Re:How to Grow Professional Relationships
by digging on Thursday December 05, 2024 @11:15AM
(#42329506)
Hm, I mostly agree, but I think that's a bit tangential.
It's not like people really get to make that choice and still have a good chance at success. In order to meet any definition of success[1], you need to get hired. And also, if you're in a job that's making you miserable, you once again need to get hired (somewhere else). Networking is the solution to that problem. If you're not someone who can enjoy and/or succeed at networking, your career is at risk. There's not much you can do about that except take a different path.
[1] excluding either "leave the field and succeed somewhere else" or "start your own company"[2]
[2] although starting one's own company without a robust network would probably also be a pretty difficult path
Then it's best to recognise this early and decide if you want to be true to yourself or if you want to succeed[1].
[1] Depending on your definition of "success", plodding along for 40 years as an IC, contributing your skills to whichever employer and eventually retiring is, for many, "Success" with a capital "S". The people giving the networking advice are using a different definition, which is usually "rising in your career until you are making an impact far larger than an IC could". Not networking with the other rising stars gives you a very low chance of attaining that second definition of success.