Networking and business

Hey guys!

I've been thinking about this quite a bit. I see everywhere here on WSO that you gotta network to get somewhere in banking or whatever career path you've chosen. Why is it like this? I do not understand, it seems to me most MDs and alike are assholes that nobody wants to talk to unless they have to, you don't have to have some genius-like social skills to be a great salesman, or banker for that matter.

Why has business evolved toward this? I would keep business about business first of all and not care about making friends when dealing, that just seems stupid to me. Put all the time in to go to events and all of that, you could've spent it improving yourself and working hard toward what you want!

Hand it to me, would you invest or believe in a business that doesn't care at all about who knows who and who recommends who, a business that just keeps it to business and finds possible employees itself via HR and only take the best applicants on paper and in person. Of course HR would balance the teams and so on and so forth, but no employee would enter before a possible better one just because someone in the firm recommended him.

 
UFOinsider:

Get out and experience the real world a bit, then revisit your assumptions

Hey! Thanks for answering first of all, second, I understand that these opinions might be totally out of way because I am as you said very young and inexperienced. Thing is, this is exactly why I ask, to know. You have to try your ideas where you know there's an audience that knows more about them than yourself. Could you please explain the pros and cons about networking and your personal experience with it to me? I would be infinitely grateful.
 

If you're going to do business with someone (deals, hiring, advice, anything) you are going to first go to someone you like and trust, then someone you know, then someone who is recommended to you, and last of all you might go to a complete stranger.

The more people you know and are involved with the better. This applies to everything in life. Networking is pushed in a really weird way in the US which would be seen as pretty creepy in the UK / Europe, but fundamentally it is of vital importance.

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If you're going to do business with someone (deals, hiring, advice, anything) you are going to first go to someone you like and trust, then someone you know, then someone who is recommended to you, and last of all you might go to a complete stranger.

The more people you know and are involved with the better. This applies to everything in life. Networking is pushed in a really weird way in the US which would be seen as pretty creepy in the UK / Europe, but fundamentally it is of vital importance.

I live in europe, that might be why I think these networking events are weird :), but the problem is, I wouldn't trust someone that has a gazillion friends he's talking to all the time, and if someone that I know does, I find out. I'm one of those guys who don't hang out with the cool kids in school(high school) not because I can't, I could do it with some effort, I don't want to because of the relationship that follows.

I know it, it is extremely shallow and doesn't give me anything back at all. I also am not a big fan of kissing someones ass to become "popular" as they say. I mean were you one of, or if not, would you trust the "popular" kids in high school? I figure the same could be applied to infinite networkers and their connections. Thank you for answering, it's great to get help such as this via internet!

 

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