The people who would hire me without leetcode were either trying to take advantage of me or have never been my coworkers.
As another commenter said: Leetcode, leetcode, leetcode.
My last three interviews and job moves have all been from referrals or old colleagues. None had coding challenges and all resulted in job offers. But that was a small satellite team for a big org and two early stage startups.
It’s also a consequence of timing and luck though. I’d definitely be prepping harder for job hunting.
Also timeframe is significant too. I'd say 5-10 years ago, fewer companies (especially outside the tech industry) were leetcoding candidates. Now, many of those same companies (including my current) are all leetcoding candidates.
i used to like computers. not so much anymore.
The caveat to this is that he has to be extremely unpicky. Said job can be very undesirable other than the compensation - stuff like feeding XML feed files or working with VB, etc. But because they are at hedge funds, they all still pay well.
I'm not sure if it would still work though as I've been working for myself for 22 years. It seems hiring has turned upside down since I last interviewed.
I feel precisely the opposite: if you work somewhere with people you like working with (and who like working with you) then you will start to get hired through your network, not through your mad leetcode skillz.
That's what networking really is, not "networking sessions" or various going through the motions you'll hear described in a seminar. It's simple human connections from people saying "Hey, I'd like to work with decafninja again" or "Oh, you need a frobnitz expert? You know, I know someone called decafninja who might be able to help you."