[ghaff]

Not even just smaller companies if you know someone high enough up :-) Every job I've had since right out of grad school has basically come through sending someone I knew an email.

That's really the answer although it's probably not very actionable for a lot of more junior people.

[warrenm]

"who" vs "what" you know has always been the "right answer" :)

[ghaff]

I know you'll find people who say they've always just gone through recruiters or applying online, but beyond starting out it certainly hasn't been my experience--including in difficult periods like 2001. I'm sure I've been lucky but it's also resulted in the right jobs through the right people.

[warrenm]

Yeah - in 25 years, I've gotten precisely one job through a "blind" application ... when I worked at Hertz as a car cleaner :)

Every single other job has come via connection