Can answering on StackOverflow be considered as service?

Question

I am an active user on StackOverflow, I ask questions and answer questions. Yesterday, I realized StackOverflow and other SE sites are not about reputation and a number next to your name to keep you pleased, it is about helping others (for most of you I think).

Service is about helping others, whether it be about teaching kids to read, babysitting, helping the elderly, helping charities etc. Service nowadays plays a prominent role, companies and universities would like to see that their applicants have somehow contributed to the world. It is definitely a big decision factor.

There is extremely little chance I would consider putting "Answering questions on StackOverflow" as one of my services, but would this generally be considered as service? Just a question.

Answer 1

It depends, but in my opinion you should put the link to you StackExchange profile in your resume, because the company that wants to employ you can see

• your programming skill (from various answers)
• that you are willing to help others

I was talking to a friend about a job, and he responded asking if I could send him my resume and links to my GitHub, StackExchange, CodeChef and similar sites.

I guess it depends, but in my opinion most companies will find your involvement as a plus, so I don't see why you wouldn't enclose it in your resume.

Answer 2

There are at least three specific situations where including Stack Exchange participation can be valuable for your career or for landing a job; however, keep in mind that this is only valuable to a certain extent.

1. Project Management Certifications

How Can I Maintain My PMP Certification and Earn PDU's In an Inexpensive Manner?. Here, Ashes999 writes:

I posted about this before; one of the best free ways to eearn PDUs (in category C -- self-directed learning) is to spend time on the PM Stack Exchange website (i.e. this site). You can use RescueTime to track hours; I've claimed around 4-5 PDUs already from this method. (You can read more details in my blog post here.)

Other than that, PDUs generally cost about $10 each (that's the most cost-efficient I've seen) if you purchase materials.

In short, if you're a professionally certified project manager, you can use Stack Exchange as a way to help maintain your certification.

2. Microsoft MVP Certification

We have a few very high rep members of this site, such as Jon Skeet, who are also a Microsoft MVP. While I don't have all of the details about this program, providing professional leadership in the Internet community is one of the requirements.

From the Microsoft MVP Website "Contributions" page:

MVPs reach out and contribute to online and offline communities through a broad range of channels. These include online forums such as Microsoft Answers, TechNet and MSDN; wikis and online content; conferences and user groups; their own podcasts, Web sites and blogs; and articles and books.

3. Stack Exchange

When Stack Exchange hires from the community, sometimes they look at how active a candidate is in the Stack Exchange community. For instance, Kevin Montrose, the author and maintainer of the Stack Exchange API, was hired because he had already started working on an API, and Stack Exchange needed someone to build an API.

In Kevin's case, highlighting his Stack Exchange contributions marked him as a top candidate for a developer position in Stack Exchange.

4. What about other employers/industries?

Now, with these examples in mind, don't get too carried away. Many employers realize that Stack Exchange can be a bit of an addiction, so focusing too much on this may actually backfire on you. If I hire you for a job, I want to know you're dedicated to my organization, not Stack Exchange, so be careful how much emphasis you put on this. Don't overdo it! ;)