One possibility is that, because there are a lot of people with various certifications and degrees that cannot, in fact, actually program, they are suspicious of your lack of experience. They may have been burned before by people who supposedly had training, but cannot program.<p>So, make a software project, that you can show. Best if it is something you can actually use somehow, like a database-backed website for your personal collection of something, or your hobby, or what-have-you. Something real, so that you encounter real-life tradeoffs and design decisions, that you can talk about when it comes up in an interview. But, not so big that you can't actually finish it in your available time.<p>As a side benefit, this will keep your skills from eroding with the passing of time since Dec 2018, which is also good, both in an of itself, and also to help you answer interview questions.