17 Jan 2026 1 min read Career Growth

Networking Is Just “Making Friends” for People Who Hate Business

I hate the word networking.

It sounds like a transaction.
Like you’re trying to extract value from another human being.

And most of the time, you are.

We’ve all been to those events.
You stand in a room with warm beer and cold pizza.
You scan name badges.
You look for someone “important.”

It feels gross because it is gross.

Here’s the truth about building a career in tech:
the best opportunities don’t come from a stranger you met for five minutes.
They come from people who actually like you.

I’ve written before that the right attitude is worth more than knowing everything.
That rule applies here, too.

If you’re the smartest person in the room but you treat people like rungs on a ladder,
you’ll climb alone.

Stop trying to network.
Start trying to make friends.

The person you ignore at a conference because they look junior
might be the hiring manager you work with in five years.

The quiet developer you helped debug a nasty issue
will remember you when their company opens a lead role.

This industry is smaller than you think.
Your reputation enters the room before you do.

If you want a career that lasts ten or twenty years, you need allies.
You don’t get allies by handing out business cards.
You get them by being helpful when there’s no immediate payoff.

Respect is given by default.
Don’t burn it by being transactional.

Go make some friends.
The rest tends to take care of itself.