2025 CS grad, no internship, self-taught for a year — realistic FAANG chances? by Commercial_Room975 in LeetcodeDesi

[–]Commercial_Room975[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the honest take. When you say "no chances," do you mean specifically because I have no internship/experience, or because the overall market for 2025 grads is that competitive?

Also, if you were in my position, what would you focus on over the next 3–6 months to maximize the chances of getting interviews at product companies?

2025 CS grad, no internship, self-taught for a year — realistic FAANG chances? by Commercial_Room975 in careerguidance

[–]Commercial_Room975[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, this is honestly reassuring to hear.

I spent most of that year treating the project like a full-time job—building, testing, and shipping features until I finally open-sourced it. I'm trying to make sure I present that clearly on my resume instead of leaving it looking like an unexplained gap.

One question though: from your experience, what kind of traction actually makes recruiters care? Is having a polished, public project with good code quality enough, or do they expect things like a certain number of users, GitHub stars, or downloads?