[Erf]

Your best bet is to go after companies where developers do the hiring.

To a recruiter who isn't a developer, your resume doesn't conform to the parameters they know to look for. They're not in a position to judge whether your non-academic experience qualifies you for the positions they're responsible for fulling.

To a developer who's tired of putting up with halfhearted graduates, and/or those who need a lot of hand-holding, your resume will likely jump off the page.

Where are you most likely to find companies where developers do the hiring? The smaller the company, generally, the better the odds.

[aminuit]

I agree with your sentiment regarding halfhearted graduates 100%. I've been a professional developer for about 4 years now and have been on the interviewer side of the table for about the past 18 months. The sheer number of crappy engineers that end up with CS degrees is astounding. I'm talking about freshly minted CS grads that can't even get past your run of the mill fizzbuzz test, much less get into anything really challenging.

For zackattack, hobby programming doesn't really count on resumes so it won't get you past the HR drones. Whatever time you spent on your project that was eventually acquired certainly counts as professional experience though, so you should include that prominently on whatever you are sending out to people. That being said, if you really know what you're doing it will be immediately obvious and appreciated during any technical interviews. Smart developers know when they are talking to other smart developers. Good luck!