Using Markdown to increase your job opportunities

Daily I receive private messages on LinkedIn where developers ask me about tips that can help them have better job opportunities, so in these situations, I always request Github to check it out, and I end up seeing some errors that are becoming quite common.

The first one is to leave most of the repositories hidden, perhaps because you feel a little ashamed of your codes, a feeling that we cannot have, since all the knowledge acquired is valid, and the most important thing is to demonstrate that we are willing to learn and to evolve.

The second and most common mistake of all, which I see as very significant, is not putting Readmes in the repositories. So if you fit this 2nd most common fault, this article is for you.

What is Markdown?

Markdown is a language that was created in 2004 by John Gruber and Aaron Swarts, with the purpose of simplifying the structure of a text with symbols such as #, >, +, -, and thus we can create a text or blog article , with a language that will give us markup very similar to HTML, but written in a way less verbose (difficult), more simplified and visually more readable.

In this article we will not go so deeply into how to write in Markdown, but how we can use it so that it stands out in selection processes, making our opportunities leveraged.

When we are in a selection process, we have to keep in mind that every little extra detail or every little differential earns us extra points, and at the end of that process, the sum of these extra points can result in a hiring or at least that let's reach a final phase, because the important thing is not only to be hired, it is all the learning that we have behind a selection process.

When applying for a certain vacancy, as we are in IT, recruiters will always look at our Github and LinkedIn, so we have to keep in mind that this recruiter may not understand anything about code , so when entering our portfolio (Github) they should be able to understand the purpose of that project, and for that it is necessary to have a mini documentation, which are the Readmes.md.

Readmes are text files that accept Markdown as a markup language, and these files are for you to create accessibility for everyone who is viewing our repositories, that is, with this documentation, anyone viewing them will be able to understand what motivated you to create that project, how to install it, how to run it, the technologies used, the final result... There are many options, and any additional and relevant information that is included in this Readme can be an extra point. that you can win.

As I said in this article, recruiters are not concerned at first if our codes are written in the best way, or if we already have advanced knowledge in a certain language, because at this stage they are just screening our curriculum, and will analyze if we pass the stage or not, then if we pass the stage, or we are a really attractive profile, then the technical moment will come, where a developer will analyze what you coded.

We have to keep in mind that a company will look for soft skills in you at all times, because they are what differentiate us from the rest. So when you post documentation, it shows that you are a thoughtful dev, that you are detail-oriented to the point of writing documentation so that everyone who sees and analyzes your portfolio has an understanding of what is being done, and not just developers.

In this process, every little detail matters, because in the end, the sum of all the small particularities that you have throughout the selection is what makes you stand out from the rest.

Realize that I'm not saying that this is the only way you'll be hired, because we can't have absolute truth and certainty about anything in life, but I've been learning that being meticulous and showing love for what you do proves to others that you you didn't do anything in a hurry, that you are doing your best, and in addition, you can also demonstrate that you have organization and empathy for everyone who will access your portfolio.

As an example I show the Readme I made for my blog repository, it is a simple Readme, but I can give more details of the project and still show the final result.

And here I show you a snippet of the Markdown code from the video above:

If you want to know more about Markdown and how to use it in your documentation, I leave these links below so you can start applying it in the best way:

How to make a beautiful Readme - Raul Esteves

Learn Markdown - Fernando Daciuk

I hope the purpose of the article was clear, however, if you have any questions or if you simply want to chat with me, send me a message at LinkedIn, I would love to answer it.