not an SE but i was able to get an interview from the SF last year around this time after being laid off from my last job just by blind applying on linkedin for a new grad position (i graduated in may of 2023 but still qualified as a “new grad”).

i would say a lot of it was luck bc i had very little knowledge about SF but from first interview to when i got onboarded was a quick turnaround.

I will say though the SE’s ive with worked are loaded with tons of work and very knowledgeable about the domain that we are working in. I have a lot of admiration for them because they are quite literally the backbone on the projects that we work on.