>You really have to make yourself stand out, and proof of work is a great way to do that (personal websites showing work, etc).
Sounds like you work in Web? Pretty much impossible to do that in games while looking for a senior role. They all want shipped professional games, but shipped games by their nature are NDA'd (and larger studios don't care about generalists who can ship their own indie). Sometimes you can't even talk about specific parts of a game you worked in.
In my junior years personal projects were invaluable, though. Nothing better to show you can code your way out of a paper bag than making a few game jam games.
Sounds like you work in Web? Pretty much impossible to do that in games while looking for a senior role. They all want shipped professional games, but shipped games by their nature are NDA'd (and larger studios don't care about generalists who can ship their own indie). Sometimes you can't even talk about specific parts of a game you worked in.
In my junior years personal projects were invaluable, though. Nothing better to show you can code your way out of a paper bag than making a few game jam games.