Honest question: do you use open source at work? Do you contribute to open source while at work? If not, why not?
A couple days ago I spent several hours puzzling through how to use an open source library. When I figured it out, I made a PR for documentation. Our closed-source app will benefit from having its dependencies better documented.
I do very little coding outside of work anymore, but I still have public contributions to show.
Many employers take the stance that they own all the code you write while at work, and therefore you don't have the right to release it under an open-source license.
Proper response: "OK, so I found a problem with one of the open source tools we use and I know how to fix it. Do you want me to 1) not fix it, in which case our code is broken, 2) put a workaround in our codebase, which you'll have to maintain forever 3) create a fork of the codebase which you'll have to maintain forever, including merging upstream changes, or else forego future bugfixes and improvements or 4) contribute the fix back to the original project on company time, which means you'll never have to pay to maintain that code?"
A docs PR probably wouldn't satisfy this type of interviewer's curiosity. A code contribution large enough to be useful to an interviewer would likely require enough employer time that it'd be harder to sell your average employer on allowing you to open source it and/or contribute back.
A couple days ago I spent several hours puzzling through how to use an open source library. When I figured it out, I made a PR for documentation. Our closed-source app will benefit from having its dependencies better documented.
I do very little coding outside of work anymore, but I still have public contributions to show.