[simonw]

The trick is to cheat: Pick side projects which you know you can make substantial progress on in a small amount of time given your unique set of skills and experiences.

[deregulateMed]

I can either build a consumer friendly embedded project, or I can build one that I need to recompile when it's time to change settings.

Both count for the interview purposes.

[WalterSear]

Now it's not a side project: it's resume building.

[simonw]

Completely disagree: building side projects that you can ship quickly is just a more fun way of doing side projects.

Coincidentally I wrote some notes about resume building a few days ago: https://simonwillison.net/2021/Jul/17/standing-out/