Need some career guidance

I'm a 2026 Mechanical Engineering graduate who transitioned into software development.

I recently completed an SDE internship at a startup, but I wasn't converted to full-time.

It's now been around 3 months since my internship ended, and I've been actively looking for software development jobs. I've applied to quite a lot of openings, but I haven't received even one interview call so far.

I'm trying to understand what I might be doing wrong and what I should prioritize from here.

I have a few questions:

1. Referrals and getting interview calls

How important are referrals for freshers?

I haven't really figured out how to get referrals. Should I message employees directly on LinkedIn? How should I approach them?

Also, is it realistically possible to get interview calls just by applying directly through LinkedIn, Naukri, company career pages, etc., without a referral? Or are referrals generally important for getting your application noticed?

I've mostly been applying without referrals so far, but haven't received an interview call.

2. Job-search strategy

I've mainly been applying through LinkedIn, Naukri and company career pages.

Should I be approaching this differently? For example, should I focus more on:

• Referrals

• Startups/smaller companies

• Off-campus opportunities

• Direct company applications

• Networking

I'd like to understand what actually works for freshers/non-CS graduates.

3. What do companies expect from a fresher's projects?

I'm more interested in knowing what companies actually expect to see in a fresher's projects.

Do projects need to be unique or "spectacular", or is a well-built practical project enough?

Basically, what makes a project "good enough" for a fresher applying for SDE roles?

4. How much CS fundamentals should I study?

I'm currently studying:

• OOP

• DBMS

• OS

• Computer Networks

• SQL

• HTTP/REST APIs

I'm not sure how deeply I should study these topics.

Should I aim for a strong understanding of the fundamentals, or should I mainly focus on commonly asked interview questions and concepts?

5. How deeply should I focus on my tech stack?

I already have exposure to technologies like MERN, Kafka, Docker, SQL, etc.

My confusion is about how much time I should spend becoming strong in these technologies while I'm still job hunting.

Should I spend significant time going deep into the technologies I already know, or is a good working understanding enough, with deeper preparation when I actually get an interview?

Basically, how should I balance:

Tech stack vs CS fundamentals vs projects vs job applications?

I don't want to spend months going extremely deep into technologies if I'm not even reaching the interview stage.

6. How should I divide my time?

If I have around 8–10 hours available each day, how should I realistically divide my time between:

• CS fundamentals

• Projects

• Tech stack

• Job applications

• Referrals/networking

I feel like I have a decent foundation in DSA and development, but I'm not sure where I should be putting most of my effort right now.

7. What would you do in my position?

My current situation is:

2026 Mechanical Engineering graduate → transitioned into software → completed an SDE internship → not converted → ~3 months of job searching → 0 interviews.

If you were in my position, what would you change first?

I'm looking for practical advice rather than generic motivation. I'd especially appreciate input from developers, recruiters, freshers, or people who have transitioned from a non-CS background into software development.

I mainly want to understand what I should prioritize over the next few months and whether I'm spending my time in the wrong areas.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to share their experience.