programming is all about learning. when i was in high school, i started my first open-source project, an smtp server, and put it up on sourceforge. it was the crappiest C i've ever written, and even djb (of qmail fame) sent me a mail about security bugs in it. it's been a talking point ever since.

if i was hiring, i'd want to see proof that the candidate built something. it doesn't need to be a huge open-source project. even some code that only you find a use for, is better than not having any code out there.