This should be taken with a generic serving of salt. The fact is, (even different parts of) organizations vary widely in their hiring practices. Some care and

This should be taken with a generic serving of salt. The fact is, (even different parts of) organizations vary widely in their hiring practices. Some care and some don't. I've hired people almost solely on their side-project (nearly a proto-startup), and I've hired folks without them. If you interviewed Mssrs. Bellard or Hunt (and you didn't know of them beforehand) and they talked about their side projects QEMU or haveibeenpwned.com (respectively), you should probably rate them highly, maybe even hire them on the spot. You should aim to work for groups that value such projects.