The next few days I am trying to get a frontend developer job and I am wondering if I should upload all my web projects to Github?
I am a self taught web developer and the last year I made a lot of small projects, like a login form, three js examples, a search bar, image gallery etc. Should I upload these small projects to my Github profile to show them to the company I like to work with?
I am not really familiar with Github, so I wonder what is the advantage to upload these projects? Actually I think it makes more sense to upload them on codepen.io, because there it gets rendered directly inside the browser so people can see the results.
Short answer is yes, upload all your project to github. It’s free, and can help you at least back-up your work and help keep track of its development over time. Knowing how to use git and github is also a skill that is usually posted as a “nice to have” for most jobs, so learning how to use them can help you now and in the future.
It’s impossible to get a front-end developer job in the span of a few days. As with any job search, you’d be lucky to get an email to set up an initial interview within a few days, let alone an actual position or offering. Things don’t work that fast, nor are companies that quick to hire, especially for a technical position.
Github is somewhat of a gold standard for open-source, and thus it is one of the easiest and most common ways to show off your own work. That said, it is also very powerful and useful as way to help develop software beyond just open-source. It has a way to help you host front-end only projects, but that isn’t its primary goal or feature.
Using something like codepen is easier, but also less impressive than having a working github page. There are production grade apps that use github pages, but codepen is more for “playing around” with web technologies or showing fancy stuff off. Its just not as practical.
You should upload what you like and know, however companies primarily care about what you know. The wont care too much about what you like, unless it directly aligns with what they need for a given position.
Keep this in mind when job hunting. It’s nice if you like doing HTML + CSS only projects, but there are essentially no jobs for just those technologies. Most companies would want experience with fancier technologies they are already using, such as React.
I’d highly recommend you do 1 or more large and complex projects that integrate as many technologies as possible. Companies want to hire someone who has experience building solutions, or at least has experience working within a larger project. So having a project that has some sort of scale and complexity is basically mandatory to have a chance when applying.
Small projects with small scope are fine to help you verify you understand a few specific concepts. But having a large project with a larger scope is where you can show off that you understand how to integrate those concepts together to solve a larger problem. It’s one thing to know you know how to make a login form, it’s another to make an app that you can login to.
I usually recommend looking at job postings in your area first. That way you can get an estimate on what the most relevant companies are looking for, and roughly gauge how “far you need to go”. These sorts of positions will be what you use as your long term goal for learning and building towards.
It’s possible you are missing a number of skills and requirements for even the entry level jobs. If that is the case your only choice is to build up to those requirements and go beyond them.
Odds are any job you find will have multiple people applying to it. If the job is more “entry level” then there will be more applicants. The only way to have any chance with these jobs is to go beyond the requirements in some way or form so you stand out. Otherwise, you will be lost to someone else who looks better.
Job hunting is tough, has gotten tougher, and requires its own set of skills. It will take time to become qualified for a job, it will take more time to be able to “sell yourself” to companies to get an interview, and even more time to get through all the interview steps to make sure your actually ready for a job.
Don’t let any of this discourage you. It’s not easy, but also not impossible. It may take time, probably more time than you expect, but like any journey to get to your destination you just need to keep taking steps toward your overall goal and keep going through adversity.
There is no harm in that.
No employer is going to look through all of your repositories anyway.
I would suggest pinning your top projects to your github profile with good readmes detailing what the project is about.
That way employers can just look at your top work.
I agree with @bradtaniguchi 's point about having a larger project to show off.
I think this will help you for two reasons.
No.1:
most people choose to only show all small class projects.
But the field for entry level jobs is very competitive.
If you build out a larger project it will help you stand out from the crowd better and get noticed.
No.2:
If you build out a larger project, you will have something to talk about in the interview.
During the interview for the job I have now, they asked me a whole bunch of questions about my personal projects.
Questions like
Why did you choose this particular tech stack?
What features does this project have?
What are some future updates?
Why did you build this project and what problem does it solve?
It will be hard to answer those types of questions if you have small apps.
You could also deploy your projects using something like Netlify and achieve that same result
In general, git and its providers are widely accepted means for people to cooperate in working together over a project and in many cases its mandatory to know how to use it, in order to fit in IT companies. Id say, the sooner you start using it and learn using it, the better for you. Ive also heard, being active on github can give you good face(its easy to check if someone is actively working, but seing his commit history).
Actually I taught myself React and Next js and I am working on a Next js studio website as well as a Next js eCommerce Shop and a API project. It is a lot to learn and yeah it never stops. However I am working on that since more then one year fulltime and I am running out of budget, so I need a job to have at least a basic income to continue.
I dont like to wait until I finished these projects, because then I don´t need a job anymore, I could just work as a freelancer or if everything works out well I can make a living from these projects alone and this is my plan anyway.
I am not a typical developer and more a visual person, so actually I am looking for a position as a UX/UI designer or a position where I can enhance my dev skills a lot by getting support from the company.
Your answers are a bit demotivating, this is the reasons why I focus more on my own projects instead of working for a company. I am really pissed off by these struggles all around job positions, this sucks guys. I am not working for getting a job I am working and learning for realising my own ideas and on the way I am willing to work in a company.
