[4k]

Others here would be in far better position to advice you, but from what I can say, having an awesome github portfolio will go a long way to compensate for the other handicaps you mentioned.

Once you are there, I'd say the best way would be to find someone in your network who works at google, and get referred. If you don't know anyone, make contacts through various channels.

[xyzzyz]

Github portfolio might help one get the interview in the first place, but once you get your foot in the door, it is 99% useless. Hiring committee will only look at it if they are unable to give yes/no decision based on the data from the interviews. Preparing for interviews is much better strategy compared to creating stuff to post on Github.

[dominotw]

> , having an awesome github portfolio will go a long way to compensate for the other handicaps you mentioned.

Is this you personal experience?

I know for a fact that almost no one I interviewed with bothered to look at github. Some even admitted that asking for github is just a formality and that they don't have time or resources to evaluate it objectively.

[nerfhammer]

I concur with sibling commments that while a net positive a github profile is be unlikely to be given much weight at a FAANG company. Unless maybe it shows experience on something directly related to the particular team you're applying for. Performance in the interview is really what matters.

I also concur that getting a referral from an any employee that you might meet is the better than just blindly sending in your resume, though not as good as a strong referral (i.e. someone you've had direct experience working with before). You will get more attention from the HR side and the employee referring you will have a better idea of what teams will be relevant than the HR people will.