You're not behind
Most first-years assume every posting requires "1-2 years of experience" and give up before applying. In practice, first-year and sophomore-specific programs exist at nearly every major tech company, bank, and consulting firm, specifically because they want to build a pipeline before junior year gets competitive. The application volume is lower, and so is the bar: recruiters are hiring for potential, not a finished resume.
The timeline, if you're applying for next summer
Build your resume and one real project. Even a small one, like a script, a website, or a data analysis you did for fun, beats an empty "Projects" section.
Apply to first-year and sophomore-specific programs (search "[company] early talent" or "[company] discover program"). Start reaching out to alumni on LinkedIn; see the outreach templates linked below for exact wording.
Rolling applications open widely. Apply broadly, not just to brand names. A smaller company that actually replies is worth more than a dream company that never does.
Interviews for the roles that responded. Expect one phone screen and sometimes a technical round, rarely a full onsite loop for first-year-specific roles.
Decide. If you got nothing, that's normal. Start building for the fall instead of waiting for spring to try again.
The one project that matters more than your GPA
You don't need five projects. You need one you can talk about for ten minutes without running out of things to say: what you built, what broke, what you'd do differently. Recruiters reading a first-year resume are looking for a signal that you finish things and can explain your own decisions, not a portfolio. Pick something slightly too ambitious, ship an ugly version, and be ready to talk about the part that didn't work.
Networking without a network
You don't know any alumni yet. That's fine, you're not supposed to. Search your school's name alongside a company on LinkedIn, filter to alumni, and message five people a week. Most won't respond, and that's expected: a 20% reply rate on cold outreach is good, not bad. The goal isn't a referral on message one; it's a 15-minute call where someone tells you what their team actually works on, which makes your eventual application specific instead of generic.
The cold email that got 3 replies out of 5
"Hi [name], I'm a first-year at [school] studying [major] and found your profile through the alumni network. I'm trying to learn more about what [team/role] actually looks like day to day before I apply anywhere, and would love 15 minutes if you have it sometime in the next couple weeks. No worries at all if not, happy to work around your schedule."
Short, specific, low-pressure, and it asks for information, not a favor.
What to do if you strike out completely
A lot of first-years apply nowhere in the fall, get discouraged in spring when everyone else has offers, and assume they're behind for good. They're not. Research positions with professors, part-time roles, TA-ing, even a strong personal project over the summer, all of it is real experience for next year's applications. And next year, you'll actually have something to put on the resume beyond coursework.