Hi, so I’m a freshman studying math/cs at a no-name school (when I mean no name, I mean someone living in the same city as the school probably doesnt know the school exists) The school is quite old (150+yrs). Suprisingly enough, the curriculum is quite challenging and I’ve learnt a lot within the short time I’ve spent here. My family’s expected contribution is practically $0 so I chose the school because I got a full ride there. The concern I have is that when applying to internships online (I have self-taught experience with Python & Js with pretty standard guthub portfolio for a freshman) I’m sure that I wouldn’t get noticed by anyone because of the school I attend. Sometimes i feel like my career is dying when it has barely started. I’m pretty confident with my coding skills (LC, hackerrank and side projects) but getting interviews will my greatest challenge. I just can’t wrap my head around how to go about catching the attention of recruiters. I need advice from anyone. Thank you.
I can guarantee you 50%+ of us came from a no-name school, we don’t look to the school name, we look to the projects/apps/code you did and your performance in the interview is all that matters.
Thank you for your input. I appreciate it.
Which companies have you been applying to? Obviously competition is high with big companies. If all you need is initial experience, go with smaller companies, like start-ups or smaller unicorns. Build up your experience, then try bigger companies. Take small steps to progress. Don't try to take a big jump at once. A more effective way to get noticed by recruiters is always through referrals. Seek help from and network with software engineers at meet ups. To do this successfully, you will need a thick skin to survive.
Thank you for your input. How do you suggest I reach out to startups given that most of them don’t post their job openings online?
Mmm... internships with small start-ups would be a little tricky to find online. For unicorns, you can check Forbes cloud 100 list. Go to each company's careers page or find their recruiters on LinkedIn. You will need to spend time and effort. So be patient and obviously you will receive many rejections or ghosting. Don't be discouraged though. If you are interested in finding a full time role, I would recommend Triplebyte. A few months ago I passed their screening, and they have hundreds of companies on their systems. Those companies range from early startups to series e unicorns, and some public ones like Snap, Apple Siri. Quite an interesting bunch. If you are trying triplebyte, be well prepared. Their screening is although not super difficult, the process is similar to a technical phone interview which last for 2 hours. Writing code, debugging, lots of Q&As of general knowledge. One you pass, plenty of opportunities, and you will skip phone interviews and get direct onsite interviews.
You have a github portfolio and good coding skills- you’ll do just fine. Get your resume reviewed/edited by someone in the industry and apply early and everywhere. Also read eng blogs at companies you’re interested in and reach out to the people who write them. Get a LinkedIn premium trial to message people. Find/guess email addresses for recruiters and engineers (try hunter.io) and cold email with an ask about getting to know more about their company and leading to a referral. Don’t be afraid to follow up on referrals after a couple weeks- they’re the best shot at getting interviews. Don’t be discouraged by people ignoring emails or messages, just keep at it
You don't need linkedin premium to message people. There is limit. That is rip off. You can add message when iniviting people to be your network.
Hunter.io finder can't search recruiters' names. They don't find the right emails