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I have developed a porn website.

Would it be a positive to mention this on my resumé and include it in the porfolio on my LinkedIn profile even when I’m applying to places where I wouldn’t work with adult content?

Vietnhi Phuvan
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    You don't necessarily have to go into what content your website contained. Focus on the technical side. If they ask for details such as what site it is you can give them more information (with a warning of course). – Boumbles May 26 '14 at 13:57
  • This will heavily depend on your audience. It would be a negative in my book, given what it indicates about your character. But many will view it differently. – Software Developer May 26 '14 at 14:06
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    Related (not a duplicate), also related – jmac May 26 '14 at 14:33
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    @EricWilson different people will certainly view the website in different ways but I'm curious as to what you think the contents of a website indicate about its developer's character. For all we know (and I am assuming the website content is legal here) it might indicate only that Adriano has bills to pay, and that this was the best/only job around when they were last looking for work. – Rob Moir May 26 '14 at 18:07
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    What on earth do you mean by "given what it indicates about your character", @EricWilson? What do you imagine is indicated about the character of someone who built a porn website? – TRiG May 26 '14 at 18:47
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    Building a pornography website indicates that a man is willing to profit from the corruption and exploitation that pornography is and produces. Putting it on a resume indicates a lack of shame from such endeavors. – Software Developer May 26 '14 at 21:14
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    Attitudes also vary between countries. If you're looking to work in the USA their puritan heritage means anything to do with sex is problematic. In Germany or Australia (for example) it's unlikely to be a problem directly. The issue is more likely that it's NSFW, and the site may be blocked by corporate web filters so people won't be able to actually view your work. Putting up code segments or a demo with stock images (or random photo of your front door) would be a good idea. – Móż May 26 '14 at 23:16
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    Repurpose the code from your porn site to make a funny cat video site. Then you can send that URL to prospective employers - everyone knows that the internet is for cat videos. – Carson63000 May 27 '14 at 00:28
  • Also https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/24518/adding-unorthodox-content-to-a-resum%c3%a9 – Mawg says reinstate Monica Dec 13 '18 at 07:11

3 Answers3

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Porn websites generate a lot of traffic, which means you need some pretty solid technical skills and good decision making abilities in order to get something like that up and running and keeping it that way. On top of this, such sites tend to scale relatively fast, you have to be ready for it.

Also, most of the good techniques used to monetize a website also apply to such a site, and this is not as easy as it sounds.

Now on with your question: it's good that you have these concerns, it shows that you are concious about the potential problems that can arise from you or your employer being associated with such a product.

I would put it on my resume, but ONLY if it was a project for a client, not something I worked on completely on my own. Also, I would leave out anything about the site's name or its type of content. Instead I would say something like:

I worked on a big and popular project that served high volumes of media. I implemented it in technology X, Y and Z. Reduced operating costs by using techniques A, B and C. My expertise and advice allowed it to grow in popularity, generating $300K profit for the client every year.

The whole idea is that you prove your technical skills (which is what the interview is all about) without damaging your image.

When asked for a link to the website or more details about it, tell them that it's a porn site but put very very strong emphasis on the fact that:

  • you did this for a client
  • you are no longer associated with that project in any way (I'm assuming this is the case)
  • the fact that you worked on this is not public knowledge, so your presence in the company will not damage its image (this last point is CRUCIAL)

If you feel you can safely pull this off, then go ahead. Otherwise, if you have a dozen other projects you worked on, I wouldn't bother; those other projects will probably be enough to demonstrate your skills.

A final point I want to make: if you leave it out of your resume, your interviewer(s) might ask what you did in that 6-month gap of your work history. You could tell them you spent that time learning new technologies and improving your skills. This is technically not a lie and it's a good answer in this situation.

Radu Murzea
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I am taking you at your word that you developed the porn website yourself. If you want to showcase your technical skills, deploy the code and some other content on a mainstream host such as heroku. That should take you say two days of extra effort, but you get to totally bypass the issue.

Adding stuff on your resume or worse, on your Linkedin profile that could put you in a negative light is worse than a waste of time. And once that stuff gets online, good luck trying to get rid of all of it.

Vietnhi Phuvan
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If you are sharing this information on a resume, you are inviting your future employer to view it. I would not invite a prospective employer to view porn with the hopes of it leaving that employer with a positive impression. In addition, consider that:

  • If your name is attached to the site in any way, your employer could find it and it could affect your employment if the association is deemed to reflect badly on the employer.
  • It might make a little bit of difference if you can establish that you created the site for a customer according to their specifications rather than just for fun on your own.
  • You should always tailor what you share with a prospective employer to what will demonstrate that you are a good match for them. Adult content might be okay of you are applying for something in the entertainment industry, but few others.
MJ6
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