On a personal project there is no accountability. The developer didn’t have to understand what someone else wanted and try to figure out how to make it real. They set their own goalposts and had freedom to move them at will. You have no idea what their ambition was.
Adam Savage had some interesting insights relevant to this in the context of evaluating model makers and artists for special FX work. While portfolio pieces showing their own concepts or creations might show off heir basic craft skills, it doesn’t show that they can create something to fulfill someone else’s vision - and that is the job. So what you want are portfolio pieces where they have drawn or built something recognizable - a replica or a scale model or portrait or something. Because that shows they can direct their skill to a particular goal. You know what they were trying to go for, and you can tell whether or not they nailed it.
Mostly I’m hiring for developers to work in a large team, within a large organization. What they can accomplish when left to their own devices is scarcely relevant to what they will be able to do in that work environment.
On a personal project there is no accountability. The developer didn’t have to understand what someone else wanted and try to figure out how to make it real. They set their own goalposts and had freedom to move them at will. You have no idea what their ambition was.
Adam Savage had some interesting insights relevant to this in the context of evaluating model makers and artists for special FX work. While portfolio pieces showing their own concepts or creations might show off heir basic craft skills, it doesn’t show that they can create something to fulfill someone else’s vision - and that is the job. So what you want are portfolio pieces where they have drawn or built something recognizable - a replica or a scale model or portrait or something. Because that shows they can direct their skill to a particular goal. You know what they were trying to go for, and you can tell whether or not they nailed it.
Mostly I’m hiring for developers to work in a large team, within a large organization. What they can accomplish when left to their own devices is scarcely relevant to what they will be able to do in that work environment.