r/BuySideCareers

People always say networking is one of the most important parts of recruiting, but I'm curious how much it actually mattered.

Did networking directly help you get interviews or offers? Or was it mostly your resume, deal experience, and interview performance?

If networking did help, what worked best? Cold emails, LinkedIn, alumni, headhunters, or something else?

Would love to hear what made the biggest difference in your recruiting process.

I've been reading a lot about careers in private equity, hedge funds, and venture capital, and one thing keeps coming up: everyone talks about networking.

At first, I thought having strong technical skills (financial modeling, valuation, accounting, etc.) would be the biggest factor. But after looking through a bunch of career stories, it seems like a lot of people got interviews because they reached out to alumni, attended events, or simply stayed in touch with people in the industry.

That got me wondering where the balance actually is.

If someone has:

• A solid resume
• Good technical knowledge
• Decent internship experience

...but doesn't have a strong network, are they already at a disadvantage?

On the flip side, can someone with average technical skills but a great network still land interviews and learn the technical side later?

For those of you already working in PE, VC, HF, asset management, or family offices:

• What mattered most when you got your first buy-side role?
• Was networking the deciding factor?
• If you were starting over today, what would you focus on during your last year of college?

I'd love to hear different perspectives because there seems to be a lot of conflicting advice online