[bengarvey]

You have an idea for how a fair and equitable job search is supposed to work.

It does not work like that.

Almost half of all jobs are filled through referrals by existing employees, so if you're cold applying to a company you're at best, cutting your chances in half and wasting your time.

You're also forgoing important information _for you_ if you don't know anyone at the company you're applying to. How do you really know what it's like to work there?

"The whole thing makes me feel increasingly insecure..." Don't get discouraged! There are tons of really great opportunities out there.

[Akababa]

So, would you recommend OP go through a headhunter? I've heard mixed things about them, mainly that they don't do much in exchange for taking 15% of your first year salary.

[ravitation]

It sounds like he's suggesting OP should leverage his professional network, especially since he's not looking for his first job. He's got a decent chunk of industry experience, and should've built enough connections to get a couple referrals to different places.

From my own personal experience, I got incredibly lucky finding my first job, with a bunch of extraordinary people, through what was essentially a cold call. Since that job, I haven't had a job that wasn't through some kind of referral or secondary connection.

[mooreds]

> Since that job, I haven't had a job that wasn't through some kind of referral or secondary connection.

This has been a huge part of my job finding experience. Most of my work has been found through previous connections. Keep in touch with these folks and help them when you can. It's a good thing to do, and will pay dividends in the future.

Other things that were useful (beyond my network):

* Contracting, because this lowers the risk on both sides. Of course you have to be able to handle the difficulties of contracting.

* technical meetups and getting to know hiring managers through these, which again lowers the risk because you're a known quantity (or at least more known). This is a long play, so join a Meetup now, way before you need to switch jobs.

[lugg]

It's more like 20% but it shouldn't be affecting your base.

If anything it should be increasing it.

They are, in general, scum of the earth though, so tread lightly and hold no loyalty.

Don't give them your CV in word format unless you feel like finding modified versions of it in the interview.

And please replace referral contact/ name info with "referrals available on request" unless you don't mind your old boss being hit up for new work behind your back.

[wh4t3v3r]

"Almost half of all jobs are filled through referrals by existing employees, so if you're cold applying to a company you're at best, cutting your chances in half and wasting your time."

I am sorry, what? Have you got any particular data you would like to back this up with? Why would a company have even a job ad if they are hiring someone through referrals?

"You're also forgoing important information _for you_ if you don't know anyone at the company you're applying to. How do you really know what it's like to work there?"

Uhm, what again? Are you saying that you cannot apply to a workplace where you don't know anyone? Well, looks like I have been getting jobs wrong all my life! Are you for real?

At least your last paragraph is ok.

[JshWright]

I don't understand why your post is so aggressive... The comment you're replying to was giving some friendly advice, which you apparently disagree with. I don't think the escalation in tone in your comment is helpful to the conversation.

What you're describing is pretty unique, in my experience. Looking at my current team, significantly more than half of the folks here worked with someone else on the team at a previous gig.

[kube-system]

Often, companies don’t post a job ad. Hiring managers usually explore their network and their trusted employees’ networks before resorting to outside help. Sometimes the interviewing process is already in motion when a referral comes in, as well.

“I worked with this person for 2 years and they always produced quality work” is way more of a confidence inspiring piece of evidence than “we interviewed this person for 30 minutes and they sounded like they’d be able to do the job”.

Hiring managers aren’t dumb. They know interviews are not super reliable measures of a person’s future performance. All hiring managers have stories about people who were bad at interviews and great at their job, or great at interviews and horrible at their job. A trusted referral decreases this risk significantly.