How to Master Your Skills and Get Hired Without Applying (Terraform Core Contributor)
Episode description
Most engineers approach open source the wrong way. They write code, open a PR, and wonder why it never gets merged. Bruno Schaatsbergen, Terraform core contributor and ex-HashiCorp engineer, breaks down the real craft behind contributions that actually land, and why AI is quietly breaking the ecosystem we all depend on.
In this episode, we cover:
- Why pull requests get ignored (and the counterintuitive fix)
- How AI slop is killing open source from the inside
- Using AI agents without losing your identity as an engineer
- Why open source beats a tailored resume in today's market
- How consistent contributions can reshape your entire career
If you've ever wanted to contribute to open source but didn't know where to start, this episode gives you a clear perspective from someone who's been on both sides.
Connect with Bruno:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bschaatsbergen
OUTILNE
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:04 - How Open Source Shaped My Entire Career
00:02:14 - Why I Take Pride in Every PR I Write
00:03:16 - Open Source vs Personal Projects: The Real Difference
00:04:18 - Why Your PRs Get Ignored (And How to Fix It)
00:05:41 - Know Your Audience: The Counterintuitive PR Hack
00:06:35 - Dealing With Imposter Syndrome as a Contributor
00:07:10 - Read Code Like a Writer Reads Books
00:09:31 - My First Contribution (And How It Changed My Career)
00:10:51 - Should You Contribute to Open Source Early in Your Career?
00:12:46 - The Dark Side: When Contributions Become Noise
00:13:44 - Killed With Kindness: The AI Slop Problem
00:16:17 - How Maintainers Are Fighting AI Slop
00:18:02 - How I Actually Use AI Agents in My Workflow
00:19:11 - Don't Outsource Your Thinking to AI
00:20:11 - Who's Liable for AI-Generated Code?
00:21:16 - Earned Rights: Why Trust Matters in Open Source
00:22:52 - How to Approach People at Tech Conferences
00:24:52 - Open Source Is Not a Democracy
00:26:04 - Why Open Source Beats a Tailored Resume
00:27:12 - Never Contribute With the Goal of Getting Hired
00:28:38 - The Real Reason Consistency Pays Off
00:29:30 - Admitting I'm a University Dropout
00:30:42 - Why I Haven't Contributed in Weeks (And That's Okay)
00:32:07 - The Trap of Chasing Contributor Rankings
00:34:32 - Open Source Lets You Work With Anyone in the World
00:35:52 - Final Advice: Don't Let AI Steal Your Identity