It’s not working yet...
You sent 20 messages.
You had 3 calls.
Nothing happened.
That’s normal.
But it doesn’t feel normal.
It feels frustrating.
It feels like you’re doing something wrong.
You’re not.
Here’s the thing.
We live in a world of instant gratification.
Same day delivery.
Swipe right and match.
Post something and get likes in seconds.
Order coffee on an app so you don’t have to wait in line like some kind of peasant.
We’ve been trained to expect fast results.
So when we put effort into something and don’t see a payoff right away, our brain tells us it’s broken.
That we should try something else.
That this isn’t working.
Our brain is dramatic like that.
But networking doesn’t work like that.
It’s not a vending machine.
You don’t put in effort and get a job out.
If only.
It’s more like planting seeds.
Some grow fast.
Some take months.
Some never grow at all.
And some you completely forget about until a random flower pops up and you’re like “wait when did I plant that?”
That’s the hard part.
You have to keep going without knowing.
You have to trust the process even when there’s no proof it’s working.
Which is annoying.
Because proof would be nice.
A little sign from the universe saying “hey this is working keep going” would be great.
But no.
You just have to keep planting and hope you’re not yelling into the void.
That takes a different kind of mindset.
Most people quit when they don’t see results.
They send 10 messages, get no responses, and decide networking doesn’t work for them.
Meanwhile someone else sends 50 messages, gets 3 responses, has 1 call, and lands a job two months later.
Same strategy.
Different staying power.
The people who land opportunities through networking aren’t doing anything magical.
They’re not more charming or better looking or using some secret LinkedIn hack.
They just didn’t stop.
They kept showing up.
Week after week.
Even when it felt pointless.
Especially when it felt pointless.
Even when their mom asked “so have you found anything yet?” for the 47th time.
That person you talked to last Tuesday might not have anything for you today.
But in three months they get a call from a recruiter looking for someone with your background.
And they remember you.
Not the 50 other people who reached out and disappeared.
You.
Because you followed up.
Because you stayed in touch.
Because you were a human and not just a LinkedIn request that vanished into the void.
That’s how this works.
The win doesn’t come from one conversation.
It comes from staying in the game long enough for the right moment to find you.
So if you’re reading this and thinking “I’ve been doing everything right and I have nothing to show for it”...
At the risk of sounding like an annoying cliche - keep going.
You’re not behind.
You’re not failing.
You’re just in the middle of the process.
The messy, annoying, “is this even working” middle.
The results are coming.
They’re just not on your timeline.
And that’s okay.
The universe has terrible project management skills.
Keep planting.
PS If you are interested in how to run networking calls - comment, thinking of doing a free zoom call over this next week!