It's interesting that the website stresses having a GitHub profile...yet no where is it stated that these tips are only for those looking for developer positions.
It shows 3 things:
- Knowledge of version control. Which is good to demonstrate.
- Knowledge of the de facto standard SCM hosts.
- Knowledge of current trends in tech; i.e., social awareness.
So tie those 3 things together and that presents a better candidate than someone who only has a resume. To be precise, it would vault you over the bog-standard candidates without a doubt. This is even more true for new graduates.
[1] Any sort of profile/portfolio site is a bonus for me. It doesn't have to be github. But I give bonuses for github or other SCM hosting sites. Note that I can go look at your interactions with other people there, which is a big deal.
As a professional, I understand that lots of code is written to get the job done, and shouldn't be polished until it gleams, the ROI on that isn't really there. As much as I like seeing code that's been turned almost into a piece of engineering art, I don't think its worth it for most professional work and even for personal projects... those lovingly crafted comments go out of date, that tight & elegant functionality has to get chopped up for the new feature's logic flow.
But I guarantee you that everyone is idiosyncratic about what they do for hiring. I think between the 3 guys who do most of the hiring on my team, we have between 3 and 6 opinions. :)
Github can be used for more than just developers. I worked with a sales guy who made great github issues. I'm talking the type of "issues" that make reproducing the bug, and understanding context very easy. If he showed that to someone who understands the value in that, than he has demonstrated a great communication skill without every writing code.
I'm a mechanical engineer, I know all my possible employers would love to see what I have on Github... yes that's absurd. Sometimes I fear these people live in a bubble all their own and have idea there are other professions our there that people might want to work in.
Ultimately I'd love to have multiple options for that section. One for design, support, finance, whatever. Time constraints mean that developers are the center of attention for now.
[0]: http://openemu.org/