I like your story about the photobooth software. I think it has aspects that can be discussed and further expanded during an interview that should get at things people are interested in.
[I almost deleted what I wrote below because it reads negative. I don't mean to be negative. Try to read it with a matter-of-fact voice.]
I'm in a similar boat to you. I can't show other people any of the projects I've ever worked on. On top of that, I struggle with "pride". It's not that I don't "take pride" in my work, in that I try to achieve the highest quality possible. I do that. However, I am not proud of any of the things I've worked on. The resulting objects are not things that I think are valuable, so there's nothing there for me to be proud of. I created them (or helped create them). They exist. But that's it. Apparently other people have found the objects valuable, but I never have. It's difficult to find an exemplar using an emotion I am not experiencing.
Anyway, when faced with a question like that, I have one particular professional experience that I can talk about in specific terms. It's not even a project. It's just an aspect of a project, but at least it is something I can talk about in detail with some enthusiasm that hopefully satisfies the interviewer.
An aspect of this problem is that when I'm not working, I struggle to do things related to engineering and development. I tend to spend my time on family, friends, chores, and, if I have time left, other hobbies unrelated to my profession. If I don't do the "other hobbies", I tend towards feeling burned out. So there's very little spare bandwidth for developing a portfolio away from my professional work. (I know. I know! I'm just not passionate enough.) I use that very little spare bandwidth for staying abreast of the industry or learning things that interest me since I've never worked anyplace that wants to invest in my continuing education. However, that learning doesn't generally result in anything significant that I can show people unless it gets used... at work. And so it continues...
[I almost deleted what I wrote below because it reads negative. I don't mean to be negative. Try to read it with a matter-of-fact voice.]
I'm in a similar boat to you. I can't show other people any of the projects I've ever worked on. On top of that, I struggle with "pride". It's not that I don't "take pride" in my work, in that I try to achieve the highest quality possible. I do that. However, I am not proud of any of the things I've worked on. The resulting objects are not things that I think are valuable, so there's nothing there for me to be proud of. I created them (or helped create them). They exist. But that's it. Apparently other people have found the objects valuable, but I never have. It's difficult to find an exemplar using an emotion I am not experiencing.
Anyway, when faced with a question like that, I have one particular professional experience that I can talk about in specific terms. It's not even a project. It's just an aspect of a project, but at least it is something I can talk about in detail with some enthusiasm that hopefully satisfies the interviewer.
An aspect of this problem is that when I'm not working, I struggle to do things related to engineering and development. I tend to spend my time on family, friends, chores, and, if I have time left, other hobbies unrelated to my profession. If I don't do the "other hobbies", I tend towards feeling burned out. So there's very little spare bandwidth for developing a portfolio away from my professional work. (I know. I know! I'm just not passionate enough.) I use that very little spare bandwidth for staying abreast of the industry or learning things that interest me since I've never worked anyplace that wants to invest in my continuing education. However, that learning doesn't generally result in anything significant that I can show people unless it gets used... at work. And so it continues...
clacke@libranet.de ❌, Craig Maloney likes this.