‘Applying to jobs is the dumbest s**t’: How this Meta engineer got 83 recruiters to DM him

Meta engineer says networking beats job applications. (Image credit: Representative pic)

A software engineer at Meta stirred debate after criticising the standard job application process as “the dumbest sh*t.’’ In an X post, Marmik Patel shared unconventional advice, saying that he has stopped applying for new roles and is now focusing on what would bring meaningful results.

Based in San Francisco, Patel’s career perspective was shaped after getting frustrated with applying to new roles for months and connecting with more than 1,000 recruiters without securing success.

Patel claimed that opportunities are unevenly divided, with a small percentage of candidates securing most jobs.

“Applying to jobs is the dumbest shit you can ever do. i learned the hard way. dmed a 1000 recruiters/engineers. did 670 apps. didn’t get me anything. cause its not equally distributed: the top 10% of people take 90% of the jobs. it’s the same everywhere else. the hottest girl gets 90% of the guys. the largest artist gets 90% of the streams,” Patel wrote.

‘’It's the same everywhere else. the hottest girl gets 90% of the guys. the largest artist gets 90% of the streams. so this past year i stopped wasting time on applying and started doing whatever gave me the biggest impact. Did hella trips to sf/nyc, built products, did content, made friends,’’ Patel added.

applying to jobs is the dumbest shit you can ever do.

i learned the hard way. dmed a 1000 recruiters/engineers. did 670 apps. didn't get me anything. cause its not equally distributed: the top 10% of people take 90% of the jobs. it's the same everywhere else. the hottest… https://t.co/gEpcaViXS1 — Marmik Patel (@Marmik_Patel19) January 12, 2026

He further shared that at least 83 recruiters reached out to him between January and May last year.

‘’The dynamic flipped. Jan-May, 83 recruiters dmed me. ai labs, yc companies, unicorns. it's a winner-takes-all world. you have no choice but to become the winner. or waste away your life fighting for scraps, he concluded.

The post quickly went viral, drawing widespread attention and reaction from social media.

One user wrote, “The job market is just a dating app where everyone's swiping on the same 10 profiles.’’

Another user commented, “Such an underrated piece of advice. Every job seeker must ask what’s my alpha, if there’s none, better create one.”

A third user said, “This is the exact approach I have taken, I have stopped applying and focusing more on building skills that would make me standout in the job market I have learnt so much more in the time I have used building in public than I have actually applying for jobs A good engineer always gets the opportunities when the work speaks for itself.’’