exactly how i'd get my first software engineering internship if i had to start from scratch

the zero bullshit guide - no gatekeeping.

honestly there was 2 ways i could approach this, option 1 would’ve been to just give super generic advice that seems like its helpful but when you really start trying to apply it it’s not and option 2, what i have decided to go with is to give incredibly practical, semi-unethical advice on how’d id go about getting my first software engineering internship if i had to start from scratch

firstly, just some of my credentials, im currently a software engineer at amazon web services, my team is responsible for this: https://health.aws.amazon.com/health/status and i interned at amazon last year where i worked on the algorithms behind amazon’s insane customer support experience, routing cases to the correct agent’s etc.

so since i said we are starting from scratch that is exactly where im going to start. i’m going to do this from my POV but obviously apply this to your own life.

since i’ve currently got absolutely nothing on my CV there are 2 places i’m going to start. firstly i’m going to start working on projects, and yes in 2026 i understand AI has increased the expectations of what a side project looks like but what i’ve found really impresses employers is having a project that is 1) deployed - meaning it’s live on a domain & people can access it. even if absolutely nobody ever accesses it that does not matter. what matters is that for some reason when an employer can actually go to your site and use what you built it tends to get them all excited. 2) if i can manage to get a couple of people using it then that’s just extra points.

so by now i’ve worked on a couple projects, i’ve built a custom version of chess which im going to call obstacle chess where you are allowed to place bombs, walls and trap doors throughout the match, this has been deployed and can be accessed. i’ve used my creativity to show that i’m not just re-creating what can easily be found on google but adding my own spin to it.

now what i’m going to do is start looking for tangential jobs that don’t require software engineering experience, i’ve decided to start tutoring maths & computer science to people in the year below me in university, initially i’ll offer to do it for free but then eventually i’ll start charging. this will look great on my CV.

something else i’m going to start doing is contacting every single person i know and asking them if they’d like me to re-do their website for free, i’m going to ask my uncle since he owns a construction business and his website could use some work, but i could genuinely ask anybody. great, I can now add “Junior Web Developer - Scribante Construction” to my CV, wow!

now that i’ve got a basic CV together, i’ve got 2 different work experiences listed, ive got a couple projects, i’ve got the degree im currently studying and all the technologies & languages i know this is when i’ll start personally contacting small companies in my area, make sure you stay very local for now, asking if they’re consider hiring you to help with their IT, bonus points if there’s an software company near you. try to find the email’s of the higher up’s and send them an email directly with a short message and attach your CV.

realistically nobody’s first internship is that enjoyable, i know mine wasn’t, but its a stepping stone to getting into the big leagues.

once i’ve worked at around 2-3 local business during the holidays, potentially doing pretty lame, probably useless, but very valuable for my CV work this is when you have a good enough CV for it to stop being the bottle neck.

if you can check everything off this check list i’d say you’re good to start applying to proper software engineering internship roles.

• 2-3 tangential roles related to software engineering at local/no-name companies

• 3-4 projects that are deployed (or were at a point)

now the next step would be to start applying for roles and getting interviews.

genuinely i am going to just start applying everywhere, looking through linkedin, going to the career fair and socialising with recruiters, straight up just googling or asking chatgpt to find you roles to apply for. dont feel scared to apply for roles you think you aren’t cut out for, let them reject you instead of you rejecting yourself.

patience is definitely key here but throughout this process of applying for roles i’d be preparing for the interview when i eventually get one.

what that looks like for me is first following this blog post to the tee:

https://interviewguide.dev/

not even going to lie and say i can explain how to interview better than the guide above can, go give it a read after this, it helped me so much. so much value in one blog post.

another great resource for getting cracked at leetcode is

https://neetcode.io/

i paid for the pro-subscription and i was on the fence initially but that investment has produced 100x returns since it helped me eventually secure a full-time role at amazon.

once you’ve smashed the interview and secured the role you’ve basically got your foot in the door.

building up your CV and experience is a long process but one that will pay you back 100s of times over in the future. you are front-loading the effort now in order to reap the benefits later in life.

i hope this guide was semi-helpful and a break from the generic bullshit you normally see online from people trying to explain how to get your first internship. i am not gate-keeping any information. i want you to succeed as bad as i want myself to succeed