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Discussion on: Should a lack of side projects raise flags in an interview?

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alvaromontoro profile image
Alvaro Montoro

It doesn’t have to be a coding project.

As a personal anecdote: during an interview, I was asked about side projects, but at the moment I was not doing much. So I told them about how I was a cartoonist for the university newspaper, and explained how I did things, the process, etc. They hired me, and whenever there was a more creative opportunity, they thought of me because (half serious-half joking) I was the cartoon-guy. That small note in my resume made a mark they remembered.

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delusioninabox profile image
Laura Kajpust

Haha, that's fair! I think it depends on the company culture too. When I was first transitioning into tech especially I got really nervous about talking about anything non-technical because I thought technical was all they were interested in. Some only want to know you can get the job done. But some company cultures are a lot more open to knowing the other stuff you like. (Honestly, those tend to be better companies to work for too in my experience!)