I have never relied on traditional interview processes to get a job. No DSA rounds, no system design grilling, no multi-step loops. Almost every role I have landed came through a single conversation focused entirely on the projects I had built.
The reason is simple: proof of work makes interviews optional.
I didn’t come from a big-name college. There was no built-in reputation attached to where I studied, and no advantage from well known tags like IIT, GSOC, or Big Tech internships. Those signals help - they make it easier for someone to assume you are capable.
Since I didn’t have those signals, I had to create my own.
My approach was to build things, consistently, and put them out into the world. Over time, that body of work became my credibility.
Every job I have gotten followed the same pattern:
Merkle Science One conversation. No coding tests. We talked about the projects I had built in college and how I approached solving problems.
My second job (AI infra company) Again, just a couple of calls. The discussion centered around my previous work and the systems I had built.
My current projects My work on Water is what opened the door. The project itself did the heavy lifting.
In every case, employers evaluated me based on what I had already built, not how well I remembered algorithms.
The only consistent strategy I have followed is building things that interested me. Not all of them were complex, but they were all real.
FitMe — fitness assistant using pose detection (later published in IEEE)
VirtueX — virtual try-on system using a laptop camera
TigerDB — a simple key-value database created to understand database internals
CricLang — a toy programming language built while exploring compilers
Water - a multi-agent orchestration framework built purely out of curiosity
These are just a few of the projects I have built. I have built many more projects that are not listed here.
None of these were built for interviews. They were built because I wanted to understand how things worked.
That curiosity produced a track record that employers could evaluate directly.
One thing people often miss: building is only half of it.
If your work isn’t visible, it can’t help you.
You don’t need to be loud, but you need to be present:
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Share what you’re building
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Explain how it works
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Show your progress
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Post your learnings
You don’t need viral posts. You just need to put your work where it can be seen by the right people.
This is how I ended up with opportunities — not by optimizing for interviews, but by consistently publishing my work.
Proof of work gives people:
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A clear signal of your skills
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Evidence of your ability to execute
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Insight into how you think
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Confidence that you can deliver
These are stronger signals than a single interview round or a competitive exam score.
Conclusion
You don’t need elite credentials to stand out. You need a track record.
If you consistently build and share your work:
People will know what you’re capable of
Opportunities will come through conversations, not assessments
You won’t need to “perform” in traditional interview formats
Everything meaningful in my career so far has come from this simple principle:
Build real things. Share them. Let the work speak.