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I like this line of thought. Growing up, I was bombarded with "networking is everything!", "99% of jobs come from connections!", and it was really stressful for

I like this line of thought. Growing up, I was bombarded with "networking is everything!", "99% of jobs come from connections!", and it was really stressful for me because I'm really terrible at networking and I know it. Felt like I'll never get a job. But guess what? It turns out being freakishly obsessed with something makes you good at it, and being good at something is also a really good way to find a job. All of my engineering jobs thus far were cold contacts with a strong portfolio. Didn't need the network after all. (that said, of course networking is still effective. it's just, as you said, people overcorrect - even in their advice!)

WheelsAtLarge 4y ago
Being good at your job will only get you so far in a career. As you move up the ladder, social skills become more important to your career. Also, as you get older you will see that networking will be the primary way to get a job. Being good is not enough all the time. Companies need a job to be done they don't really care that you can build a computer or whatever from scratch or whatever merit you want to name that's outside their needs. If they have X candidates to pick from they will gravitate towards the one that can do the job and the one they have some kind of personal connection with -also known as networking.