How do you get an interview?

Which company do u want to work for ?

There are positions that aren't even advertised, majority of people are competing for a subset of positions online so IMO nothing beats personal connections.

Friend that works there is the best

4 is the best. 1 rarely works. 2 and 3 can work if you have a strong background. I did 3 for my current job.

I had started an application on jobs.amazon, but didn't finish it until the automated reminder about the position closing soon was sent. It went fast after that, phone screen, on site, and offer were within a few weeks, started a month later. So 1 does work, but I'm still surprised.

1 doesn’t work. 3 can work if you can find the right people. The best is to have a good friend do a referral for you but won’t work if you don’t have any there. It’s tough getting through the wall. Remember that most tech companies get hundreds if not thousands of high quality resumes from all over world. You better stand out otherwise forget it.

All of the above. It's a numbers game, so start playing it.

Actually responding to the recruiter with interest.

Of course 4 is the most effective way, no doubt about that. But in many cases someone doesn't have that resource. For 2 in most cases you don't know who the hiring manager is. So only 1 and 3 left. Should we just do both? Many people say that if you submit your application in one way but not selected, you are in a "freezing" period. In this case, does it work to try other ways?

1) recruiter from that company emails (or LinkedIn messages) me out of the blue 2) friend refers me 3) hired.com, indeed prime, etc. 4) career fairs 5) online applications With the above I was able to interview with like 30-40 companies in my last job search.