> Network aggressively and be likeable. You never know when that linkedin connection from a shit job 3 years ago will throw you a bone. I know everybody on HN really likes their leetcode but if you have an inside reference, the interview is reduced to just a vibe check.
++1 this. Couldn't have said better myself. I went more than 10 years not having to apply anywhere, switching jobs just by referral - interviews felt like friendly meetings. Only broke that streak when interviewing for a job in another country.
Maybe I'm just not that good at networking, but I haven't found this to be true. Networking can let you bypass the very top of the funnel: Where you're pissing your resume into the void. And that's significant! But I've never "networked" myself into a job. Your standard Software Engineer peers in other companies just don't tend to have the power to hire. They may know which jobs are real, which ones are good, and might be able to help coach / steer you the right way, but I've never seen a case where I got an actual job offer from a peer without at least still having to go through the "phone screen + whiteboard hazing" grind.
The best I've ever got out of networking was, "Thanks for re-connecting! You should apply for job #41190, since I particularly know that hiring manager is really motivated to hire! Prepare for questions A, B, and maybe C. Happy to do a mock interview. Good luck!" And I got the job, so that's great! But, have realistic expectations. You're not going to bypass the queue and get an offer letter just because you're good friends with one of that company's Senior Software Engineers.
EDIT: Maybe it's different at the ultra-high level, like "VP of Engineering." I have no idea, never been up to that level and don't have peers there. But I can't imagine that a "VP of Engineering" candidate has to do phone screens, and grind at the whiteboard, and have to deal with recruiters and ghosting. Maybe they don't even have to apply and get traditionally interviewed like us commoners. Who knows? Any VPs of Engineering on HN care to chime in and describe how hiring works at your level?
We could be talking about different things, but networking at conferences and professional events has been productive for me. I'm talking real-life socializing here, not LinkedIn. You can size people up quickly and determine whether they are competent/sane without a lengthy interview process. It's less about having friends in high places than sharing war stories and establishing a rapport with like-minded people in an informal, semi-work-related context. You're not really trying to find a job or employees, but you might meet enough people and your contacts eventually become an organic part of the hiring or job-hunting process.
I've been going to tech meetups and talking to people there for, well, many years. It has never made any difference whatsoever in my job search. It hasn't surfaced any companies for me to apply to, it hasn't introduced me to any hiring managers, and it certainly didn't give me any behind-the-scenes insight into what working somewhere is like.
I've been going to events in the SF Bay area. Maybe you meant something different by "professional events," or maybe you're in an area with a higher concentration of tech than San Francisco.
++1 this. Couldn't have said better myself. I went more than 10 years not having to apply anywhere, switching jobs just by referral - interviews felt like friendly meetings. Only broke that streak when interviewing for a job in another country.