Networking Without the Cringe

The word conjures name badges and small talk. In practice, the connections that change careers are built slowly, in ordinary conversations, with people you already have a reason to talk to.

Start where you already are

• The colleague whose work you genuinely find interesting — ask how they got into it.
• The person who answered your question in a group chat — thank them properly.
• Someone a year or two ahead of you, rather than twenty.
• Anyone you have worked with who is now somewhere else.

Three real relationships beat three hundred connections. You are not building an audience; you are building a handful of people who would take your call.