A128 - As a developer, should I throw my projects on Github or build a site from scratch to grab attention? - a podcast by Jason Resnick

Let me provide some context to this question as I think it’s important for my answer here.

This particular question comes from someone who is a web developer just starting out looking to get the attention of other companies looking to hire him.

This person has no experience outside of school and pet projects. They don’t yet have a website either to speak of.

The quick answer to this question is build a site.

Yes it’ll take longer, but you need to keep in mind who you want to attract and where they are.

Let me explain a little bit more of what I mean.

Are you where your potential clients are?

When you put something on Github, the other folks on Github are most likely to be developers.

If your clients are developers, then by all means this is your best bet to help showcase your work effectively.

However in this case, the likelihood that a decision maker or business owner is browsing around Github for well written code in order to go out a hire that developer is very slim at best.

Having a website where you can link up your Github profile, but then have that sit on a page where you talk more about what the project is about, what you did to solve the problem, and potentially talk about the results of that project, resonates more with those business owners or decision makers.

Remember those folks are looking for someone to solve a problem and fill a role. They will pass along your name and site over to the technical person for reviewing the Github profile.

To make the biggest impact, be everywhere that the first and second person you are going to talk with are

Obviously if you want to make the biggest impact, then you’ll want to do both. But to grab attention, the first step is to think about the person you are trying to grab and cater to their wants and needs.

Then put that information where they are most likely to see it.

If putting up a website is too much effort for the time you have, then you’ll want to leverage social media platforms that have the people you are trying to grab attention from. If it’s business owners or decision makers within the business, then definitely want to check out LinkedIn, maybe Twitter in some cases too.

There you can showcase projects, your skills, and even get others to recommend you there as well.

Always keep in mind that you want to be where your clients are.

Where your potential clients are, usually isn’t the most natural place for you.

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