In addition to having side projects going, don't hesitate to put them up on GitHub. That's a great way to show off your skills. And these projects don't have

In addition to having side projects going, don't hesitate to put them up on GitHub. That's a great way to show off your skills. And these projects don't have to be huge, even if they are small utilities or apps that scratch a specific itch, that's also good to show off, especially if it's for a problem which has not been solved before. If you're especially lucky, you may wind up with an employer who lets you open source some of what you write. :-)