Why seasoned developers should update their GitHub profiles

Should you still update your profile if you’re not actively job-hunting?

To quickly answer the question in our subhead, yes. You should still update your profile regardless of whether you’re on the hunt for a job. Why? Because it’s not just about securing your next career move. But that doesn’t mean it can’t help you achieve your career goals in the future.

Updating your GitHub profile doesn’t have to be about changing jobs; instead, it might be about upskilling yourself, challenging yourself, helping others, or meeting like-minded people.

Whatever your tech goals, we’re here to share some reasons why seasoned developers should work on updating their GitHub profiles.

#1 You can dig into the inner workings of a project

There are a lot of developers out there that might just use the end product in their projects without a deeper understanding of how it works under the hood, says .NET and Frontend Developer, James Gartland. 

So GitHub and open-source in general allows developers to dig into the inner workings of projects — cracking them open to see how they actually work. 

#2 It shows you can troubleshoot and work with others

GitHub isn’t just a platform to showcase your skills; it’s an opportunity to help other developers improve their code, too. As it’s open-source, you can put your seasoned knowledge to good use spotting errors in their code, further highlighting your knowledge and giving other devs a chance to learn from you. 

Open source shows how you can work collaboratively with others and troubleshoot problems, which is important in any development project. 

Go — impart your wisdom!

#3 It displays stats of contributions (handy for employers)

Sometimes, it’s hard to talk yourself up, particularly in an interview setting where you can freeze and forget your name. But your GitHub profile can do a lot of the talking for you.

Today’s developers must show an understanding of many areas of dev work. And you can showcase this work nicely using GitHub. Display stats of your contributions and break down the languages you’ve been working on, says C# Developer, Andy Campbell.

Although employers shouldn’t rely solely on GitHub when it comes to hiring staff, it can show a person is actively contributing to open-source or personal projects, says Software Engineer, Carl Hamlet. 

GitHub gives employers insight into what kind of developer you are, your skillset and your interests. So let your profile speak for itself.

To sum up 

Did you know that GitHub boasts over 40 million users worldwide? It’s a pretty safe bet that you’ll find projects that will challenge you, projects where you’ll find opportunities to support other devs and meet new people with similar interests. 

It’s worth updating your profile, you never know what opportunities it might bring.

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