[espinchi]

If you're coming from a technical background, as part of the Be active in social media I'd add Have some code of yours in an open repository. Be it some weekend-hacked project, or a contribution to an open source project, or a well-written lab exercise. That gives an edge.

[achompas]

I agree with this in theory. In reality, though, almost none of the startups I've interviewed with have looked at my repos.

I link my Github to my resume a number of times (username at the top, URLs for relevant projects). Out of the interviews I've landed, one company has expressed a basic familiarity with my code.

There are alternative explanations for this: I haven't been coding for long, I have a non-CS background, and its possible (likely, even!) that my code sucks. If my code were atrocious, though, these companies wouldn't ask me to interview! Right?

(Feel free to check out my Github in my profile and confirm/deny this. Don't worry, I have thick skin. :P)

Anyway, just an observation on posting your code publicly.

[espinchi]

True, maybe having your code in the open is overrated. I have to admit that I'm not talking from experience when I say it gives an edge.

Still, as part of a 2-minute research on a candidate, having LinkedIn and Github appearing first, instead of, say, a World Of Warcraft forum and your MySpace page, most likely help. (Not saying that this is necessarily fair, though.)

[bedris]

Maybe some companies like the idea of you having a Github account (maps to "really into coding" on their candidate checklist) but don't have the time to actually evaluate the code that you've posted, due to having too many candidates/applications to sift through, etc. That could be one explanation...

[reecepacheco]

i look up all technical candidates on Github... only problem is some people have multiple online identities making it hard to find them on LinkedIn & Github & at their blog etc...