Ask HN: Can adding an ongoing side business (SaaS) on my resume hurt me?

For me, as an employer, I see it as completely the opposite. I would treat it as a major positive, and I've always preferred employees with out-of-school projects.

Basically most everyone does their work when studying g there's no differentiator there. Some small few take that learning and create work for themselves. Maybe it makes money, maybe not. But the learning that happens when you take a product to market is enormous.

If you were applying to be my intern, not only would we spend quite a lot of the interview talking about your project, but you'd have to be pretty terrible not to get the post.

I know we're not normal, but we'd also encourage you and see how we can support your project. Perhaps we're different though because we started the business, and grew from nothing, so we understand what it takes.

So my advice is leave it on. Some places may mark you down, but frankly, you'd get less value interning there anyway.

And assume (and tell them) you'll only be working on your SaaS after hours.

Congratulations on the effort though. Whether you get interned or not, running your own side gig makes you more employable in the long run. (and sure, you may end up closing the side-gig when you start full time work, just because you need time for a life as well :)

> So my advice is leave it on. Some places may mark you down, but frankly, you'd get less value interning there anyway.

That was my view as well - I totally understand an interviewer making sure it wouldn't impede with my work, but if they were to count it as a negative against me, I think that might speak more broadly about them. As a student this kind of thing is what I've been told would show initiative on my part and _help_ the job search.

Thank you for your response, I really appreciate the kind words!

> They might want a majority of my time and for me to avoid distractions like managing a business.

That's not a "might."

If you are working for a company, you are working for that company.

If you are administering your SaaS tools when you're supposed to be working on a ticket, or in a meeting, this will be a problem. If you are using company resources (computer, network) while working on the SaaS, it will be a problem.

Putting it on shouldn't hurt you if you are able to assure the company that you are able to separate the two and your SaaS will not interrupt or disturb you during working hours.

Having an issue with the SaaS interrupt or disturb you during working hours could (regardless of if you put it on the resume or not) could have anything from a "that's ok", a stern talking to, a negative reference, being let go, to a talk with legal.

Personal projects (and side companies) and the company you are interning for should never overlap unless given explicit written permission by your manager - that includes time, resources, and equipment.

I really don't think this is an issue for an intern candidate, imo having a serious project under your belt would significantly outweigh any concerns I have for an intern, it's not like they're going to be responsible for mission-critical stuff anyway

Its not about the criticality of the task - its that if a company is paying you for time spent working on things that the company wants you to work on, work on those things.

Likewise, using company resources for your own projects is often frowned upon to varying degrees.

Unless stated otherwise, during regular business working hours, if you are working on something, work on what the company says you should be working on.

I mean, yes, of course OP should be aware that they are on the clock during the day. I just feel like you are really misrepresenting the scale of the worry here.

A senior candidate has a serious, revenue-generating side business, maybe in a competing product area? Yeah, that seems like cause for concern: this candidate's potentially-dropped cycles working on their business could mean a significant loss in team productivity, we might worry that they're on the verge of quitting to focus on their own product, whatever.

An intern candidate has a side hustle? Awesome, sounds like they're not totally clueless, likely they'll be able to ramp up quicker than someone with less experience. Ideally they put it on the back burner for the internship duration but nothing is going to collapse if they're not functioning at 100%. I feel like it's a much bigger risk that you hire someone with a weaker resume and get nothing from them even when they try their best.

An intern with a side hustle? Not a problem fundamentally.

An employee with responsibilities split with some other business concern during the hours they're expected to be working? That is an issue at any level.

Again, this isn't about the criticality of the task - or its importance. It is about who is paying them for the work that they are doing now.

They could care less, don't over think this. You'll be lucky if they look at that part of your resume and go "ah, how interesting" for more than three seconds.

I think you wanted to say, “They could not care less."

As a college student looking for FTE a couple of years ago, putting my SaaS on my resume definitely helped me.

Every interviewer asked me about my side projects and the tech aspect of it. The fact that it was used by 5k+ users at that time was always met with amazement and appreciation.

At my current employer, I was told that me trying things out and learning things on my own (demonstrated by me growing my SaaS) was one of the big factors in me getting hired there.

[All my interviews were at startups]

Of course once you are employed you should follow this advice

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34305919

At your level as a college student, go for it. It shows initiative I would say. Once you graduate and need to be an FTE I would either focus entirely on managing your ventures, find a way to pretend you are a silent partner, or leave them off your resume at least til you are established.

I wouldn't reveal your SaaS or any other current side projects. This gets messy with IP. I also wouldn't login to or visit any of your side projects on work networks or hardware. And definitely do not work on your side projects during company time or on company hardware.

Detail out your experience as skills in your resume instead.

You have the knowledge and abilities.

Present those skills as gained from previous projects that aren't active.

It definitely can hurt. It comes up more than you might think. Some managers see it as a distraction, flight risk, potential time theft, etc.