Your GitHub Profile Is Your Resume

Your resume is not that PDF file that you submit when you apply for jobs.

If you're a software developer, your real resume is your GitHub profile.

What should you look for?

First (and easy): the profile page. It's markdown, which means it's simple yet very powerful. Figure out how it works and put together a nice "about me" message. You can include stats, languages, projects, badges... search for examples online — you'll be fascinated by what's possible! This one is an easy fix, with some real ROI.

Second (and this one will take more time): you should have a few public repos. An interested employer might open your GitHub and click around. Give them a choice -- have a few public repos (your projects!) featured in your profile. It's best if the projects are varied -- and if not all of them are classroom projects. This is the primary showcase of your experience.

(What to do if you don't really have many projects to show? Start with one (see Tip 176 for some ideas), give it a little polish, and make it public!)

Third (and the deepest) -- those green squares tell a story. What kind of developer are you? Do you commit only when your class projects are due? Or are you a curious builder?

Your GitHub profile is your most important public asset -- start building it tonight.