Job Search
Most jobs are filled through people, not portals. Learn a practical, low-pressure way to build real connections that lead to opportunities, without feeling fake.
If the word "networking" makes you cringe, you are in good company. Most people picture forced small talk, business cards, and asking near-strangers for favors. But real networking is quieter and far more human than that, and it remains one of the most reliable ways to find work that never gets posted publicly.
Job boards feel productive because you can fire off applications all day. The problem is that everyone else is doing the same thing, and your resume lands in a pile of hundreds. A referral, by contrast, changes the math entirely. A hiring manager who hears your name from someone they trust treats you differently from an anonymous applicant. You skip a layer of screening and arrive with a built-in vote of confidence.
A meaningful share of roles are filled before they are ever advertised, through internal moves, referrals, and a manager quietly asking around. When you only apply online, you compete for the leftovers: the openings that could not be filled through someone's network first. Networking does not replace applying, but it gets you into the earlier, less crowded part of the pipeline.
None of this requires you to be a natural extrovert or a smooth talker. It requires you to be genuinely interested in people and willing to stay in touch. Those are skills you can build, and they pay off across an entire career, not just one job search.
The biggest mistake is thinking networking means meeting strangers. Your strongest network is the one you already have: former coworkers, classmates, old managers, friends in the industry, people you collaborated with on a project years ago. These are warm connections, and they are far more likely to help than someone you cold-message on a whim.
Make a list of twenty to thirty people you have a real connection with, even a faded one. Then reach out, not with a demand, but with a genuine reconnect. Ask how they are doing, mention something specific you remember about working with them, and let the conversation breathe before you get to your search. When you do mention it, keep it light: "I am exploring new roles in product marketing, and I would love your read on the market if you have time for a quick call."
People want to help, but they cannot help with a vague request. Tell them exactly what you are looking for and what a good introduction would be.
That specificity is what unlocks action. "Let me know if you hear of anything" is easy to nod at and forget. "I am targeting senior analyst roles at mid-size healthcare companies, and if you know anyone on those teams I would value an introduction" gives the person a concrete way to say yes. Make it easy for people to help you, and many of them will.
The reason networking feels gross to so many people is that they treat it as extraction: show up, get a favor, disappear. Flip that. Lead with curiosity and generosity. When you meet someone, get curious about their work, their path, the problems their team is wrestling with. People can tell the difference between someone mining them for leads and someone genuinely interested in them, and the second kind gets remembered.
Informational conversations are the engine here. Ask someone for fifteen or twenty minutes to learn about their role, their company, or how they broke into a field you want to enter. Come prepared with real questions. Do not pitch yourself or ask for a job; let the relationship form first. A surprising number of these chats end with the other person volunteering to keep you in mind or pass your name along, precisely because you did not pressure them.
Give before you take whenever you can. Share an article that fits something they mentioned, introduce two people who should know each other, offer a useful perspective. You do not need to be senior or well-connected to be generous. Even a thoughtful thank-you note or a comment that shows you were paying attention builds goodwill. Networks run on reciprocity, and the people who give consistently are the ones others go out of their way to help.
Networking works best as a habit, not a sprint you crank up only when you are desperate. The person who reaches out the day after a layoff, having gone silent for three years, faces an uphill climb. The person who has stayed loosely in touch all along just has to mention they are looking. Aim for small, steady touches: a few messages a week, a coffee chat now and then, a comment on someone's post, a quick congratulations when someone gets promoted.
A simple rhythm keeps it manageable without taking over your life:
Track who you have talked to and when, even in a basic spreadsheet, so people do not fall through the cracks. The goal is not a giant network but a living one, where the connections are real and you are not starting from zero each time you need help. Over months, this compounds into something powerful: a group of people who know what you do, trust your work, and think of you when something opens up.
Networking is not about being slick or working a room. It is about being genuinely curious, staying in touch, and making it easy for people to help you. Do that consistently and honestly, and you build something that outlasts any single job: a web of relationships that keeps opening doors for years. Start with one message this week, and let it grow from there.
Marcus spent fifteen years hiring, managing, and mentoring across startups and big companies — and watched too many talented people get overlooked for reasons that had nothing to do with talent. He founded Godavest to level the playing field with honest, practical career advice. He believes most career advice is either fluff or fear, and aims to be neither.
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