Networking Success Stories

I have 3 years of RE experience and have worked two jobs. I extensively networked in college and one-year post-grad, but both of my jobs came through LinkedIn job applications.

I’m curious of any stories where you landed a job purely through networking. Meaning you made a new connection on your own and landed a job through it, excluding situations where it was your Dad’s friend or other situation you were born into.

Also include what level you were at in your career (intern, analyst, associate). Looking for some motivation to begin networking again for associate positions and would be great to hear some positive stories

Also any stories of networking into large corporate / PE firms would be helpful, as I feel networking is perceived differently by different firms