How do I effectively network for job opportunities in a competitive field?

I am currently in my final year, at one of the top commerce colleges in India. Pursuing Bachelor in Commerce and will also appear for my CFAL1 exam in November. I worked really hard for placement season, a few IB firms were expected to come but it doesn't look like they'll be hiring given the economic scenario. If someone holds any position in such roles like IB, Private Equity, Equity Research etc. could they please tell what I could work on and what the industry requirements are from a fresher? Also how do I go about applying off-campus, since I don't believe I'll be getting many opportunities On-Campus?

Brief about me - I have around a year of experience working as a Frontend developer, primarily with ReactJS. Its been some time since I touched the basics and tbh I've not given time to it earlier also (i switched fields and prepare in around 8 months mostly doing DSA and Frontend development) I am looking for advice to for the preparation strategy to move to new job, I am looking for roles in frontend/Full stack development. Please tell me the essentials I should have under my bag and some of the things to give my resume an edge Thank you.

About me: 2023 Graduate. I have been hunting for full time opportunities since 1 year. Call it a mix of sheer bad luck, bad decisions, over filtration, less CGPA, low demand high supply etc. I completed a 6 months offcampus internship starting from January. PPO wasn't offered even after good performance however extension was provided. I will say I have been choosy to get into Software Engineering roles only unless there is a >15 LPA CTC. One should gather multiple offers to keep themselves from becoming unemployed but in my case moodiness prevailed which shouldn't. I have knowledge in C++, Java, Python. Familiar with React JS, MongoDB and worked with projects involving MERN Stack. Furthermore, I also have projects in ML, DL, NLP (for reference I have had knowledge of GPT architecture since 2021 by going through the research papers) Finally here I am with an offer giving 10 CTC. Cannot disclose the name except that it is a Gurgaon based startup with a product + SaaS structure. How did I land it? NETWORKING (not the CS subject) One key thing people don't indulge is making use of their networks. Hell even your personal network like friends, cousins etc. The benefit of this your resume actually goes through a human HR's eyes than ATS or keyword filter picker. A lot of shenanigans are going currently against us and it is our duty only to get the job. Being picky while being incredibly risky helped me avoid a lot of the bullshit that other companies especially on campus ones have pulled. CGPA cuts, Gender Quota, Deferred joinings, offers revoked, non extension of PPOs by citing bad performance but actually not giving tasks, layoffs due to bad financials, extended internship, revised lower CTC, fake job posts etc have all happened. All of my nearly missed companies which I really wanted to go to have done such acts and I don't have respect for all of them (except Goldman Sachs, yet) Therefore, networking > job postings. Good luck for all of the new opportuniti

About me: 2023 Graduate. I have been hunting for full time opportunities since 1 year. Call it a mix of sheer bad luck, bad decisions, over filtration, less CGPA, low demand high supply etc. I completed a 6 months offcampus internship starting from January. PPO wasn't offered even after good performance however extension was provided. I will say I have been choosy to get into Software Engineering roles only unless there is a >15 LPA CTC. One should gather multiple offers to keep themselves from becoming unemployed but in my case moodiness prevailed which shouldn't. I have knowledge in C++, Java, Python. Familiar with React JS, MongoDB and worked with projects involving MERN Stack. Furthermore, I also have projects in ML, DL, NLP (for reference I have had knowledge of GPT architecture since 2021 by going through the research papers) Finally here I am with an offer giving 10 CTC. Cannot disclose the name except that it is a Gurgaon based startup with a product + SaaS structure. How did I land it? NETWORKING (not the CS subject) One key thing people don't indulge is making use of their networks. Hell even your personal network like friends, cousins etc. The benefit of this your resume actually goes through a human HR's eyes than ATS or keyword filter picker. A lot of shenanigans are going currently against us and it is our duty only to get the job. Being picky while being incredibly risky helped me avoid a lot of the bullshit that other companies especially on campus ones have pulled. CGPA cuts, Gender Quota, Deferred joinings, offers revoked, non extension of PPOs by citing bad performance but actually not giving tasks, layoffs due to bad financials, extended internship, revised lower CTC, fake job posts etc have all happened. All of my nearly missed companies which I really wanted to go to have done such acts and I don't have respect for all of them (except Goldman Sachs, yet) Therefore, networking > job postings. Good luck for all of the new opportunity

