In a job market where employers can be slow to hire, finding ways to make connections inside companies can be important, especially early in your career.

Building professional relationships matters because, while it's easier than ever to apply for jobs — thanks, AI — it can be that much harder to stand out.

Finding ways to connect with people on the inside might be enough to get a hiring manager to give your application a green light.

This approach is often more effective than expecting your résumé to do all the talking, career advisors told Business Insider. This is particularly the case if you're starting out in your career and don't have much experience.

"People hire people, they don't hire paper," said Andy Chan, who runs the Office of Personal and Career Development at Wake Forest University.

He said that job seekers too often think of recruiting and applying for jobs as transactional processes. While they are, to some degree, it's important to try to ground your interactions with an employer in relationships, Chan said.

That matters because, in many industries, hiring is sluggish. While overall unemployment remains low, some companies are cutting workers, and asking more of their entry-level hires.

Chan said the best way to land an interview is to know someone within an organization or have someone recommend that you speak with someone at a company.

After a chat, that person might then talk to the hiring manager or someone in HR and let them know you're applying, Chan said.

"That bit of endorsement is frequently the key to getting an interview," he said.

Spend two-thirds of your time networking

Chan said it's important that most job seekers, including those looking for their first professional role, spend about 60% to 70% of their time talking with people. That means only 30% to 40% of the time should be spent on applying.

"Most students will say, 'Whoa, I spent like 100% of my time online,'" he said, adding that some will report that this approach hasn't worked.

If you don't have many contacts in your field, college career offices can often help you connect with relevant alums and corporate recruiters.

You can also try to make connections by asking someone you admire to talk for a few minutes about their career trajectory in what's sometimes called an informational interview.

To start off right, do your homework by researching the employer and the person you're speaking with.

"If you're going to ask for 15 minutes of their time, be sure to show that you spent 15 minutes of yours," Madeline Mann, a career coach and CEO of Self Made Millennial, previously told Business Insider.

Apply, then start your hustle

Jane Curran, global head of HR operations at the real-estate company JLL, said that job seekers should still apply for roles that make sense for them. After all, you need to be on an employer's radar to be considered. Yet, she said, there's more work to do after clicking "apply."

"Then you have to turn that into a hustle," Curran said. That could mean going to LinkedIn to see who might have a connection at that company, she said.

"You have to go figure out who knows who, and how am I going to stand out? How am I going to get a job interview?" Curran said.

If you do get a chance to chat with someone at a company, be prepared to talk about what's relevant to a business. Increasingly, that means AI. You should be ready to discuss how you're using the technology, even if you have reservations about it.

Catherine Fisher, a career expert with LinkedIn, said that networking doesn't have to mean arranging fancy dinners several nights a week.

Making or keeping a connection with someone can involve modest gestures like offering a substantive comment on someone's post or sending them a text, Fisher said. Other times, like if you're asking someone for a bigger favor, it's likely time to spring for a coffee, she said.

"Networking is a muscle that you're going to have to flex throughout your entire career," Fisher said. "When you're job searching, you're going to be flexing it more."

She said that too often, people think they should only reach out when they have something big to share. Instead, Fisher said, networking can be as simple as messaging to say you were thinking of the person and enjoyed your last conversation.

"You just want to keep those relationships warm," she said, "because they will serve you when you need them."

Fisher said a key part of it is being "reciprocal," so that when people contact you, you share your time as well.

"It just becomes this kind of circle of networking," she said.

Don't overlook your résumé

While networking is often essential, that doesn't mean your résumé can be an afterthought, said Kathleen Powell, chief career officer at William & Mary.

Many employers use applicant-tracking software to take a first pass at reviewing résumés, in part by scanning for keywords that match those of a job description.

She said that because a recruiter or hiring manager might only review a résumé quickly, it's important that it's well-organized.

"If it's in front of a human, make it easy for that human to find the things," Powell said.

Do you have a story to share about your job search? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

An earlier version of this story appeared on July 16, 2025.

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Tim Paradis

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Tim reports on the workplace and how forces like automation, artificial intelligence, and remote work will reshape how many of us make a living. Previously, Tim was Business Insider's future-of-business editor where he oversaw coverage of sustainability; diversity, equity, and inclusion issues; the future of work; careers; and C-suite developments. He previously worked in various corporate research roles, in higher ed, and wrote about Wall Street and the stock market for the Associated Press.Contact Tim via email or the encrypted messaging app Signal at tparadis.70.Links to some of his most popular stories: 

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