Computer science educators are increasingly integrating open source contributions into classes as a way to improve employment outcomes in an increasingly competitive job market. However, little is known about how employers view student open source contributions.

This paper addresses two research questions qualitatively: what traits do employers desire for entry-level hires; and how can they be demonstrated through open source? It also tests quantitatively the hypothesis that student knowledge of employers’ expectations will improve motivation to work on open source.

To answer our qualitative questions, we conducted a series of reflexive interviews with hiring managers in the US. We collaborated with each interviewee to create a “hiring manager agreement”, which listed desirable traits and specific ways to demonstrate them through open source, as well as a signed promise to interview some number of students meeting the criteria. To evaluate our quantitative hypothesis, we conducted a survey using of 650 undergraduates attending public universities in the US using an Expectancy Value Theory-based instrument.

We found that hiring managers wanted many non-technical traits that are difficult to teach in traditional CS classes, such as initiative. There were many commonalities in how employers wanted to see these traits demonstrated in open source contributions. We also found that viewing hiring manager agreements improved student motivation to contribute to open source.

Our findings suggest that open source contributions may help CS undergraduates get hired, but it requires sustained engagement in multiple areas. Educators can motivate students through sharing employer expectations (but further work is required to know if this leads to long-term behavior change).