architecture
- Local configuration
- Testing
- Postman Doc
- Possible improvements.
👉🏾Revamp your LinkedIn profile in less time than a Zumba class
4 – Collaboration: help other developers use your code
Write clear instructions on your project’s GitHub profile about setting up and testing your code. One crucial part of this process is simply trying the code first yourself. Murilo urges that you “Make sure you explain how to set up and test. So test it before guys. Make sure you understand how to test and how actually to run your code”.
Detailed instructions may include documentation and API references. “Something else that I’d like to share with you is Postman documentation”, our instructor says, “you can publish documentation for your API and it’s free”.
5 – Always improving
A nice way to let recruiters know you can think critically about your work is by adding “possible improvements” sessions to your project’s profile. Just write down some of the aspects you would like to enhance in your solution or features you would like to add later.
And now that your GitHub profile is all set up and shining, one last thing left to do is to let people know how they can contribute to your projects and if you are open to collaborations. Post a short message at the end of your code information page to tell other developers how to contact you.
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VanHack’s Premium Academy helps you get hired abroad
Murilo is an instructor with VanHack’s Premium Academy, which offers two main services: profile review and interview preparation classes.
Academy members have experts review their professional profiles. LinkedIn’s data shows candidates with an improved profile are around 30% more likely to be hired.
Subscribers also have the opportunity to get hands-on practice with all the most common questions and situations you might get in a job interview. It’s a great way to learn how to ace an interview and improve English skills simultaneously.
If you are not already a member, you can subscribe here!
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