Networking has always been part of how careers move forward, but stepping into the professional world again—outside the government—has made me realize just how brutally true it is: it’s often who you know, not just what you know, that opens doors.

The days when DEIA initiatives kept hiring conversations somewhat balanced feel like they’re on pause—or perhaps gone for a while. The landscape is shifting back to something more opaque, more relationship-driven, and, frankly, more exhausting.

How Networking Really Defined My Early Career

When I got my first job at USAID as an institutional contractor, I didn’t land it because of a formal posting or a competitive screening process. I got it because my dad’s best friend—a former USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator and Mission Director—referred me. That connection opened the door.

Later, when I became a federal employee through the Presidential Management Fellows Program, a position was essentially created for me because of my network. It was a realization that stuck with me: the system inside government wasn’t truly fair, even though I had benefitted from it.

The Professional World Is Different—And Honestly, Harder

Being out in the professional world now is tough. My network—so strong within government—doesn’t carry the same influence in the nonprofit or private sectors. Many of the people I once relied on are job hunting themselves. Everyone is tired. Everyone is navigating uncertainty.

I’ve had strangers and friends from the gym offer to refer me. I’ve had people I barely know submit my résumé into their internal systems or introduce me to hiring managers. These acts of kindness genuinely mean a lot—but even those referrals haven’t gotten me far. Not because of the people helping me, but because the system is simply that competitive and unpredictable right now.

And even friends who are still employed are feeling overwhelmed. They’re receiving dozens of networking requests every week, and many are struggling to keep up. While it’s encouraging that people want to help, it highlights just how much pressure is on networks themselves in this market—and how much harder it is for someone without deep access to break in.

And the most frustrating part?
Half the jobs people hire for aren’t even posted, and another significant chunk are geared for someone internal.

This “hidden job market” feels even more hidden from the outside looking in. It’s not that I doubt my ability—I adapt quickly, learn fast, and know how to bring people and processes together. It’s that I no longer know the “insides” of organizations, nor do I have the internal relationships that once allowed me to bridge gaps, solve problems, and get things done.

Why Networking Still Matters (More Than Ever)

Research consistently shows that networking is one of the strongest predictors of career mobility. Up to 70–85% of jobs are filled through networking, referrals, or inside connections—not through publicly advertised postings (Adler, 2021; Hamori, 2019).

This means that the frustration we feel isn’t imagined.
We’re often competing for jobs that technically exist but aren’t truly available.

What the Research Says

• Networking expands access and improves perceived competence.
  Granovetter’s (1973) work on “weak ties” found that acquaintances—people outside our close circle—are often the bridge to new opportunities.
• The hidden job market is real and large.
  Many roles are filled internally or through referrals long before they appear publicly (Cappelli, 2019).
• Referrals strongly influence who gets hired.
  Referred candidates are seen as lower risk and more culturally aligned (Burks et al., 2015).
• Bias—structural and interpersonal—shapes hiring.
  Elite networks and internal relationships disproportionately benefit certain applicants (Rivera, 2012).

So yes—networking is critical, powerful, and deeply inequitable.

Navigating This Reality Without Losing Yourself

If you’re out in the job market today, you probably feel it too. The rules have changed. The ground feels unsteady. And so many of us are looking around thinking, “Is it always going to be this hard?”

But networking doesn’t have to mean politicking or performing. It can mean:

• Reconnecting with former colleagues
• Expanding into new professional communities
• Making your value visible through platforms like LinkedIn and Medium
• Building relationships, not just asking for leads
• Sharing opportunities with others, even when you’re looking too

Even in a challenging market, relationships help us get seen—not just hired.

And maybe that’s where fairness begins again: when we use our networks not only to help ourselves but to lift others, especially when the system itself isn’t designed to be fair.

References

Adler, L. (2021). Performance-based hiring: The new science of hiring. Wiley.

Burks, S. V., Cowgill, B., Hoffman, M., & Housman, M. (2015). The value of hiring through employee referrals. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(2), 805–839.

Cappelli, P. (2019). Talent on demand: Managing talent in an age of uncertainty. Harvard Business Review Press.

Granovetter, M. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360–1380.

Hamori, M. (2019). Internal vs. external hiring: What the data says. MIT Sloan Management Review, 60(4), 1–5.

Rivera, L. A. (2012). Hiring as cultural matching: The case of elite professional service firms. American Sociological Review, 77(6), 999–1022.