I think parent poster's intent is that you like... do all of that stuff, except then skip HR and the leetcode shuffle. And then presumably you... I don't know,

I think parent poster's intent is that you like... do all of that stuff, except then skip HR and the leetcode shuffle. And then presumably you... I don't know, show up outside of the CTO's house one morning? Or something? Email them directly and hope a spam filter doesn't block you? Hire a skywriter? And ask for a job? The "you just have to network! don't be a sheeple!" folks are always vague on that part. I have gotten jobs through networking. Most of them! It happens! It's just sort of unrealistic and glib to assume it always is possible.