{"title":"Where to Apply","description":null,"content":"Most people start their job search on LinkedIn. That is a reasonable place to begin. It has real jobs, recruiters use it every day, and it is easy to search.\n\nThe problem is when LinkedIn becomes the whole search.\n\nThe easiest postings to find are often the most crowded. A role that appears on LinkedIn, Indeed, and several other job sites can receive hundreds of applications quickly. You should not ignore those roles, but you also should not spend your entire search competing in the busiest part of the market.\n\nYour goal is simple: use large job boards for reach, then add a few more direct or focused sources where your resume has a better chance of being reviewed carefully.\n\n---\n\n# Building a Search Mix\n\nFor every job source, ask two questions:\n\n1. How many relevant roles can I find here?\n2. How crowded is each application likely to be?\n\nLinkedIn gives you volume. Company careers pages give you the most direct route into the company's hiring system. Startup and niche boards usually have fewer postings, but the roles may be easier to judge. Referrals and recruiter conversations can sometimes bring you into the process before a posting is widely seen.\n\nA practical search uses a mix of these sources. You do not need twenty job boards. You need a small set you can check consistently.\n\nFor most candidates, a good weekly mix looks like this:\n\n- **One broad job board** for volume, usually LinkedIn.\n- **Two focused sources** that match your target market, such as startups, remote roles, roles with salary context, or a specific technical niche.\n- **Company careers pages** for companies you already care about.\n- **Referral and recruiter outreach** running at the same time as applications.\n\nThis gives you enough coverage without turning your search into a long list of sites you rarely check well.\n\n---\n\n# Job Sources and When to Use Them\n\nNo job board can fix an unfocused search. Each source has a different purpose. Use the ones that fit the kind of company and role you want.\n\n\n| Source | Best for | Watch out for |\n|--------|----------|---------------|\n| LinkedIn | Broad search, recruiter visibility, larger companies, and mid-size companies | Crowded postings, especially one-click applications |\n| Company careers pages | Applying directly to companies on your target list | Slower to check unless you keep a simple list |\n| Wellfound | Startup roles, including remote and early-stage roles | Smaller companies may have less structure and less predictable hiring processes |\n| Y Combinator Jobs | YC-backed startups | Limited to YC companies |\n| Hacker News \"Who is Hiring?\" | Engineering-heavy startup roles and smaller teams | Manual searching and fewer filters |\n| Levels.fyi Jobs | Roles where salary context matters | Smaller selection than the largest job boards |\n| Curated or niche boards | Specialized roles like ML, security, data, DevOps, infrastructure, design, or frontend | Fewer listings, but often a clearer fit |\n\n\nThe pattern matters more than the exact list. Use broad boards to see what is out there. Use focused sources to find roles that match you more closely.\n\nFor example, a backend engineer targeting startups should not rely only on LinkedIn. They might use LinkedIn for general coverage, Wellfound for startup roles, Y Combinator Jobs for YC companies, and the Hacker News monthly hiring thread for smaller teams that may not advertise as widely.\n\n---\n\n# Setting Up Your Search Routine\n\n### Keep LinkedIn, but limit the time you spend there\n\nLinkedIn is useful. It has many postings, company pages, recruiter activity, and alerts. It is also easy to lose an hour scrolling through the same kinds of roles.\n\nUse LinkedIn to discover roles and companies. Set alerts for your main searches. Apply when the role is a good fit. Then move on to your other sources instead of refreshing LinkedIn all day.\n\n### Pick two focused sources\n\nChoose based on your target.\n\nIf you want startups, use sources like Wellfound, Y Combinator Jobs, and Hacker News. If compensation transparency matters, add Levels.fyi. If you are targeting a specific field, look for a board dedicated to that field.\n\nThe goal is not to collect job boards. The goal is to build a routine you can repeat without getting overwhelmed.\n\n### Apply through the company site when possible\n\nIf you find a role on a job board, open the company's careers page and confirm the role is still active. If it is listed there, apply through the company site unless the posting clearly sends you somewhere else.\n\nThis does two useful things. First, it helps you avoid stale listings. Second, it puts your application into the company's own recruiting system instead of relying on a copied listing from another site.\n\n### Search the Hacker News monthly thread\n\nHacker News has a monthly \"Who is Hiring?\" thread. It is plain text and not especially polished, but many serious engineering teams still post there.\n\nOpen the thread and use your browser's search to look for your stack, location, remote preference, or domain. Try terms like `Python`, `React`, `backend`, `security`, `remote`, `Bengaluru`, `London`, or `New York`.\n\nDo not read the whole thread line by line. Search it like a database.\n\n### Build a short company list\n\nThe next lesson covers this in more detail, but start now. When you see a company that looks interesting, add it to a simple list with three notes:\n\n- Company name\n- Role or team you might fit\n- Source where you found it\n\nOnce a company is on your list, check its careers page every week or two. You do not need a complex spreadsheet at this stage. A simple note is enough.\n\n### Work referrals and recruiter outreach at the same time\n\nMany candidates make the mistake of applying cold for weeks, getting discouraged, and only then trying referrals.\n\nStart earlier. If a company is interesting enough to apply to, it is worth checking whether you have a referral path or a recruiter contact. You do not need to know someone deeply. A thoughtful message to a former colleague, alumni contact, community member, or recruiter can help you learn more about the role and may get your resume a closer look.\n\nHere is the simple map:\n\n\n```mermaid\nflowchart TD\n A[Job search sources]:::start --> B[Large public boards