Seeing a lot of people asking how the market for PM's is, and what they should do rn, so going to add my 2 cents from recent experience. My ex-company (I left last week) was hiring for PM's whom I was personally profile-screening & conducting interviews for. This happened first 4 months back, and then again 2 weeks back (for my replacement). The quality of candidates between then and now is dramatically different - there are way better PM candidates applying for the same roles & looking for a switch now, for various reasons. There is a lot more supply than demand, and that's going to make competition quite cut-throat and difficult to convert opportunities. It's less about the job market and more about the bigger & better candidate pool. My advice - Stick to roles that are within your current space/niche where you have a proven track record. Apply diligently & try to leverage your connections. Don't try to throw everything at the wall & see what sticks - it's likely that nothing will.

Hey guys. I’ve been searching for jobs on LinkedIn for a while now, there’s either no response or a template rejection. Does job search through LinkedIn work or not? If not, please suggest other effective ways- considering the market now and the layoff volumes. Thank you!

Apart from oncampus, What are your tips for a fresher to land a job.

I am a '21 graduate from a Tier 1 college (old IIT) and have had short stints as product manager at a couple of startups. About a year back, I decided to startup but after a few months, realized that startup idea wasn't worth pursuing. Researched around a few startup ideas and finally landed upon a good one in D2C space. But the problem is financing. I don't have much saving and friends / family network wouldn't be able to finance this. I really want to pursue this idea but finance is becoming a hindrance. So started looking for job opportunities about 3 months back. I have been exploring work opportunities in product / founder office / EIR roles or other generalist role. Job hunt process has been frustrating to say the least. Getting very few calls. In most cases, people are ghosting after couple of rounds of interview or assignment. In some cases, after getting through 2-3 rounds, I got to know that opening has been closed temporarily. Most HRs don't even have the decency to give feedback. I don't intend to work in job for long anyway. As soon as I have the job, I plan to start working on my business idea and quit as soon as I have enough financial leeway. How should I go about job hunt process? I have been trying to connect with folks on LinkedIn in whose company job openings are there. Apart from this, I have been connecting with founders from recently funded startups. Naukri / Instahyre and IIM Jobs are other portals I have been looking on. Anything I should do differently here? Looking forward to hearing your suggestions / experience.

I've been working as a React developer for almost 3 years (2 years, 9 months) plus had a 3-month internship. I'm looking to make a career move to a company that offers better mentorship and growth opportunities, but my current job requires a 3-month notice period before leaving. I'm struggling with a few aspects of navigating this job change given the long notice period: 1) Finding Companies Open to Waiting How do I identify companies that would be willing to wait the full 3 months for me to start after giving notice? When and how should I bring up the notice period requirements during the application/interview process? 2) Getting Referrals My professional network is somewhat limited. What are the best ways to try securing internal referrals to companies I'm interested in, which could help increase flexibility around waiting for my start date? 3) Preparing for Interviews Besides the standard technical preparation, what is the best way to practice for and respond to questions about my reasons for leaving my current role after such a long tenure? How can I reassure them I'm committed despite the extended notice period? 4) Evaluating Offers If a company is unwilling to wait the full 3 months, is it worth trying to negotiate a shorter notice period or looking at temporary/contracting roles until I can start full-time? How do I evaluate whether the role is worth that hassle? I want to be as prepared as possible for this transition, so any advice or suggestions from folks who have gone through a job change with a long notice period would be greatly appreciated! Let me know what you think or if you have any other tips.