Should I be on GitHub?

What is GitHub?

Founded in 2011, GitHub can host your open source code projects in a variety of different languages. It is designed around Git which is a system that allows you and others to access, use and make various changes to the code with the end goal of making improvements.

Reasons to use GitHub

Posting a project on GitHub allows other users to review your code and offer feedback, highlighting any possible flaws or conflicts. It’s currently one of the largest growing communities of coders so you could receive feedback from developers all over the world. This also means greater exposure for your project as more people view it. If you want to attract recruiters and potential employers GitHub is a great tool for this.

GitHub also makes it easier for you to collaborate and offers an opportunity to learn from others. As a repository you’ll have the ability to view all the different versions of the code as it has evolved, every change is tracked and stored.

Using GitHub allows you to take advantage of something called Markdown. This allow you to write formatted documents without having to learn new systems. You’ll also have access to their documentation guides which are available for almost any relevant topic.

Another thing to remember is that as GitHub is backed up, you’ll never lose your code. It will always be available to you from anywhere, no matter what computer or tablet you are using.

What to put in GitHub

The possibilities here are endless.

If you are currently in a more junior position, posting a project on GitHub will help level the playing field as it will show off your code without having the experience on your CV. Try to avoid setting the bar too high for yourself and stick to realistic projects.

Think about variety, if you can demonstrate the use of multiple tech stacks and tools this will be more impressive to recruiters and potential employers. Make sure you finish your projects, it’s less appealing to see multiple protects that were never finished.

If you complete any coding tests for job applications, you may be able to add these to GitHub and use them to showcase your work.

It’s not essential that you use GitHub, but it will certainly help you to show potential employers that you can code.

In summary, if you love code, GitHub is the place for you! You won’t regret it.