When I was early in my career I would do a variation of this. I would read the job descriptions for something unique that I could write a demo app for the show

When I was early in my career I would do a variation of this. I would read the job descriptions for something unique that I could write a demo app for the show that I actually, A. Had the skills to do the thing they wanted, B. Had the dedication to do something like this. It got me to the interview stage often and then it was up to whether I knew the nonsense whiteboard leetcode situation, which I've never been particularly good at. If I got the job it was because they were pre-sold on step one's effectiveness I've always felt like.