Why should I have to do that, outside of work, in order to get another job? I'm happy with my current work, and that means that I'm not trying to go out of my way to find additional projects on the side. I have hobbies I'd rather be doing outside of work that don't involve computers. I don't feel that it should be necessary to prove to any potential employer that I'm working outside of work.
It's not necessary. Exercise isn't necessary, either. It's a good idea for almost everybody, and even if you dislike the activity doing it probably improves outcomes for things you actually do like, but no one will force you to do it.
The problem is I think that it puts some people at a much bigger advantage over others.
A 20something who works at a funky startup and writes for their corporate blog and gets paid to spend 20% of his time contributing to the rails codebase or something.
vs somebody older (or maybe not) who works 60+ hours a week in a corporate (possibly non IT) organization which has strict corporate blogging policies (i.e don't blog about work) and has a family to look after.
I can see a lot of crap getting thrown up and github and mediocre blog entries written prior to interviews.
This is a sales problem. You can have the best product in the world and you still won't get the customers you want without a solid pitch and some networking.
Ted's post about not favoring github et al in applicant screening is one thing, but an aspiring employee who chooses to forego some easy and visible self-promotion has only himself to blame when he doesn't get the same opportunities as someone willing to meet hiring companies at their point of need.
To hire someone you have to find them, vet them, and entice them with the right deal. People who make themselves easier to find and to vet are going to get better deals on average.
That's exactly where I am right now. Like I said, I get enough satisfaction on an intellectual and professional level from my job that I don't feel the need to find side projects. I'll do what it takes to get done with my job, working as many hours as I need to. But I simply don't feel the need to code outside of working hours.
On weekends, I'd rather be out fly fishing or playing video games.
