Re:Ask HN: Recruiters want people who do side projects, yet ...
by giantg2 on Thursday July 15, 2021 @10:18AM
(#27845013)
"The number of candidates I interview who have side projects worth looking at or open source contributions is maybe 1-in-10 at most."
It depends on what they are looking for. Some managers don't care what the project is. They want to see that you can learn new things, have a creative mind, have spare time (that they can hopefully capitalize on), etc.
Prior professional work is the important part, but personal projects become important if you're straight out of college. I know my Android apps helped me get a job. They never looked at the code, but I was able to demo the apps right on my phone and comment on some basic stuff.
It depends on what they are looking for. Some managers don't care what the project is. They want to see that you can learn new things, have a creative mind, have spare time (that they can hopefully capitalize on), etc.
Prior professional work is the important part, but personal projects become important if you're straight out of college. I know my Android apps helped me get a job. They never looked at the code, but I was able to demo the apps right on my phone and comment on some basic stuff.