At least out in the Bay Area, software engineers are expected to have a decent portfolio of work visible on their Github profiles either from side projects or open source projects.

I can understand why the technical lead didn't go through with your application. Your lack of visible work makes her decision harder and riskier, which already puts you at a disadvantage when compared with other candidates.

At least out in the Bay Area, software engineers are expected to have a decent portfolio of work visible on a public source control platform (such as GitHub) containing code authored by you from either your small side projects or open source projects you contribute to.

I can understand why the technical lead didn't go through with your application. Your lack of visible work makes her decision harder and riskier, which already puts you at a disadvantage when compared with other candidates with this information at hand.

At least out in the Bay Area, software engineers are expected to have a decent portfolio of work visible on their Github profiles either from side projects or open source projects. I can understand why the technical lead didn't go through with your application--your lack of visible work makes his decision harder and riskier.

At least out in the Bay Area, software engineers are expected to have a decent portfolio of work visible on their Github profiles either from side projects or open source projects. 

I can understand why the technical lead didn't go through with your application. Your lack of visible work makes her decision harder and riskier, which already puts you at a disadvantage when compared with other candidates.