Does Having a Public GitHub Help You Land a Job?

I usually only check out candidates' projects if they really stand out, like if their resume highlights something impressive. Most of the time, what I see in GitHub isn't helpful; often it's just simple exercises or common projects like to-do apps and such. If a candidate's code lacks attention to detail or documentation, that can hurt their chances even more. If you submit your projects, be prepared to discuss them during the interview!

In my experience, most hiring managers get flooded with applications, so they rarely dig into GitHub profiles, unfortunately. I had a personal website and a filled GitHub, but was told later that my interview performance was the deciding factor in getting hired. So, while it's nice to have, it seems like the experience you gain from creating those projects is what's truly valuable, rather than the repositories themselves.

I got my current job because the hiring manager was specifically looking for maintainers of Kubernetes. In that niche, having a well-maintained project can definitely help. But it really depends on the job and how your experience aligns with what they need.