エンジニアの転職にGitHubは必須?使いこなせるメリットや注意点を解説Is GitHub essential for engineers changing jobs? Explaining the benefits of using it and what to keep in mind.

GitHub is a tool and service that is closely associated with engineers. Some engineers may actually use GitHub in the field, while others may have only heard of it. In either case, you may be wondering whether or not GitHub experience and skills are required for an engineer looking to change jobs.
In this article, we will explain whether or not experience in creating and using a GitHub account is required for engineers considering a career change. We will also explain the advantages of being able to use GitHub and the points to keep in mind when using GitHub for your new job.
 

GitHub is closely associated with engineers, but some may not understand its details. First, let us explain what kind of tool GitHub is.

Overview of GitHub

GitHub is a platform for engineers to share and collaborate on source code, built on top of the Git version control system, which allows engineers to track source code and work simultaneously on development projects.
In addition to sharing and collaborating on source code, it has the ability to divert existing source code to generate different source code. In addition, if multiple people are developing the project, the system allows the administrator to decide whether to approve changes, thus maintaining control. Because these features make it possible to develop new features and fix bugs smoothly, GitHub is heavily used in the engineering world.

Difference between Git and GitHub

Although Git and GitHub are closely related, there are some major differences.
First, Git is an open source version control system developed in 2005. It facilitates change management in the software development process and is designed as a distributed version control system. Each engineer can have a local copy and keep a complete version history, allowing development even in environments without a network connection.
GitHub, on the other hand, is a web-based tool developed based on Git's version control functionality. It is used by many engineers to streamline software development projects.
In other words, Git is the fundamental concept of version control, and GitHub is a concrete version control tool. Although similar, they are strictly different and one must understand these differences.
 

Many people are wondering if GitHub is necessary when an engineer changes jobs. This question is explained below.

Evaluation differs greatly depending on the company you change jobs with.

In conclusion, whether or not GitHub content is valued depends on what the company you are changing jobs with thinks. Sometimes they will greatly value what you have developed, and other times they may not even ask if you have an account. Some companies take the stance that they will only check your resume or CV if you have one.
Therefore, it is not absolutely necessary to create a GitHub account or to send out information. It depends greatly on the type of company you want to work for as an engineer. However, there are certain trends depending on the size of the company you are changing jobs for, and we will discuss them below.

Evaluation of Large Companies

In the case of large companies, whether or not you use GitHub tends not to be evaluated very highly. They often have a certain amount of hiring criteria in advance, and they do not place much importance on your achievements in utilizing GitHub, which is difficult to evaluate quantitatively. If you have an account and a portfolio of some sort, it is possible that the person in charge will check it, but you should consider that you will often be evaluated based on other factors. For example, you will be evaluated on whether you have the experience they are looking for as an engineer before you change jobs.
To begin with, large companies may have a large number of engineers on their staff, and it is not necessary for everyone to be proficient in GitHub. Only those engineers who need to learn it for the sake of the project will learn it, and the rest of the engineers will be fine with either. The company has a system in place to share knowledge after an engineer joins the company, so the idea is that the engineer can learn as needed.

Evaluation of Mid-sized Companies

In the case of mid-sized companies, the evaluation differs greatly depending on whether or not they use GitHub. If they use GitHub for development on a regular basis, the fact that they can use it is highly valued. On the other hand, if you are not using GitHub for development, your ability to use it is not evaluated highly.
However, mid-sized companies often evaluate technical skills, and there is a good chance that they will evaluate the content of source code posted on GitHub. For example, if you have set your own requirements and developed a web system, they will evaluate the technology you used for implementation and the quality of the source code. Since they tend to seek immediate results more than large companies, they will look over the contents of your GitHub to evaluate your technical skills.

Evaluation of Venture Companies

Venture companies often develop with a minimum number of engineers, all of whom must be able to utilize various tools. Therefore, in companies that have implemented GitHub, it is very important that the engineers are familiar with it by now. Since the number of engineers on staff is small and there is little time to devote to training, it is important that they are able to use GitHub immediately after moving to a new company.
If you have a portfolio on GitHub, you can show your su
 

There are advantages for an engineer to promote a GitHub account or other account when changing jobs. There are a number of possible benefits, but the four most common are.

You can introduce your deliverables.

One possible benefit of promoting your GitHub account is that it allows you to showcase your past work. In the engineering world, this is often referred to as a "portfolio," and it shows what kind of development you have worked on in the past. Depending on the type of engineer, it may show, for example, the systems developed or the algorithmic parts used in a particular system.
By utilizing GitHub as an introduction to your deliverables, you can even show what algorithm you used to write the source code. If you just want to show your deliverables as an engineer, you can simply introduce the name of the product or service, but in a job interview, the details will be checked in more detail. There is a big difference between showing the source code and showing the product or service.
In many cases, the deliverables, as we call them here, may or may not have been created in an actual project. For example, it is acceptable to set up a fictitious project for a new job and say that it was developed to achieve that goal. As long as the purpose of the development and the skills utilized are clear, it does not matter whether it is practical or not.

You can show experience working with a team.

