Most people looking for jobs today do the same thing: firing off hundreds of applications into the void and praying something sticks. That is not a strategy, that is desperation disguised as productivity.

If you want different results, you have to play a different game.

Do not network, create value

Nobody worth knowing goes around introducing themselves with “I am here to network.” That is fake, hollow, and everybody knows it. What actually works is putting something of value into the world. Write about what you are learning. File a bug report. Share a small experiment. Contribute to open source, but do it the right way. Theo explains this brilliantly in his video “Don’t Contribute to Open Source”. The title is misleading, the lesson is not.

Here’s something from another Theo video, “The actual reason you can’t get a job”, where he reads Cate’s entire blog post aloud. The point he stresses is that people fail to get traction not because they are unqualified, but because they are not taking enough shots. Too many polish a portfolio in isolation, waiting until it feels perfect before showing anyone. Meanwhile, others are experimenting in public, launching small things, and creating short feedback loops. The difference is not talent, it is exposure and repetition.

And here is the kicker: creating value for others can start as simply as asking, “How can I help?” You do not need a finished project or some grand portfolio. Genuine willingness to lighten someone else’s load is often the spark that starts everything. Some people even discover new skills and interests by collaborating and assisting others.

Increase your luck surface area

Cate Hall put it best: “It’s the rate of experimentation, the number of shots on goal, that provides the magic, not the percentage of successes, which might be very low at first” (Source).

That one sentence explains why some people seem to get lucky over and over again. They are not smarter than everyone else, they just take more shots. They try more projects, talk to more people, and put more things into the world. Most of it goes nowhere, but enough of it lands that opportunities start to snowball.

This is the real meaning of “luck surface area” (Source). It is not about waiting for a bolt of lightning to strike. It is about increasing the number of times you interact with the outside world so that lightning has more places to hit. It is not about being brilliant, it is about being prolific. More shots, more chances.

If I were starting from scratch, I would not sit at home polishing a portfolio in private for months. I would be meeting people, sharing work, and experimenting as often as possible. The more shots on goal, the more likely you are to score.

Treat networking like gardening

You cannot brute force a tomato plant. You give it the right soil, the right water, the right sun, and then you wait. Networking is no different. Reach out because you are curious, not because you want a job. Say yes to conversations, even the ones that feel pointless. Do small things with care, even when nobody is watching. Give before you take. This is the work. At first it feels awkward, then it starts to click (Source).

A word on karma

Think of this like professional karma. What you put out tends to come back. Not on your schedule, not always in a straight line, but eventually. The people who consistently give value are the ones who get the best opportunities (Source).

Share your weirdness

The safest thing you can do is also the most boring: hide your real interests and keep your head down. That does not work. The internet rewards people who put themselves out there, even if it is niche, even if it is messy. Write about what excites you. Share projects that are not perfect. The right people will find you, and those are the people you want anyway (Source).

Build security beyond your job

The real win here is not just landing one job, it is building career security that survives losing one. If your network and your work exist outside your current role, you cannot be erased with a layoff. Your reputation, your projects, and your relationships are the safety net.

If I were starting fresh tomorrow

Here is the playbook. Pick one project and share progress weekly. Reach out to a few people with genuine curiosity or something useful. Say yes to random conversations. Write down what you are learning and publish it. Repeat until it feels natural.

That is it. No secrets. No hacks. No magic bullets. Forget the resume spam. Forget the empty networking grind. Start building, start sharing, start giving. The network will form around that, and the jobs will follow.

Further Reading

• Useful Fictions on cultivating luck and surface area
• Guillermo Rauch on creating value instead of networking
• Jason Roberts on increasing your luck surface area
• Karma quotes and reflections on reciprocity
• Theo Browne - "Don't contribute to open source"
• Theo Browne - "The actual reason you can't get a job"