I transitioned to being a professional software developer in 2012 and a hobby SPA website[0] essentially acted as a portfolio which I used to demonstrate I knew what I was doing to get my first software development job.
During the interview they asked me lots of technical questions around the website, like why I chose particular solutions, what the trade-offs I made were and how I did certain things. Essentially, I just had to be able to show them I could technically discuss the website in detail and I guess also proving that it was I who did the work.
What I also only realized a bit into the new job was that merely "releasing" a working project is in itself a bit of an accomplishment.
During the interview they asked me lots of technical questions around the website, like why I chose particular solutions, what the trade-offs I made were and how I did certain things. Essentially, I just had to be able to show them I could technically discuss the website in detail and I guess also proving that it was I who did the work.
What I also only realized a bit into the new job was that merely "releasing" a working project is in itself a bit of an accomplishment.
[0]: https://mordritch.com/mc_rss/