NETWORKING VS MERIT: WHAT REALLY OPENS DOOR FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗜𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗘𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵

Many young people believe that qualifications and skills alone guarantee success. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀, 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

Take these examples:

• A brilliant graduate sends dozens of job applications but receives no responses.
• Another candidate with decent grades but a strong network lands multiple interviews quickly.

The difference isn’t luck it’s visibility, trust, and access, which strong networks provide.

 In today’s competitive world, 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝗳 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀

Research shows that over 70% of jobs are filled through referrals or professional connections. Employers are not just looking for competence they are hiring people they 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁, and 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻.

Networking does more than open doors. It:

• 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: You gain insights from mentors and peers who have already walked the path.
• 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Being recommended by someone trusted signals that you are reliable.
• 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: Many positions, projects, and collaborations never make it to public listings they go straight to connected candidates.

Without networking, merit can remain unseen, undervalued, and underutilized.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗶𝘁𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼

Many youths make these mistakes:

• Focusing solely on certificates and ignoring relationship-building.
• Treating networking as manipulation rather than authentic connection.
• Being invisible not attending events, engaging online, or joining communities.
• Seeking help without first 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀.

The result is that remain highly capable but largely unnoticed.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴

The key is not choosing one over the other, it’s 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

 Here’s how:

1. 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀: Develop your expertise until your work speaks for itself. Mastery builds confidence and credibility.
2. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀: Focus on authentic connections, not transactional interactions. Mentors, peers, and industry professionals can guide, open doors, and provide opportunities.
3. 𝗕𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲: Attend events, participate in discussions, contribute online, and showcase your achievements thoughtfully.
4. 𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽: Offer guidance, resources, or support to others first. People remember those who help without expecting immediate returns.
5. 𝗕𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: Use your network to open doors and your merit to walk through them successfully.

𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

• 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁; 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄. True success comes from combining both effectively.
• 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹: reach out to a mentor this week, join an online professional group, or volunteer in a project aligned with your career.
• 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀: maintain connections consistently, not just when you need something.
• 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: your work and your network should both contribute to meaningful growth.

Remember: being skilled is just the start. 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, and 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 is how opportunities turn into tangible results.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗵

Merit prepares you. Networking exposes you. But the magic happens when you 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆. The doors won’t always open themselves, and waiting for luck is a risky game. Take the first step today reach out, offer help, connect genuinely, and let your skills shine.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗱.