Github repositories vs Live Project:What matters more in your resume

When you have gained certain experience in the industry, finding your next right job might seem like a daunting task. Most of the employers today ask to mention Github profile in application mail while some prefer simply mentioning your relevant projects in your resume.

A strong Github profile subtly conveys a message to your employer about your technical expertise and exposure.While going through your profile and project repos the prospective employer can get clear idea about your style of coding as well as whether you follow standard coding practices and syntax for a particular tech stack. Nowadays we can also add a mini resume in Github profile readme itself.
Here’s a sample one for reference:-

Now it may also work against your chances of getting placed, if you don’t comment your code in proper places, use confusing variable names and don’t explain necessary function inputs and outputs properly.

So if you are mentioning your Github profile please make sure that at least your starred/pinned repos are properly documented and follow standard coding guidelines as this might greatly impress your prospective employer.

The second case is about mentioning live projects. Although interviewer cannot see your code, you can expect questions related to various components used in the projects, the problems you faced while creating them and how you tried to solve them. If you are applying for front-end profiles, then mentioning your live projects is a must since it establishes your credibility as a front-end developer. Many companies actually set criteria of having or making at least one live project for being eligible to apply for the position or clearing beginner rounds.

If you are applying for full stack profile or senior level technical position then your Github projects will have significant advantage over live projects since backend part of the projects will help interviewers in understanding your grasp on technical concepts.

Having a balanced combination of both might be beneficial in many cases but the weightage of each differs on the basis of position you are applying for.

In the end recruitment is similar to demand and supply market. If the company is looking out for front-end developer, your experience in the backend projects will not matter much. Similarly some recruiters prefer going through code in your Github projects while others focus on UI aspects of the projects.