Every time I see advice that centers around &quot;go to meetups, get coffee, make personal connections,&quot; it makes me think that:<p>a) I would really like to be able to do that instead of the awful application-oriented hiring process.<p>b) I will never be able to do that unless I&#x27;m able to relocate to a suitable location, probably after having completed an application-oriented hiring process.<p>How do the get-hired-with-connections gurus recommend resolving this chicken or egg situation? I get that Starfighters is aiming in part to solve similar problems, but surely there are existing solutions.