| > Networking is for people who don't know what they are doing... "Networking" is simply the process of meeting other people with whom you might one day establish a (professional) relationship with. It takes place everywhere people meet. That includes university classrooms and the offices of employers. > So if you go to a networking event, understand that you are automatically putting yourself into this class of person. You must have a very narrow view of what constitutes a "networking event." A lecture with a reception is potentially a "networking event." An conference is an opportunity to network. Are you seriously going to suggest that folks who attend lectures and conferences are all hapless fools? If so, I take it you rejected your invite to the Allen & Company conference in Sun Valley? > If you are someone who provides a lot of value, other people will go out of their way to meet you... This akin to the mistaken belief that if you build it, they will come. If nobody knows who you are and what you do because you've "cloistered" yourself for half a decade, nobody is going to seek you out because they don't know you even exist. > Do you think Elon Musk goes to a lot of networking events? Do you think Steve Jobs went to a lot of networking events? Steve Jobs met Steve Wozniak through a high school friend. Elon Musk is a member of the "PayPal Mafia." If you believe that Steve Jobs and Elon Musk built billion dollar businesses on their own while holed up in a bedrooms in a house on a quiet street in Silicon Valley, you might want to read up on their stories before trotting them out as examples of business titans who never networked. > If you are early in your career and legitimately aren't providing a lot of value yet, because it's early, then I would offer that your time is much better spent cloistered away becoming excellent at what you do... Excellence often does require focused, individual effort, but it's a lot harder to achieve if you refuse exposure to folks who have more knowledge and experience than you. |