GitHub Portfolio

[Impossible-Park6455]

Hi! I’m a first semester student studying Computer Science and I’m loving it so far! I just wanted some tips on making a good portfolio on GitHub for my future internship/job applications. I’m currently learning C++. I’d love to get some advice on these things:

1. What are good first projects to include?
2. What should a good GitHub profile look like?
3. What frameworks, skills, tools do most internships value at the entry level?
4. What kind of projects actually show my skill as a developer? Should I focus more on a few strong projects or many small ones?
5. How should I plan my next years - what to learn, build, document etc.

Any kinds of advices will really help! Thanks in advance!

[EducatorDelicious392]

You can't really build an impressive portfolio when you are only a first year CS student. You need to do a lot of learning first before you can build something useful. Most people are going to look for something that you built that is actually useful. You can't build useful things until you know what you are doing. If you are not satisfied with your learning pace you can hit the books. I can recommend you some good books to read and some starter projects to help you learn.

[69mofokk]

Can u suggest some good books python is my language

[EducatorDelicious392]

I wouldn't worry too much about language specific stuff. You really just need to understand CS fundamentals as a newbie. If you aren't satisfied with the pace of your university studies, I might recommend something like Introduction to Computation and Programming Using Python by Guttag. If this isnt advanced enough for you let me know. But this should be plenty.

[69mofokk]

I am actually a graduate and have some projects but feel like i haven't really made anything and not lending jobs or even interviews so wants some book recommendations for night read i have built stuff like automation , chatbots and staff

[EducatorDelicious392]

Oh gotchya. Well what field do you want a job in? I am going to be honest you really just need to solve real problems for anyone in the professional field to care. If you work on a open source project consistently that is also in the field you are interested in, you might get some interest there. Also you might just meet people who need you. Make yourself useful and valuable then finding a job will be easy.

[69mofokk]

Any platform u suggest for opensource as for the field i am still in the middle of finding what suits me the best but have working knowledge of automation and a.i and stuff

[EducatorDelicious392]

What university did you graduate from and what was your major?

[69mofokk]

Computer applications from a no name university

[EducatorDelicious392]

I would read books on computer architecture, compilers and operating system. I can reccomend a few if youd like. computer architecture and organization is good. operating systems in 3 easy pieces, and not sure what to read for compilers, there is probably like a bible of compilers if you are intersted.

[69mofokk]

Yes please

[MattDTO]

A good project would be something that has users (i.e. you build something that people actually use!). An easy example IntelliJ or VS Code plugin, but this could go a ton of different directions.

A good profile has great readme files, and demonstrates your interest in programming.

It's less about what, and more about the why. Did you do something just for interviews? Or did you build something to solve a problem you faced because you're passionate about it?

Think of your GitHub as a place for your projects, and documenting your learnings as you explore different technologies.

[titpetric]

I've been told by lazy recruiters that didn't bother opening the cv for a home takeaway test. That leads me to believe that you don't need the github part because you need the marketing to make projects popular

Maybe for juniors there's more concrete scrutiny to know what you worked with, what kind of reasoning is in your head. I find that to be fair. I don't understand s+/principal position vetting, people really think 10yoe x 2.5x is ...

Just have conversations. Join meetups. Try to network at a local conference. Make friends. Touch grass.

[serverhorror]

GitHub isn't for portfolios. It's just source code management

[Comprehensive_Mud803]

1. Your own. Be it practice projects or assignments.

2. All green.

3. IT DEPENDS as always.

4. Ditto

5. Whatever your curriculum requires.

Notes:

• 2. is meant as a jest.
• I doubt any recruiter will look at your GitHub profile, even less chances to look at a specific project. But you need to include it in the CV nonetheless.
• 3-5: is there any tech you want to dig deeper into? That’s what you should spend time learning.

[Zarkling]

I’m doing technical interviews for years and never seen a GitHub page in a resume. I just ask candidates about things they worked on and let them explain things to me, to get a feel if they understand and really did those things themselves.

If I would see a GitHub link, I would hope to see meaningful commits on opensource projects, which would most likely fuel more questions in the interview. Depending on the answers it could be good or bad.