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As I told my new CS graduate nephew last week, all decisions are eventually made by a human being. We are all techies and engineers but hiring, promotions, opportunities, biz deals, the legal system, etc... usually comes down to convincing someone to do something for you. And that's called SALES (and I consider Networking as a big part) so you better get good at it. Eventually, the higher up you go people prefer to work with people they know vs unknown characters with better credentials.
Not from experience. Networking is all that matters. I've always lost out to the "connected crowd" 9 times out 10 in all job openings even if I had double the experience, track record etc.. LOL
Connections matter now. Skills, Hardwork, track record, experience... Not so much. They have their value but most people get hired/promoted not because of those things. It was because they were buddies/Relatives of the hiring manager
I could write a book on the worthless clowns I've seen move up the chain despite ZERO work ethic, results, knowedge, skill etc. Every single one of them had a connection in place and they were chose over a better candidate. I've seen people making fortunes that just sit at home all day and bring nothing to the table other than just have the ability BS in meetings all day while the end result never changes and nothing ever improves operationally of the dept that they are over.
And that can't be found out in a job interview. Totally unpossible!
A job interview is very different from networking. I am not completely sure what you are saying but hey, if you find no value in networking then ok I have no issue with that. Do what you enjoy and what works for you.
For me, networking is about a lot more than getting a head or geting another job, and it is not a burden or something I need to tell myself to do. I look forward to it. I guess when I was younger and earlier in my career it was a separate kind of thing and I thought of it much like the OP stated. But it has developed into something I really enjoy because it is fun, I get to let off steam, I learn from others, and can be in a place that others understand what I am saying. It's not really a tool anymore, just a non stressful part of my professional life, which is really nice. The people that I network with know that I know my stuff and know my capabilities so when a leadership position opens in their workd, they would inform me of it or if I am interested in a position I can reach out to folks to get more info about the real deal and talk to them off the record about it. I like to stay on top of what is happening even if it is not applicable to me or I am not interested in a position. I know the good employers and bad ones. I know the people who know what they are doing and who I would enjoy working with, etc. If you don't see value in that where you are then ok, I can understand that it may not apply to you but you should at least be able to wrap your head around the many good things that networking offers. It is a popularity contest but the winners are those who are good and deserving.
If it comes down to "who you know" then:
Skills don't matter, being able to do a job doesn't matter, being willing to do a job doesn't matter, education doesn't matter.
In which case: what's the difference between networking and cronyism?
Quote:
it is not a burden
It is a burden to
* introverts
* people who cannot sell
* those who have no experience
* people who have no connections and can't find them
* people who cannot get help
Quote:
It is a popularity contest but the winners are those who are good and deserving.
So we're back in high school and junior high again. No progress in life.
Networking never really yielded any results for me. Just sitting there chit chatting about the industry. IMO developing comfortable working relationships with co-workers is more valuable because these are the people who are familiar with your skill set and abilities. These people may be able to vouch for you at a new job or even decide to split off from the current company to form their own and include you.
Networking never really yielded any results for me. Just sitting there chit chatting about the industry. IMO developing comfortable working relationships with co-workers is more valuable because these are the people who are familiar with your skill set and abilities. These people may be able to vouch for you at a new job or even decide to split off from the current company to form their own and include you.
Isn't this a form of networking? It's essentially making connections and maintaining them. How those connections were made varies. It doesn't necessarily only happen at trade shows and conferences, etc. When you or that co-workers moves on, you just try and maintain that relationship.
At the end of the day - these are just tools/vehicles that CAN help. They are not the end all be all though.
As for the "it's not what you know, but who you know". I feel this is a bit of a hyperbole. Or to be more accurate, I think it should be "it's not JUST what you know, but ALSO who you know". Meaning networking complements one's skills. Have there been people that got jobs strictly based on who they know? Of course. But that's more the exception IMO, and in some cases, it's more nepotism than networking.
I've gotten a few jobs where the initial contact was through a peer connection. In two cases, it's just me emailing a former colleague if they were hiring. That said - I would not have gotten the job if my skills/accomplishments weren't there. Just as I've helped a few people get jobs. But I would only refer them if I felt confident it wouldn't back fire on me. So yea, it is who you know... but more often than not, that just gets you in the door. To actually succeed, you do need to back that up with your skills.
I don't think it's overrated as much as it being misunderstood. Especially when I've seen a few posts on CD over the years where someone was asking about establishing a network to find a job AFTER they got laid off. That's not really how it works....
Another thing that I'll add to this is that while I fully support networking, it's not some magic pill either. In other words, you can't just go to a networking event (or two) and assume that loads of jobs are going to fall into your lap. It rarely works that way.
Networking, at least that of the useful variety, takes months if not years to pan out. I have lots of close allies I've worked with throughout my career. Most are ICs like myself. In a lot of ways, they can help. They can be a professional reference, they can leak my name to the hiring manager to at least get me noticed, or they can put me in touch with someone for an informational interview. But more often than not, they are not the ones hiring me for a role. Hardly ever is a job 100% guaranteed to me through these connections.
In fact, I attribute only a couple of jobs that I've attained to networking. In one instance, I put it out there that I was looking for work to some folks on LinkedIn. Didn't really expect much, but this is what they advise you to do. Anyway, months down the road, a former colleague reached out to me about a role they were hiring for (she was the hiring manager), and said that she heard through the grape vine that I was looking. It just so happens that one of those people I reached out to months earlier happened to mention it to the hiring manager. I guess you can refer to it as happenstance. The role I'm in now happened similarly. That hiring manager who once hired me for their role now gave me a reference to the hiring manager I work for now. Again, complete happenstance.
My point is that networking often happens on its own terms. It's rarely happens, at least in my experience, that you reach out to people and they hire you on the spot. What usually happens instead is that you put the word out there that you're looking, the word travels, and maybe someone reaches out further down the road with an opportunity that just happened to come up.
What kind of companies are you working for? Are they Fortune 500's? Are they FAANGs? You said yourself you don't have a six figure job and live in a low cost of living area. When you are actually going for those high-level jobs and are in competition with others who are just qualified and in demand as you, what do you think is going to help you? Yep: NETWORKING. And if you are in an industry for a long time and know a lot of people in that industry, you are networking whether or not you are aware of it.
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