Networking can feel awkward. It can also be one of the best ways to land a job right now.
Yet, if you’re busy actually doing your job, it may feel like one more obligation competing for your attention. So, you like a few posts on LinkedIn and move on.
Unfortunately, that’s not going to cut it, workplace observers say. In a job market that has cooled for industries like tech — and where applying to jobs online can seem downright fruitless — making connections matters.
Professional elbow-rubbing is becoming more important, partly because white-collar employees, in particular, don’t hold the same bargaining power they enjoyed during the pandemic-era hiring frenzy. So, landing a new role can require more effort.
Plus, as AI threatens to take on more work — and as companies pump more money into the technology — some employers are becoming choosier about the people they hire and keep.
Add in economic X factors such as war, energy shocks, and inflation and you’ve got more reasons to treat networking like healthy eating or hitting the gym — and not something you do only in January.
“Networking is more about farming than it is about hunting. It’s about cultivating relationships with people,” said Ivan Misner, the founder of BNI, a business networking organization focused on referrals.
That’s why he encourages people to start connecting with people before they need a job. Misner, a longtime networking evangelist, compares relationship-building to the old saying that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago — and the second-best time is today.
“For those employees who have not planted an oak tree, who have not been out networking, they need to go do it now,” he said.
Joining the ‘favor economy’
One reason networking is more essential than ever is that our attention is often fractured by the amount of information flying at us, said Dorie Clark, a communication coach who teaches at Columbia Business School and wrote the book “The Long Game.”
“What is always going to get your attention is a close relationship with people that you care about and want to help,” she said.
Many of us, though, often find jobs not through our close contacts but through their acquaintances, Clark said. What can play out, she said, is an example of what’s sometimes called the “favor economy.”
“You will help someone that you don’t know that well, because you are indirectly doing a favor for the person you do know well,” she said.
Clark said that because AI threatens to take jobs and because many employers are cautious about hiring, some old-school relationship-building is imperative.
“The thing that is going to get you to the front of the line when jobs are scarce is interpersonal relationships with people who are willing to go above and beyond and expend political capital to help you,” she said.
Clark said that relying too much on social media for networking can be dangerous because it’s often a poor substitute for building deeper connections over time.
“It gives you the illusion of productive networking. It gives you the illusion of connection,” she said.
Instead, Clark advises workers and job seekers to look for more “bespoke” ways of connecting. It might be as simple as sending someone you know a text once in a while without expecting a response. She said that sharing something that reminds you of that person, or simply saying hello, can make a difference.
“As long as you’re friendly, you’re thoughtful, you’re relevant, you’re not seeking something from them — most people will be very happy to hear from you,” Clark said.
The gold standard, however, remains spending time with someone IRL, she said.
When you don’t know someone well — and especially when there’s a power imbalance — it’s best to make a single small ask. That means you probably shouldn’t request a coffee date, a job referral, and a testimonial quote, Clark said.
Instead, she said, think about what would be the “highest and best use” of how someone might help you and what feels appropriate as an ask.
Finding ways to stand out
Networking is also important because as piles of résumés stack up for an open job, sifting through them, even with the help of applicant-tracking software, can be a heavy lift for busy managers, said Gorick Ng, a Harvard University career advisor who’s the author of the book “The Unspoken Rules.”
What often stands out, he said, is someone walking down the hall and saying: “My niece is looking for a job. Here’s their résumé. Do you mind just taking a closer look?”
Or, Ng said, it could be that someone inside an organization vouches for a former colleague by telling the hiring manager that the candidate is likable and trustworthy.
“And just like that, somebody else who you do not know just got that leg up because they have somebody else behind the scenes pounding on the table for their name to be picked,” Ng said.
That’s why, he said, it’s so important for people looking for a job to be seen, heard, and remembered. After all, Ng said, hiring managers aren’t likely to hire someone they haven’t grown excited about as a candidate.
“It’s hard to fall in love with an applicant that is nothing more than just a Word document that you may not even look at,” he said.
Do you have a story to share about your job hunt? Contact this reporter at [email protected].
An earlier version of this story appeared on June 3, 2025.
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