Hi all. I am currently a college student in the U.S. who is about to graduate. I apply myself to learn about game engine technology and devote a lot of time and effort to work on my game (Monter). However, so far I have been rejected from every single internship I have applied for, all of which are offered by game engine companies such as Unity and Epic Games. I always thought that demonstrating my passion to learn and my programming experience by showing my personal projects would make me a good candidate when applying for jobs. But it seems like I'm deluded.
But I'm confused: if showing my passion and experience with my personal project doesn't make me a good candidate, what does? I've asked similar questions on gamedev channels, and some people answered that I should have a lot of tech demos. But isn't a game itself a combination of tech? Therefore I'm seeking guidance and advice on what I should do to be a desirable candidate.
I've also considered falling back and apply for some other programming jobs that I'm interested in, such as graphics. So I also want to ask the more generic version of the same question: how to make myself more desirable when applying to programming jobs in general? Any help would be appreciated, thank you.