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Will high reputation in Stack Overflow help to get a good job?

Just curious, what Web2.0 websites do employers use (if any) to pre-screen potential employees?

Does any employer actually refer to a user's online "reputation" to get a job?

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makerofthings7
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    I don't know if it's going to help me, but I did put StackOverflow participation on my resume. Can't hurt. – Adam Lear Sep 15 '10 at 23:19
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    I could also see it being a negative. Especially if you have lots of answers given during what are typically considered working hours. One might ask, "How did you have time to get 50K rep while still doing your job?" – JohnFx Sep 16 '10 at 00:30
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    It could also be a negative if you claim to be an expert in technology X and StackOverflow (or whatever other site) is full of you asking recent newbie questions in that technology. – Adam Lear Sep 16 '10 at 01:45
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    Don't put SO on your CV, unless your username on is Jon Skeet :) – Victor Hurdugaci Sep 16 '10 at 08:08
  • @victor ...and some would still not hire him... see: http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/30615/has-your-stackoverflow-reputation-helped-your-career/30629#30629 – Talvi Watia Sep 21 '10 at 12:03
  • I need to update my SOC Profile, but that aside, I can tell you and people who might catch this comment, the last 2 "great" jobs i've had (including where I am) I got due to my listing and answers on SO. And one of those jobs was Government! Paid well, great benefits, crappy environment, thus why I moved on to the private company I'm with now. So in the end, while it might not be an issue for some, having "good answers" (more than high rep as my rep isn't "high") has helped me out in my last 2 important interviews. – SpYk3HH May 24 '13 at 14:33
  • And, If it matters, I currently make just under six figures, which is what I asked for. In fact, I make exactly what I asked for! :D – SpYk3HH May 24 '13 at 14:34

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I can tell you that there are certain employers who do care about your stack overflow reputation score, and will factor it into their hiring.

How do I know? Because those employers made me implement -- and I really didn't want to -- a reputation sort on http://careers.stackoverflow.com. It is not the default sort, though, because I insisted that it not be.

Anyway, we always tell employers the same thing, that they should look at the content and evaluate someone's merit based on more than a number; the number is just shorthand for a bunch of other factors.

Jeff Atwood
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    +1 interesting - Can you share any details on who? If not, what type of company asked for this? Did the boss have pointy hair? – makerofthings7 Sep 16 '10 at 13:13
  • This is worrying. careers.stackoverflow.com is *supposed* to attract the *smarter* clients, you know, the ones who will have the ability and inclination to truly recognize and seek out quality devs. From this, it sounds like at least some of them want a potential employee's "worth" to be reduced down to a simple sortable number. – CraigTP Nov 01 '10 at 16:27
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    @CraigTP: It does attract smarter clients. The less smart clients will judge you by your degrees, marks and certificates, which I don't believe to be a good metric. Stackoverflow score is something you get from your peers. It indicates three invaluable qualities for a developer: 1. skill/technical understanding, 2. the ability to communicate your ideas, 3. the willingness to do so. – back2dos Nov 09 '10 at 10:32
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Another programmer site with a "jobs" section is http://jobs.github.com. I suppose the idea there is that your portfolio of Git repositories is part of your extended CV. Or, that it's attractive for employers because those who participate on Github might be a step above your average programmer.

Greg Hewgill
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I don't think it's currently helping a lot, but probably it's a good move as it can attract the correct employers.

The ones that gives value that you openly expose yourself and shows that you at least try to answer things. As well as showing an interest for learning and sharing information.

I could be perceived as a risky move, as you can have errors, but I feel that the right kind of employers (the ones that you want to be working for) will appreciate it.

Khelben
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I don't think so, but the contributions probably raise a little your chances.

Instead, bad contributions could put away any chances :-)

Maniero
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I chose not to mention my SO rep (73k. and #5 on the all time C++ users list) a week ago, when I applied for a job.

It seemed tacky and desperate. If the employer isn't very familiar with StackOverflow, I don't think mentioning an artificial score on a Q&A website is going to make a good impression. I know I would personally consider it a negative if i was doing the hiring, and the candidate kept trying to draw attention to his user profile on an arbitrary website that means nothing to me. It's a risk I don't want to take.

I was just invited to an interview, and there, depending on circumstances, I may mention it, if he asks me something where it would be relevant.

We'll see how it goes. ;)

jalf
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  • 2 years late comment, but I am just curious, did they ask you about Stack Overflow rep? – Tim Jul 19 '15 at 03:09
  • Heh, it's 4 years, but no, they didn't. What you might call my online presence did get noticed though. I took the job, and my boss has later told me that the fact that I was active talking about programming on my blog and on twitter (and on SO) strongly counted in my favor. – jalf Jul 19 '15 at 09:00
  • @jalf I've just been reading through your C++ posts. Would love to know where your blog is... – Mohan Jul 29 '18 at 07:29
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On one hand... if your potential boss is technical enough and smart enough to evaluate your contributions, then bring it on!

But I hope in general that the answer is NO. The sites are too easily gamed if they're only going to go by rep count.

MIA
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  • plus many people spand time at stackoverflow at work. – IAdapter Sep 16 '10 at 12:00
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    you should no more go by rep score alone than you'd go by SAT score, ACT score, IQ score, etc alone. At least on SO you can measure someone's *communication* skills which are EXTREMELY important -- much more important that raw coding skills, in my experience. – Jeff Atwood Sep 16 '10 at 13:05
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I kinda figured people answered questions here to help the community and get involved a bit. I appreciate everyone who gives answers. But imo, no it won't help in general, and bad answers might hurt your chances.

Dean Higginbotham
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I don't think employer is ever going to take a look that in which website you are receving the credits.
But indirectly this is going to pay you in your next assignment, it is not possible that you can create so many errors that you see when people raise the questions. The only way to learn about them is by helping other to solve it which makes you much more stronger in your respective technical language/field.

Zerotoinfinity
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