Networking for off-cycle roles in IB LDN

I know a couple of banks post OCs once or twice a year, but for the rest, how do you usually land an entry level role if you already graduated and can’t apply for SA. I’m interested in certain product groups and I have gained a year of ib experiences in no name shops. I can’t lateral since I’ll be competing with analysts coming from strong banks, thus an OC would be the easiest way to break in. In that case, can networking open doors for potential OC roles within certain product groups?