* Can actually produce something
* Cares about the craft of software development (learning the why behind things instead of just copy-pasting examples until it works)
* Has the initiative to be self-directed (learning and growing and pushing through obstacles instead of just waiting for someone to tell them answers)
* Understands how to work with other humans
Everything else will come naturally if the above are true. What will make someone stand out is showing that they are outstanding in one of the above categories. Almost any side project will show the first category. A side project that involves some complexity under the hood that you can talk about and talk about the struggles of learning it is even better because it can show some of the others.