In general, GitHub is used for development by multiple people. Therefore, if you can show experience using GitHub in the past, you can also show experience working in a team. Some employers may emphasize team-based development, so being able to demonstrate such experience and skills is an advantage.
In addition, GitHub has important functions such as "fork," "pull request," and "merge. As an engineer, experience using these functions will appeal to potential employers. Since these functions have unique concepts and rules, having a prior understanding of them will be an advantage.
If you have no experience working in a team, you may not have used such GitHub operations. In that case, it would be better if you can supplement your familiarity with these features by using them as an individual rather than as part of a team.

Communicate the skills you possess.

The advantage of being able to show actual source code is that you can prove what skills you possess. While it is difficult to determine the extent to which you are able to use your skills based only on your resume or verbal description, you can determine the degree of your skills by checking the source code on GitHub.
For example, "Spring," which is widely used in Java, is a framework with a great number of functions. Therefore, even if you explain that you are familiar with Spring development, it is difficult to determine which modules you are familiar with and to what extent. In fact, your skills may be very different from what the person in charge of your new job is looking for. However, if you actually check the source code, you can confirm which modules in the framework you are familiar with.
However, what is important here is whether the hiring manager is skilled in the technical aspects of the job. The advantage of using GitHub is that you can communicate your skills in this way, but it is meaningless if the person viewing the content is not able to decipher it. If the hiring manager includes an engineer, this is likely to be an advantage, but if the hiring department is the only one in charge, it may be somewhat less appealing.

You can show that you can participate in projects using GitHub.

By communicating the fact that you use GitHub as an engineer, you can prove that you can smoothly participate in development. If you are looking for immediate employment, it is important to know if you have used GitHub before, so being able to appeal to this is an advantage. Especially if you are looking to move to a smaller company, you can prove that you can participate in projects without the cost of training.
As explained in the merit section, in order to develop with a team using GitHub, you need to understand the concepts and rules. While it is conceivable that this is something that can be understood if explained in advance, some companies will want to minimize this cost as much as possible. This is a skill that can meet such a demand.
In order to use GitHub, you will also need to be able to use software and commands to access the repositories. However, there are many options for software, and different companies use different software, so it is a good idea to demonstrate that your skills can handle this while checking with them during question time.
 

There are many advantages for engineers to publish their GitHub when changing jobs. However, there are some precautions to take when publishing, so please consider the following three points.

Do not release code that is under an obligation of confidentiality.

Although you can prove your skills by releasing source code, you should not release code that is under a duty of confidentiality. We see engineers who want to release a lot of information, but if you ignore your duty of confidentiality and release it, you will be in big trouble. In some cases, this may result in a claim for damages.
It is important to note that an engineer's duty of confidentiality can arise in any situation. For example, if you are working as a company employee engineer, the duty of confidentiality may apply to all information you had before you changed jobs. In this case, you would not be able to disclose source code from your time as a company employee on GitHub, and you would only tell what projects you participated in. Similarly, in many cases, you cannot freely disclose your work when you receive orders as a side freelancer, so you will be required to confirm the details of your contract.
In particular, if you have created a GitHub account with your company e-mail address, it is likely that a confidentiality obligation will apply to the source code you manage here. Even if you are not instructed about the confidentiality obligation in each case, it is possible that it is stated in the work rules, so please read through them.

Poor quality may have a negative impact

If the quality of the source code to be released is poor, it may have a negative impact. In this case, basically, having a GitHub account and being able to publish source code is an advantage, but it can also be a disadvantage.
For example, if your published source code contains many bugs, your reputation as an engineer may be lowered. As an engineer developing a program, you must aim to make it as bug-free as possible. It is possible that bugs will inevitably remain, but if there are too many bugs, you will be evaluated as an engineer who can only develop to that level. Also, even if you use a framework, if you only use the basics of the framework, your evaluation will be lowered.
It is not possible to quantitatively indicate the level of quality that will not have a negative impact. However, as long as it is open to others, negative factors should be reduced, such as reducing bugs and giving comments.

In some cases, skills and experience are more important than GitHub.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, whether or not GitHub is valued depends on the company's approach. In some cases, even if you have an account or are actively using GitHub, the emphasis may be on what skills you have and what projects you have participated in.
For example, if a company is looking for someone to develop an accounting system, they may focus on whether or not the candidate has experience participating in such a project. Especially in the case of development that requires specialized skills, it is important to know if they have participated in similar projects before.
Projects you have participated in should be communicated through your resume, not through GitHub. It is also possible that you will be asked to dig deeper into the details during the job interview. If you are looking to move into a position that assumes professional development, consider appealing your experience rather than GitHub.
 

We have explained whether or not experience using GitHub is important in an engineer's job search. However, if you do not use GitHub in your work, you may not be evaluated highly. Also, if the quality of the source code you publish is high, it will be evaluated, but if the quality is poor, there is a risk that it will have a negative impact.
When releasing source code on GitHub, you must be careful about non-disclosure agreements and leakage of personal information. If your source code is disclosed to the world, you may not be able to get it back, so be very careful and make sure before using it in your job search.