Slashdot Mirror
How To Show Code Samples?
Todd writes "I've been looking around at 'help wanted' advertisements for programming jobs, and almost all of them demand that you not only have professional experience, but also that you show samples of your work. This got me wondering; with the work product, trade secret, and non-disclosure laws/agreements, how exactly can you show work that you've done in a professional capacity to a prospective employer without violating the privacy of the company for which the code was written? For instance, I can't say I've written many BASH scripts (at least, not large ones) for myself personally, but the assortment of such scripts written for my current job is wide and varied indeed. I can't very well just deliver these scripts, or even small portions thereof, to third parties to help demonstrate my scripting prowess. With that in mind, what am I supposed to show them?"
How do you know that your "test problem" isn't an actual problem they need solved, and you're providing them with free consulting work?
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
I'm betting that 90% of the code you write is not covered by any non-disclosure agreement at all. The code you write is yours! While your employer may lay claim to the use of your code, unless explicitly prohibited I see no problem with displaying your code. It's not like you're selling it! In order to claim copyright infringement the company would need to demonstrate that they were harmed in some way. Granted full disclosure of patented, proprietary stuff, yeah, that might be actionable. But some small code snipped demonstrating coding ability? They'd be hard pressed to make a case against you.