[infocollector]

Nice article, except I disagree on one point: Forget about a general Github account. Even having a Github account/or a Github project used by a billion users - does not prove that one is a great programmer according to me. Perhaps this a Github advertisement? (Python lover + mercurial user + No Github Account = bad programmer :-)

[pags]

Or that not having a GitHub account with a billion stars makes you a bad programmer.

Or (gasp) not having a GitHub account at all.

Chances are, if you're a full-time software engineer, you're already spending a significant chunk of your waking life thinking about\working on code, just by showing up to work for >= 40 hours per week. Whatever happened to well-rounded employees?

[IanCal]

In my first interview, one question asked was "How do you maintain a healthy work/life balance" which was really encouraging.

[astrieanna]

It also ignores anything you've done close-source for work, any projects you've done that didn't use git, any projects you contribute to that don't happen to be hosted on github, anything related-but-not-code that you do (speaking at conferences, etc).

[mixmastamyk]

I've found when people talk of a "github account" they just want to see some code, not that github is in any way required. Kind of like calling a cola a Coke, or a copier a Xerox. Have yet to hear a negative comment about my bitbucket account.

[cunac]

second that. I find amusing when they say "don't bother applying without github account" smart way to lower the bar.