100 million developers are on Github.

Github is a free site where developers can store, manage and share their code. It is a social network that allows developers to collaborate and create a community. However, most recruiters don't think of using it to source tech profiles, why?

It's time to say goodbye to Linkedin and hello to Github to recruit your best tech talents. And we explain how. 

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Github profiles

First of all, what does a Github profile look like? 

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Here is a screenshot of a Github profile.

• User's first and last name
• Personal information: the company where he works, where he is located and contact information such as his website, email or networks. However, not all profiles fill this section of their profile but we will give you the tools to find them later in this article. 
• Repositories: all the projects and files stored by the user. The higher the number of repositories, the more code or other software development resources the user creates. You can see through repositories if this person is active and has experience in creating code. 
• Contributions: these are all the comments or proposed changes by the user. These are the green boxes shown above. The darker the box, the more the user has contributed to Github that day. This allows you to deduce if this user uses Github regularly. 

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From the profile page you can find out how active and experienced the user is in code and potentially their contact information. Now, how to find a profile you are looking for? 

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Sourcing tech talent on Github with an account

Search for a Github profile

In this part, we'll explain how to find a profile that matches the candidate you're looking for in 4 steps. 

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1. When you open Github, you'll find yourself on the page below. You can start your search by typing the skill you are looking for. Here, we took the example of Python. 

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2. Once you have launched your search, you will arrive on the page below. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will find the "advanced search" button that will allow you to do a more detailed search.

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3. Here, scroll down again to "User options" which will allow you to add information about the profile you are looking for. You will be able to indicate the number of subscribers, the code language, the location, the number of repositories and/or the first and last name of the profile to refine your search. All you have to do is click on "Search" at the bottom of the page to launch your search.

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4. You will find a list of profiles that match your search. You can then click on the profiles that interest you. 

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Contacting a Github profile

As we saw earlier, not all users provide their contact information. So what do you need to do if you find the perfect match?  You have two options

1. Download a Chrome extension ‍

There are several Chrome extensions that, from a profile, show you their contact information. To name a few, you can use contactout.com or snov.io. You will simply have to create an account and then add their Chrome extension. From each profile, open the extension and the information will appear.

2. Use "patch" on Github

To make contributions on codes, users must fill in their email. So, by going to their contributions, you can find their email. 

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Patch, the resource to find the email of a Github profile

Finding the email of a user who did not fill it in directly on his profile can be done in 6 short steps. 

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1. Open the page of the searched profile and click on "Repositories".

2. Click on one of their projects

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3. Click on "commits" (their contributions)

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4. Click on one of their commits

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5. Then, at the end of the link in your browser's search bar, add ".patch"

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6. And find all the information, including his/her e-mail. 

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We advise you to personalize your messages to users. Tech profiles receive hundreds of emails a day, they know they are highly sought after! So show them that you know they stand out from the crowd. You can refer to one of their repositories that prompted you to contact them and share how your company fits them! 

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Sourcing tech talent on Github without an account

If you're looking to recruit talent on Github without having an account, you can also use the site: octohunt.com. Here’s how, in 2 steps: 

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1. Type the profile you are looking for in the search bar and its location. In this example, we are looking for a Python profile in Paris. 

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2. Once the search is done, all matching profiles will be displayed. You can then click on their Github profile and see if they match you. 

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To summarize…

To summarize, even if sourcing on Github is not the most common practice in HR today, it is surely the most efficient. As we have seen, millions of users passionate about tech are active on Github.

Reduce your time to hire, reach qualified candidates and enrich your pipeline with qualified talent. If these are your goals,  contact us and we'll help you build and engage talent communities thanks to our TRM.

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