Is Networking really useful?
Maybe this is a stupid question, but obviously I understand that it is about "who do you know" rather than "what do you know" but, especially for college students, how can networking really help you to land a SA or FT offer? Find a VP or MD that will pass your resume upward is obviously the best way, but we know that it is really really difficult, there than that you can drop some names in the cover letter, but can that really help you? I am probably missing something and it would be really helpful if you could help me with this matter
Networking is useful until a certain extent. It can get you to the first rounds. But once you are in the interview process, it becomes much more about your ability and how much you know.
So I’m short, networking can only do so much - maybe get you in the door. However, it won’t always make up for lackluster experience, grades, and extracurriculars.
Frankly, I absolutely hate networking. I'm already an introvert, and networking is my absolute worst nightmare. Therefore, I focused all my effort purely on interview skills and technicals, and I've done perfectly fine thus far with 0 networking.
I think it's useful only if you're good at it and naturally come across as polished. Otherwise, it could backfire, as I've personally experienced...
Only helpful if you're decent at it (if you're a pest or trying to talk to 10 people in the same group, people might start getting annoyed), and it only might help you get a first round – rest is up to you.
All of the above is correct - it can be very helpful to land first rounds, but I have also found that it can be helpful at superdays as a point of discussion. I've been asked variations of the question "What do you know about our firm", and having specific people and conversations to point to goes a long way in making you appear to be a serious applicant.
Networking is incredibly powerful if you're reasonably personable. I've found having something in common with people can make it drastically more effective (school, sports teams, fraternities, etc.).
I'm going to counter signal some of the other comments though and say that this social capital doesn't totally get wiped out after getting the interview. My experience has been if you've made a good impression that people will sometimes touch base with your interviewers informally before and/or after to see how things went. As long as you didn't bomb anything this can tip things in your favor.
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