Ask HN: Any advise for portfolio projects?

[jellykid]

I have been studying JS for 2 years in my spare time and working in general IT for 6 years. I am looking to land a full stack dev job but I feel like my portfolio is lacking. Node/React/Redux/Redux-Saga are some technologies I would love to work in and have been making little projects but I don't have anything that really stands out. Can anyone give me some example projects that I can put together to show of my programming chops?

Also bonus points if anyone can give me a good place to find my first position ... or even make some connections. I'm in the "need experience to get experience" catch 22 that a lot of people who are starting off get into.

[ISNIT]

I find the best way to build a portfolio is to attend local hackathons. They're great not only because you will build a whole project in 2 days, but you get to learn from professionals, make contacts, and possibly meet someone who's hiring. Also, meetups (meetup.com) are a great way to meet local people who might be hiring or know of companies that are.

[jellykid]

Thanks for the advice, I found quite a few hackathons a few hours away. I'll have to take some time off so I can get something substantial under my belt and meet some people.