[kbart]

"1. help a non-profit for a lower pay or even for free 2. contribute to open source projects 3. create a project of your own where you can show what you can do"

What's wrong with projects from previous full-time jobs? My most complex and interesting projects were done during paid hours and since I usually was the only person working on these projects, I can proudly call them "mine", despite being owned by an employer. From the perspective of an employee, if you demanded to have non-paid projects I would thank you for an interview and say "goodbye", even though I have some of these.