Most higher-level devs don't build personal projects. I've worked with plenty of ridiculously capable people who work 9-5 and go home to their family. If anything, diligently keeping set hours is probably a stronger signal for a good senior candidate than personal projects are. A good senior candidate should be doing the thing they want to do already (thus, no need for side projects), or be capable of getting everything they need done for their job in 8 hours or less.
Artist and even urban planners regularly have a portfolio, I don't see how this is any different.
It also takes the privilege of time. For example, a single childless person likely has more time for personal projects than a single parent of 3. This does not mean one is a better candidate than the other.
> Passion as also valuable, it tends to show that people are willing to learn and have interest in the type of work that they will be doing.
You can have both of those things without "passion".
Aside, there seems to be a swath of people who seem bizarrely resentful of personal projects. Yes, we get it, not EVERYONE in the universe has sufficient free time. Bla bla bla, maybe cut down on Netflix.
I wouldn't say anyone is resentful, just rightfully annoyed. It's not bizarre. I just don't think we as an industry should require everyone dedicate every waking moment to working. It's not healthy. Surgeons don't do surgery in their free time and are not asked about it in interviews.
> Yes, we get it, not EVERYONE in the universe has sufficient free time. Bla bla bla, maybe cut down on Netflix.
I think the implication of not having enough free time is that a person does not have enough free time to do things like watch enough Netflix to free up enough time to work more.
I don't think surgery is a good analogy. Engineering is a field where you're actually producing something, such as a product, that you can share and be proud of.
That doesn't automatically make him the better candidate but it definitely gives me more information to act on.
If people don't want to or can't work on personal projects then that's fine, but I'm not going to ignore the people who are passionate about building their own stuff.
There's this feeling that employers should just take the next person who fits some quota because to pick and choose is to be biased which has somehow become a bad phrase. My employer literally pays me to be biased. My job skills include having appropriate and helpful biases.