Can acquaintances get you jobs?

In theory, any contact could become a useful relationship down the line. - conference attendees, lecturers, or similar professionals that travel and/or are visiting scholars are people who won't necessarily be able to hire you directly; but they might know someone who does. I travel to 5-6 countries on average and also get questions whether I know someone in company x in country y. Chances are that I do (especially with a consulting background) and if the other side is wiling to hire then it might work out. This is the essential part of networking. - you don't know where people might end up one day. I befriended an intern during my BB years once. This guy was doing nothing spectacular and was just finalizing his education with no offer at my bank. Couple of years later I looked him up on LinkedIn and he works for a another BB with a planned exit to PE. I messaged him and he actually remembered I treated him like a normal human being. He said he had a good relationship with his management and whenever he could help he would do it. It is therefore useful to be nice to people around you, regardless of whether the other person can help you in that moment or not. Situations in life change frequently.