> Where I live in Europe 90%+ of workers barring those currently in academia, have no public work because most companies don't publish their work, so you'd never hire anyone with that barrier.

This mirrors my experience as well.

I tend to do some side projects on the side but, seeing as I do them for fun, I don't take them as seriously. I'd hate to be judged based on work like this over something I'd do in a professional setting.

That said I understand why this is an issue and seeing a (representative) code sample is invaluable.