Most people start where it's easiest and wonder why nothing converts. Here's the hierarchy I'd use, best odds first.
1. Company career portals directly. Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, SmartRecruiters. You apply early, into a smaller queue, flagged as higher intent. This is the highest-yield channel and almost nobody starts here.
2. Your warm network. Referrals lift response rates from ~3% to 10-15% at senior level. A three-sentence "thinking of you" note to people you respected is worth more than 50 cold applications.
3. Niche / industry-specific boards. Smaller, less crowded, often closer to the hiring team. Wellfound for startups, role-specific communities, vertical job boards in your field.
4. Recruiter relationships. A few good recruiters in your space who know your level. Not "please find me a job," but a real relationship maintained over months.
5. LinkedIn job posts, applied through the company portal. Use LinkedIn to spot the role, then go apply on the company's own site. Skip Easy Apply.
6. Aggregators (Indeed, ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn Easy Apply). Bottom of the list. Highest volume, lowest yield, heaviest filtering.
The reflex is to live at the bottom of this list because it feels productive. Move your time up the list and the same effort produces more interviews.
— Dr. Hosney Adel