Stack Overflow recently announced that they will start linking a user’s Careers account to their GitHub account. As the reason for this addition, they quote John Resig, the founder of JQuery:
When it comes to hiring, I’ll take a Github commit log over a resume any day.
I have to agree with him, and I’ll go even further: a code sample (commit log) is worth ten references. The great thing about GitHub is that it’s a giant code-sample. Any developer on the internet can download your code, inspect it, and find the good and the bad instantaneously. Not only that, but they can view how often you commit, where your code has grown, and your interactions with the wider community as a whole. That makes Github the perfect companion to your Stack Overflow profile (You have one of those, right? RIGHT?)
References, on the other hand, can be bought with a beer and good networking. I’ve had people come with references galore, but they couldn’t even code Fizzbuzz. I’ve never had a candidate with a good code sample turn into a bad employee. Github takes care of code sample problem writ large.
If you have a personal project and it isn’t a money-making venture, why not commit it to Github?