Step 5 — Where the jobs actually get posted

Volume is a trap. A hundred cold applications lose to four warm ones, every time. Ranked by what actually converted for me:

The ranking

1. Someone who's met you. A former colleague forwarding your resume internally beats everything else combined.
2. The company's own careers page. Posted earlier, read more carefully, fewer applicants.
3. Recruiters who specialise in your stack. Not the ones who message "Dear Candidate."
4. Job boards. High volume, low hit-rate. Use them to find companies, then apply direct.

Manufacturing the warm intro

You don't have a network here yet. You build one by being visibly useful in public: answer things, publish what you learn, show up to the meetup twice. Not "networking" — just being someone whose name a person can recall in a hiring meeting.

The job you get is usually from the person you helped eight months before you needed anything.