How to Pick Side Projects That Actually Get You Hired

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Welcome to another week, another opportunity to become a great DevOps and Software Engineer

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When I was first learning, I did what everyone else did.

I built a to-do app. Then another to-do app. Then a notes app. Then… another to-do app.

They worked fine. But when it came time for interviews, nobody cared.

Interviewers didn’t say:
“Wow, this is the cleanest checklist I’ve ever seen.”

They asked:
“How does this project show me you can solve real problems at our company?”

That was my wake-up call:
Not all projects are equal. Some get ignored. Others get you hired.

The Problem With “Tutorial Projects”

Most projects juniors build fall into one of two categories:

• Clone projects: rebuilding Twitter, Netflix, or YouTube.

• Tiny apps: to-dos, notes, calculators.

They’re fine for practice. But they don’t stand out, because:

• They don’t show creativity.

• They don’t solve a real problem.

• They don’t demonstrate impact.

When a hiring manager has seen 50 to-do apps, yours just looks like #51.

What Great Side Projects Have in Common

The projects that get noticed share three traits:

1. They solve a real-world problem
   Doesn’t have to be huge. Maybe it automates a boring task, simplifies a workflow, or saves time for a specific group of people.

2. They show depth, not breadth
   A small but polished project (with clear docs, tests, and a demo) is more impressive than a half-finished “big idea.”

3. They connect to business outcomes
   Just like I shared last week — explain why it matters:

   • “This script reduced build times by 40%.”

   • “This dashboard helps small shops track revenue.”

   • “This automation saves QA hours every week.”

A Project That Made the Difference

I once built a simple automation tool to clean up old Docker images.

Not flashy. Not trendy. Just a script that solved a real headache my team had.

When I talked about it in an interview, the manager leaned forward:

That tiny project carried more weight than all my clones combined — because it showed I could spot problems and solve them with engineering.

How to Pick Your Next Project

Here’s a framework you can use:

1. Look around you
   What tasks are repetitive, boring, or slow? Could you automate or improve them?

2. Think in terms of users
   Who benefits? Your classmates, your team, small businesses, yourself?

3. Pick a small scope
   Don’t aim for “the next Facebook.” Aim for “a tool that saves 10 minutes every day.”

4. Document the impact
   Write a short readme: problem → solution → outcome. Even a small project looks 10x stronger with context.

This Week’s Challenge

If you’re building side projects, stop asking:
“What’s trendy right now?”

Start asking:
“What small but real problem can I solve?”

Build that. Show the impact.
That’s how you stand out.

Final Thoughts

A side project isn’t about proving you can code.
It’s about proving you can solve problems that matter.

Do that, and your projects stop being ignored — they start opening doors.

Coming up next week:

Why Most Tech Resumes Are Bad — and How to Fix Yours

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