Hunt jobs like a Lunatic

The job market isn't just about who's the best engineer anymore.

It's also about who can stand out.

Spamming hundreds of applications on LinkedIn, commenting "interested," and hoping a recruiter notices you isn't a strategy. It's a numbers game where you're competing with thousands of other people doing exactly the same thing.

A better approach is to stop playing the game exactly like everyone else.

Here are some unconventional ways to find opportunities.

1. Psycho-Level Job Hunting

Pick the companies you actually want to work for and target them aggressively.

Make a list.

Then figure out:

What roles they hire for
What technologies they use
Who works there
Who the hiring managers are
Who the founders are
What they're building
What problems they're trying to solve
What you need to learn to become an obvious fit

This gives you something most candidates don't have:

direction.

Instead of applying everywhere, you're deliberately becoming a candidate for a specific set of companies.

A detailed breakdown of this approach:

Read the full guide on Psycho-Level Job Hunting

2. Public Applications

When a company publicly announces that they're hiring, don't just submit a resume and disappear into the ATS.

Make something.

Record a short video explaining:

Who you are
Why the company caught your attention
Why you think you'd be a good fit
What you've built
What you could contribute

Make it personal.

Make it interesting.

Make it impossible to confuse with the other 500 applications sitting in their inbox.

Some examples:

The upside is asymmetric.

You stand out.

People can vouch for you.

There's less competition.

And even if you don't get the role, you've created visibility around yourself.

3. Build in Public

Sometimes there isn't even an opening to apply to.

That's fine.

Create your own opportunity.

Make a short post introducing yourself, what you're good at, what you're looking for, and the kind of problems you want to solve.

Then put it on the internet.

Some examples:

You don't always need to wait for a company to say:

"We're hiring."

Sometimes you need to say:

"Here's what I can do. Who needs it?"

The internet makes this possible.

And occasionally, a single comment or post can turn into a conversation, an interview, or even a job.

4. Open Source

Open source is still massively underused as a career strategy.

Instead of telling companies you're a good engineer, you can show them.

Find projects you genuinely care about.

Start contributing.

Fix bugs.

Improve documentation.

Build features.

Review code.

Solve annoying problems nobody else wants to touch.

Over time, your GitHub becomes evidence of how you actually work.

And something interesting happens when you contribute consistently:

You start building relationships with maintainers and other engineers.

That can lead to opportunities that never appear on a job board.

There are already examples of engineers getting hired after contributing to open-source projects, while others have earned significant money through OSS bounties.

For example:

If you're serious about using open source as a career strategy, check out Ajeet on X. He's a great person to follow if you're interested in OSS contributions and turning them into real opportunities.

5. Build Weird, Creative Projects

A resume says:

"I know React."

A project says:

"Here's what I built with React."

A weird, creative project that people actually want to talk about says something much louder.

Find a problem.

Build something around it.

Make it interesting enough that people want to share it.

Then put it in public.

A project that gets attention can introduce you to founders, engineers, creators, and companies that you'd probably never reach through a traditional application.

Some examples:

You don't necessarily need another CRUD app.

Build something that makes people stop scrolling.

6. Cold DMs and Emails

Yes, cold outreach still works.

But most cold outreach is terrible.

"Hi sir, I am interested in the opportunity. Please consider my profile."

Delete.

Good cold outreach is:

Short. Specific. Human.

Show that you know who you're messaging.

Explain why you're reaching out.

Show something you've built.

Make it easy for them to understand what you can bring.

And don't write an essay.

The goal isn't to convince someone to hire you inside a DM.

The goal is to make them curious enough to start a conversation.

Some examples worth studying:

7. Invent Your Own Strategy

This is the most important one.

The internet has no shortage of playbooks.

But creativity doesn't have a playbook.

Find a company you desperately want to work for.

Find a problem they have.

Build something around it.

Find their founder.

Find their engineers.

Write about it.

Make a video.

Open-source the solution.

Post it publicly.

Do something nobody else is doing.

The point isn't to become louder.

It's to become harder to ignore.

Quality Beats Quantity

Applying to 500 jobs can feel productive.

So can sending 100 cold emails.

But activity isn't the same thing as progress.

One exceptional application can be worth more than 100 generic ones.

One meaningful open-source contribution can be worth more than 50 applications.

One project that gets shared can create conversations that a resume never could.

The job market is crowded.

So don't just compete on volume.

Compete on signal.

Build things.

Contribute publicly.

Reach out directly.

Create opportunities instead of waiting for them.

And most importantly:

Don't do the exact same shit everyone else is doing and expect wildly different results.

This article was inspired by Ajeet and his approach to open-source contributions and unconventional career opportunities. Go follow him if you're interested in OSS.