LinkedIn, Indeed]:::broad\n A --> C[Focused boards
Wellfound, YC Jobs, Levels.fyi]:::focused\n A --> D[Company careers pages
direct applications]:::direct\n A --> E[People channels
referrals, recruiters, hiring managers]:::people\n\n B --> B2[Most listings
usually most crowded]:::note\n C --> C2[Fewer listings
often better fit]:::note\n D --> D2[Best source of truth
good for target companies]:::note\n E --> E2[Less visible
often higher trust]:::note\n\n classDef start fill:#00ceff,stroke:#000,color:#000\n classDef broad fill:#ffa94d,stroke:#000,color:#000\n classDef focused fill:#ffd43b,stroke:#000,color:#000\n classDef direct fill:#38d9a9,stroke:#000,color:#000\n classDef people fill:#69db7c,stroke:#000,color:#000\n classDef note fill:#38d9a9,stroke:#000,color:#000\n```\n\n\nAs you move from public boards toward direct and people-based channels, your search becomes more intentional. This takes more effort than clicking Apply, which is why many candidates avoid it. But from the hiring side, a familiar name, a thoughtful message, or a credible referral can make a resume easier to trust.\n\n---\n\n# The Hidden Market\n\n\"Hidden market\" can sound like a secret system. It is not. It simply means some hiring conversations begin before a role is widely posted.\n\nThis is normal. A manager may ask the team if they know anyone strong. A recruiter may search LinkedIn before a job is advertised. An employee referral may be reviewed before the general applicant pool. Sometimes a role is posted publicly after one or two candidates are already in process.\n\nThis does not mean every company has secret jobs waiting for you. It means hiring often starts with people before it becomes a public listing.\n\nYou reach this part of the market through:\n\n- Referrals from people who know the company.\n- Recruiter inbound from a clear, searchable LinkedIn profile.\n- Direct outreach to recruiters or hiring managers.\n- Communities where teams post informally before using larger boards.\n\nThe diagram below contrasts the two ways your resume can reach the same open role.\n\n\n```mermaid\nflowchart LR\n NEED[Team needs to hire]:::start --> PUBLIC[Public posting
LinkedIn, boards]:::public\n NEED --> HIDDEN[People first
referrals, outreach]:::hidden\n PUBLIC --> POOL[Large applicant pool
high competition]:::note\n HIDDEN --> EARLY[Early conversation
fewer candidates]:::note\n POOL --> ROLE[Same open role]:::role\n EARLY --> ROLE\n\n classDef start fill:#00ceff,stroke:#000,color:#000\n classDef public fill:#ffa94d,stroke:#000,color:#000\n classDef hidden fill:#69db7c,stroke:#000,color:#000\n classDef note fill:#ffd43b,stroke:#000,color:#000\n classDef role fill:#38d9a9,stroke:#000,color:#000\n```\n\n\nThe public path puts you in the crowded pool once the role is advertised. The people-first path can reach the team earlier, when fewer candidates are in the conversation and a credible introduction carries more weight.\n\nThe advantage is not that the role is easier. The advantage is timing and trust. If fewer candidates are in the conversation, and someone credible has pointed the company toward you, your resume is more likely to get careful attention.\n\nRun this alongside job board applications from the first week of your search. Do not wait until you feel desperate. Outreach works best when it is calm, specific, and respectful.\n\n---\n\n# Mistakes That Waste Your Search\n\nThe errors below all push your effort toward the same crowded channel, usually LinkedIn, where the most applicants compete for the fewest replies.\n\n- **Applying only through LinkedIn.** LinkedIn has real opportunities, but it is crowded. Pair it with company sites and focused sources.\n- **Using too many job boards.** Ten boards checked randomly are less useful than three good sources checked consistently.\n- **Trusting stale postings.** If a role looks interesting, confirm it on the company careers page before spending time tailoring your resume.\n- **Ignoring company pages.** The careers page is usually the best source for open roles, location rules, and updated job descriptions.\n- **Skipping manual sources because they look inconvenient.** Hacker News and niche boards can look messy, but they often include serious roles with fewer casual applicants.\n- **Waiting too long to ask for referrals.** Referrals are most useful before the posting is already crowded.\n- **Treating the hidden market like a shortcut.** It is not a trick. It is normal professional outreach done consistently and respectfully.\n\nThe best job search is not the one with the most tabs open. It is the one you can repeat every week: a broad board for coverage, focused sources for fit, company pages for accuracy, and people-based outreach for context and trust.","pageType":"job-search"}

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