Projects

Projects include technical efforts done on the side, usually outside of your work. This includes software libraries, useful websites/tools, a technical blog/writing, hackathon projects, etc.

Having projects demonstrates your passion for the craft and is a huge positive signal, especially if the projects are impactful. Bonus points if the recruiter/hiring manager has heard of it or even used it before! Personally as hiring managers, we are especially impressed by Open Source contributions, even better if the open source work is in technically complex code bases. Open source code tends to be of good quality and well-designed so as to cater to the various use cases. It takes courage to put one's code out there for the world to see and use.

Note that having projects on your resume is entirely optional if you already have some working experience. Truth be told, many people don't have time for projects, especially more senior folks with kids and don't have much time outside their full-time jobs to work on side projects.

Having projects can be used to make up for the lack of working experience in a certain domain:

1. Undergrads who don't have too many internship experiences.
2. Engineers looking to switch fields but don't have the opportunities to do so at their work. E.g. Full Stack engineer wanting to move to Mobile or Machine Learning.

If you find yourself in this situation, do consider creating some side projects to demonstrate your passion and experience for the new domain.

Recommended

✅ Be mindful of what you add

Most people won't have projects worth adding to their resume. Only include projects if:

1. You don't have enough content in the "Work Experience" section
2. They are being used by people and actually showcase your abilities
3. Demonstrate your passion in a new field which is outside your current working experience, especially if you want to switch into another field/domain

✅ Explain the project, your role, and the technologies

Most side projects will never be heard of, so you will need to explain what it is about. If the project is huge and done in a team, explain what your role was and what technologies were used to build the project. This is not very different from the "Work Experience" section.

✅ Include links to projects

If your project is live (website or on App Store), do include links where people can check them out. If the source is on GitHub, tidy up the README as well. Well-maintained side projects demonstrate passion and ability.

If you are unable to make your project source code to be public (e.g. a school project or project for a client), you can use GitFront to host your code, which is a free GitHub-like service to host your code without making it easily discoverable; it's accessible only by people with the link.

Common Mistakes

❌ Avoid listing standard school assignments if possible

School assignments can be broadly classified under two categories:

1. Assignments with standard answers (e.g. completing an app with clear objectives and every student is expected to do the same).
2. Open-ended projects where you can decide what to work on (e.g. thesis projects, research projects, etc).

The former provides little value and should not be included. If other applicants from your school lists the same school assignment, readers might realize and it might be awkward. The latter type of projects is fine.

Examples