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Ask HN: Why is the best way to find a job as a Software Engineer in 2026?
6 points by Ako03 3 days ago
5 comments

Referrals from people you know, or responding to messages from recruiters on LinkedIn / other sites. I almost never hear back from cold applying to a job
> Referrals from people you know

This. It's not what you know but who you know.

I am actively doing that, but even those things does not help. Recruiters who text me on LinkedIn just promoting something, but really hiring. Unfortunately, I don't know a lot of people who does Software Engineering, so it is hard to find a good referral
The National Society of Professional Engineers has a career site that might help.

https://www.nspe.org/career-growth/career-center

the best way to find a job as a software engineer 2026 is to create one.
That is also not the easiest one.
cold outreach to a founder or executive with what you can offer.

find people doing things you find interesting.

what do you have to lose besides getting ignored?

That requires a lot of time, and majority of founders even don't respond. I have tried doing it 3-4 times, then I noticed that there is no answer, then I stopped
Network on HN
Does it really help?
Probably helps if you pay a bit more attention to detail: what is, not "why is".