Get Credit for your Web Contributions

It is truly amazing as to the number of dedicated people who contribute to open-source, answer questions on blogs, forums etc. Many people do this outside their jobs on a purely voluntary basis and don't benefit in any way. As a hiring manager at Amazon.com in my past, I have interviewed hundreds of candidates. Many of them stellar, and sometimes we discover that they have been active contributors to the community but there is no mention of it on their resume.

It is easy to see why. It is simply a lack of space to communicate all the bits and pieces of their contributions. The surprising thing is that hiring managers do indeed look for such contributions and indeed, a premium is placed for finding these active candidates.

Now, things are about to change. With Mashedge, candidates can collect all the bits and pieces of their web contributions and organize it as a web book. Then they simply add a link to the Mashedge web book to their resume! Voila. The Mashedge web book allows the hiring managers to dive into the web contributions of the candidate. If the candidate has put in a link to the checkin, they can even see the code! If they answered a question and received hugs, they can see it too. The hiring manager does not have to dig through the web trying to discover their contributions - believe me, they simply don't have the time. They would thank you for helping them do their jobs.

For example, I have put up my web footprint (it is really small) as a web book titled "Kiran Achyutuni" . It is important to name the web book after you so that it shows up in search engine results.

So, I would urge all contributors to open-source, blogs, forums etc to assemble your web footprint as a Mashedge web book, and put it on your resume. That is the easiest way to get credit for your contributions. Who knows, you could get a better offer on your next job. Of course, do let us know if Mashedge has helped you get that better offer.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Sign up for a Mashedge account if you have not already done so. It's free.
   
2. Create a web book titled "your name"
3. You will be taken to a page to "Organize the web book".
4. Add links to your web contributions into the book and arrange the links into chapters. You can continue to add links whenever you please.
   
5. Make book public and add link to your resume/on-line profile. If you want to keep the book private, you can do so. You can share a private web book with specific people if you wish.

Good luck!