Don't Get Rejected: How to Build a Standout GitHub Profile |

"You have a good resume and impressive projects, but unfortunately, we can't hire you right now."

This is a common scenario. An individual can get rejected even after working really hard, and you can also face rejection if you make the same mistake of not showcasing your work effectively on GitHub. This article will guide you on transforming your GitHub profile from a basic placeholder to a professional showcase.

If you are not yet familiar with Git and GitHub, it is recommended to review foundational materials on the topic first. Here, we will focus on how to build a great profile. To achieve this, you need to modify the README file, which will be our main focus.

Why Is a GitHub Profile So Important?

Think of your GitHub profile as a live resume. It contains real-time links to your projects and serves as a powerful indicator of your talent and work ethic.

For example, consider a profile where the contribution graph is sparse, with few followers, stars, and low-quality repositories. In contrast, imagine another person's profile where the contribution graph is dense and consistent, with numerous followers, stars, and high-quality repositories. Among these two profiles, which person would you want to collaborate with? Of course, the one with the great profile.

Getting Started: The Profile README

Let's start building our profile, beginning with the README file.

So, what exactly is a profile README? It's a markdown file that acts as a personal landing page on your GitHub profile. You can see several examples of great profiles that utilize this feature effectively. Your profile README can include sections like an "About Me," a list of your skills, showcases of your projects, and contact information so that potential employers or collaborators can easily reach out to you.

How to Create Your Profile README

Here is a step-by-step guide to creating your own profile README.

Navigate to your GitHub profile. You will see a + button in the top-right corner. Click on it to create a new repository.
In the "Owner" dropdown, select your username.
For the repository name, you must use your exact GitHub username. GitHub will display a message indicating that this is a special repository.
Check the box to "Add a README file." You can also create this file manually after the repository is created.
Click the green "Create repository" button.

You will now see the newly created README file, which contains a default message:

### Hi there 👋

Using a Tool to Accelerate the Process

While you can write your README from scratch, today we'll use a tool called GitHub README Generator to speed things up. This tool provides multiple options to customize your profile.

Title & Subtitle: You can add your name as the title and a brief bio in the subtitle section to explain who you are.
Work Experience: There is a section to list your work experience, where you can mention projects and include links if they are available.
Collaboration: If you're looking for collaboration, you can specify the tech stack you're interested in working with.
Learning: You can list what you are currently learning in the "Currently Learning" section.
Contact: It is highly suggested that you provide your email address. This allows people to easily reach out for collaborations or hiring opportunities.
Skills: You can add the programming languages and front-end development frameworks you know. These will appear as stylish banners in your README file.
Socials: Add your GitHub username and links to coding platforms like LeetCode, Codeforces, or CodeChef. It is also strongly recommended to provide your LinkedIn and Twitter profile links so people can connect with you.
Add-ons: This section includes options for displaying visitor count badges, GitHub stats, and other related metrics to make your profile more dynamic.

After filling out the relevant fields, click the "Generate README" button. The tool will produce the markdown code for your profile. Copy this code, go to your special repository's README file, click the "Edit" button (the pencil icon on the right), and paste the generated code. Commit the changes to save them.

Now, when you go to your main profile page, you will see the polished README you just created.

A Gateway to Opportunities

GitHub is a great place to find collaborators. Suppose you want to build a company that offers AR and VR games. To find teammates, you could go to GitHub, read the READMEs of various developers, and contact them based on their skills and interests.

GitHub is a social network for developers and aspiring developers. Having a nice GitHub profile ensures that people will pay attention to who you are. This attention can translate into job prospects, internships, or freelance work. It's also a fantastic way to find people with similar interests with whom you can build cool projects together.

Hopefully, this article has helped you understand how to build an effective GitHub profile.