Building NLP Research Profile for PhD Applications (No Prior Publications)

I recently applied to CMU's LTI PhD program in NLP but wasn't accepted. I understand my shortcomings:
Limited research experience: CS background with Masters, 5 years industry experience (software engineer, data analyst).
Basic NLP projects: Master's coursework (Advanced ML, NLP) and basic projects (sentiment analysis, music genre classification).
No research publications: I acknowledge the importance of publications in top programs.
Given the approaching application cycle (applications start September 2024), I'm eager to strengthen my profile. Since top conferences have passed …

advanced analysis analyst applications basic building classification cmu data data analyst engineer experience industry languagetechnology master masters music nlp phd prior profile projects publications research sentiment sentiment analysis software software engineer