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Marks show how a student performed in a set of exams, on a set syllabus, under time pressure. That matters, but it does not show how they would handle an open problem with no answer key. A project is closer to that. Someone had to choose what to build, decide how, deal with what went wrong and finish it. All of that can be discussed in an interview.
Decisions. Why this approach and not another? What did you give up? A student who can explain why they picked a simple solution over a complicated one shows judgement, which marks cannot.
Handling difficulty. Every project hits something unexpected: a dataset that is messy, a part that does not arrive, a bug nobody can explain. How the student tells the story of that moment reveals persistence, honesty and how they think under pressure.
Communication. Explaining a project to a stranger is a skill. A student who can describe the problem plainly, say what they did and answer questions without hiding is easier to work with, and employers know it.
Working with others. Most projects are team projects, so there is evidence of how the student shared work, resolved disagreement and kept to a deadline. The way a student speaks about teammates says a lot.
Finishing. Employers value people who complete things. A small project that works from start to end, and is understood by its author, is more convincing than an ambitious one that is half done.
For students, the lesson is to prepare for these questions. Be ready to explain the decisions, the difficulties, your part and what you would do differently. For faculty, it is a reason to encourage students to reflect on their projects in these terms, for example by asking each team to write a short note on what went wrong and what they learned. For employers, it suggests asking about the project in an open way: not 'which technologies did you use?' but 'what was the hardest decision, and what did you do about it?'