Research Coverage to Showcase to Employers

I, like many other on this forum, am trying to break into the equity research arena. I'm working on some of the common suggestions offered on this forum (MBA, CFA, etc.), but one idea I've been tossing around is covering an industry (models, reports, notes...the whole shebang) on my own time and showcasing some of that to employers, hoping to help me get that research position.

Two questions:

1) Good idea? Or not worth the time commitment it will take?

2) In trying to determine which industry to cover, I've mostly heard, "Cover an industry that interests you." While I think that this is important, I also think it needs to be something that would interest THEM, as they are the ones whose attention I need to grab. Any suggestions on good industries to cover considering my motivations? BTW, if I were to go with something that interests ME, it would probably be the gaming industry.

Thanks the help. While this is my first time posting, I have been lurking and find this forum to be very informative for people in positions similar to mine, so thanks for that.