From Uncertainty to a Full-Time Offer: My Code for Good Journey with J.P. Morgan Chase

My team at CFG-25

If you had asked me at the beginning of 2025 whether a single application could take me through months of anxiety, silence, hope, and eventual relief, I would have brushed it off. But that is exactly what Code for Good by J.P. Morgan Chase became for me. Not just a hackathon. Not just a hiring process. But a real test of patience, communication, and persistence.

This is my complete journey, exactly as it happened.

How It All Started

I first came across Code for Good around February 2025. The opportunity was open to second- and third-year students. Second-year students were considered for summer internships, while third-year students were evaluated directly for full-time roles.

Since I was in my third year, I knew this wasn’t just another event — it could genuinely shape my future.

I filled out the application and submitted the best resume I could prepare at that time. Like most students, I moved on without overthinking it, not realizing how intense the coming months would become.

The Coding Round

The first shortlisting step was an online coding assessment conducted around March 2025. There were two medium-level DSA questions: one involving prefix-based logic and another related to a resource-list style problem.

The questions were fair but required clarity of thought. I stayed calm, focused on correctness, and managed to complete both successfully.

A few days later, I received the email confirming that I had cleared the round and was shortlisted for the next stage.

The HireVue Interview

The next step was an AI-based HireVue interview, scheduled between 4th and 7th April 2025. The format was simple: two behavioral questions, one minute to record each answer, with an option to reattempt once. I attempted the interview while traveling and expected it to be straightforward. However, something unexpected happened. Instead of receiving two questions, I only received one. There was no option to reattempt and no way to move forward. The interview simply ended. At that moment, I assumed my journey had ended there. Later, I learned that there had been a glitch in the interview flow. After reporting the issue and exchanging a few emails, I was eventually allowed a reattempt.

One Hour. One Final Chance.

This time, I didn’t overthink it. I treated the interview like a real conversation. The questions were:

• What do you do if you are expected to work on a tech stack you don’t know?
• How do you handle conflicts within a team?

I answered both using real experiences. For the second question, I spoke about a hackathon where my teammate and I had different assumptions about whether an API response would be in XML or JSON. We resolved the confusion through discussion, aligned on the decision, and improved communication for the rest of the project. When I submitted the interview, I felt something I hadn’t felt in weeks: peace.

The Code for Good Hackathon: Hyderabad

In June 2025, I received the email that mattered the most: I had been shortlisted for the Code for Good Hackathon, held in Hyderabad on June 28–29. Teams were officially assigned by J.P. Morgan Chase via email. Once I received the team list, I searched for my teammates on LinkedIn, connected with them, and we created a WhatsApp group to coordinate before the event. The hackathon itself was a 24-hour offline event with 33 teams participating. Problem statements were allotted on a first-come, first-serve basis, and multiple teams worked on the same problems.

This meant the real differentiator was not just the solution but how well the team executed and presented it. From the moment the hackathon started, the environment was incredibly well organized. The organizers ensured everything ran smoothly throughout the 24 hours — from logistics to team support. Even small things like the food arrangements and breaks were thoughtfully managed, which helped us stay energized during such an intense event. I primarily worked on the backend and parts of the frontend, but the hackathon was about much more than just writing code.

Collaboration played a huge role. I made sure to actively move around, help teammates whenever they needed support, and stay involved in different parts of the project as the solution evolved. Throughout the 24 hours, we interacted frequently with mentors. These interactions were not formal interviews — they felt more like conversations. Mentors would come to our table, ask about our approach, and challenge us with questions about the decisions we were making. These discussions were important because the mentors were not just evaluating the final product. They were observing how we think, how we solve problems, and how we communicate ideas. It required being present-minded, explaining decisions clearly, and ensuring that your perspective was heard within the team. It also became clear that they noticed how each member contributed whether through development, architecture discussions, or thoughtful conversations about the product. So I made sure to contribute actively in both technical implementation and solution discussions. By the end of the hackathon, our team had built a strong solution and successfully moved through the evaluation rounds. Out of the 33 participating teams, we finished as runner-ups, which was a moment we were extremely proud of. In the final round, we presented our solution on stage in front of the judges and other teams, explaining our approach, architecture, and the impact of what we built within those 24 hours. It was one of the most memorable moments of the entire journey.

Final Presentation and the Long Wait

After the hackathon ended, we had done everything we could. Then came the waiting period. Weeks passed without updates. Finally, on 12th August 2025, I received the email. I had been shortlisted for a Full-Time role at J.P. Morgan Chase, with the role starting in August 2026. After everything that had happened during the process — the uncertainty, the glitch, the waiting ….that email felt incredibly rewarding.

What This Journey Taught Me

This experience taught me that hiring processes are rarely linear or perfect. I learned the importance of professional follow-ups, honest communication, and staying composed even when things feel uncertain. More importantly, Code for Good is not just about writing code. It is about collaboration, ownership, confidence, and how you show up in conversations when no one is explicitly evaluating you. And one small lesson stayed with me: If something seems to have stopped, don’t assume it has ended. Sometimes what feels like a dead end is just one email away from moving forward again. Never hesitate to follow up professionally or ask for clarification. Opportunities often continue simply because someone chose to take that one extra step.