How to Network: Building a Professional Network From Zero

Header photo by Duc Van on Unsplash. A stock photo, not a screenshot of AceDraft or of any ATS.

I'm not a networking expert. AceDraft has no networking feature, and I haven't tested any of the advice in this post on a real job search. The best evidence I found on how to network is one large LinkedIn experiment from 2015 to 2019. It didn't test the things most guides tell you to do: cold messages, coffee chats, follow-ups. Everything else here is advice from university career centres, which is careful and sensible but isn't a measured result.

So read this as a starting plan for building a professional network from zero, with the evidence marked for what it is. The one place AceDraft does touch this topic is your resume, and I haven't tested how resumes land in real hiring systems either. If you want to check my ATS claims yourself, check in presale page for our demo resume and you can verify our claims in the opensource tool we have mentioned there.

Key takeaways

• A 2022 study in Science, reported by MIT News, found that weaker LinkedIn ties were on average more useful for changing jobs than strong ones.
• That study only measured connection suggestions on one platform. It didn't test outreach messages or informational interviews.
• Start with people you already know, then ask them who else you should talk to.
• Ask to learn, not for a job. Two university career centres, Florida and UT Dallas, say this in close to the same words.
• I found no source for the "most jobs come from networking" percentage, so there isn't one here.

What does networking actually mean for a job search?

Networking for a job search means building relationships with people who know about the work you want, so you can learn from them and they know you exist. It isn't handing out business cards, and it isn't asking strangers for jobs.

The University of Louisville University Career Center, on a page I read on 17 October 2026, describes it as "building relationships that offer mutual value" and says "good networking is ongoing and reciprocal." I like that framing because it takes the pressure off. You're not trying to get something in one go. You're starting a long, slow conversation.

The strongest evidence that this helps comes from one experiment. MIT News reported on 15 September 2022 on a study published in Science by Rajkumar, Saint-Jacques, Bojinov, Brynjolfsson and Aral. Over five years, from 2015 to 2019, LinkedIn adjusted its "People You May Know" suggestions so that some users saw more strong ties and others saw more weak ties. It covered about 20 million users, roughly 2 billion new connections, over 70 million job applications and 600,000 jobs accepted that were found through the site.

The result: on average, weaker ties were more useful for moving to a new job than stronger ones. The write-up puts it as "the stronger the newly added ties were, the less likely they were to lead to a job transmission."

Here's what that study does and doesn't tell you, in one table, because I don't want to stretch it further than it goes.

So the study supports one idea well: people you know a little can matter more than your closest friends when it comes to hearing about jobs. It says nothing about which messages to send.

How do I start networking when I don't know anyone?

Start networking from zero with the people you already know, even if none of them work in your field, and ask them who they know. You almost always know more people than you think. You just haven't asked them the right question.

The University of Florida Career Connections Center, on its informational interviews page (read 17 October 2026), says "Typically, the best place to start is with your personal network." It suggests asking family, friends, past employers and professors for names of people in fields that interest you.

That's the move. You're not asking your aunt for a job. You're asking her whether she knows anyone who works in, say, logistics, and whether she'd mind you getting in touch.

This lines up with the weak-ties study in a way I find encouraging. The person your aunt knows is a weak tie to you. According to the MIT News write-up (September 2022), moderately weak ties were the most useful kind on LinkedIn. So starting from zero isn't as big a handicap as it feels. A network of weak ties is exactly what you build first.

Here's a first week I'd try. It's my plan, not a tested method.

1. Write down twenty people you could message today. Family, old classmates, former managers, teachers, neighbours. Don't filter yet.
2. Next to each name, note what you know about their work. Leave it blank if you don't know.
3. Message three of them with one question: who do they know in the field you're curious about?
4. Keep a simple spreadsheet of who you asked and what they said.

Twenty is just a number I picked to make the list feel finished. If you get to twelve and run dry, twelve is fine.

If you're starting a career with no work history at all, my post on a resume without work experience covers the document side.

Who should be in my professional network first?

The first people in a professional network should be the ones you can reach most easily: people you know personally, alumni of your school, and members of professional associations in your field. The University of Florida page (read 17 October 2026) lists alumni networks, LinkedIn's alumni feature, professional association chapters, and faculty and staff as routes beyond your personal circle.

Alumni are the easiest cold contact I can think of. You share something real, and it gives you an honest first line. The same goes for anyone who worked at a company you used to work at.

Professional associations are slower but steadier. I'd guess local chapters are where you'd meet weak ties, but I haven't checked. I haven't sourced how useful any particular association is, so I'll leave it there.

Career fairs and conferences belong in this list too. This post doesn't cover them in depth, and the same goes for finding a mentor.

If you're switching fields, the people who made the same switch before you are the best first contacts. My post on a resume for a career change covers how to describe that switch on paper.

What do I say when I reach out to someone new?

When you reach out to someone new, say who you are, how you found them, why you'd like to talk, and ask for a short conversation, not a job. Three career centres I read on 17 October 2026 give nearly the same recipe for the request itself: short and specific. Florida and UT Dallas add the "not a job" part.

The University of Louisville page says "Send a brief email or LinkedIn message explaining who you are, how you found them, and why you'd like to talk," and suggests asking for about half an hour. The University of Texas at Dallas University Career Center's networking page says "Keep your request short, polite, and focused on learning, not job offers," and tells you to mention any mutual contact in your first message. The University of Florida page goes further. It says to "clearly state that you are not seeking a job at this time, but gathering career information", and to ask for 20 to 30 minutes.

Below are two example messages I wrote for this post. Nobody sent them, and I haven't tested how people respond to them. They're there to show the shape.

Example message 1 (written for this post, through a mutual contact): Hi Priya, my name is Sam. My aunt, Meera Rao, mentioned you work in supply chain planning. I'm finishing a business course and trying to learn what the job is like day to day. I'm not looking for a job right now. Would you have 20 minutes in the next few weeks for a call? Happy to fit around your schedule.

Example message 2 (written for this post, alumni): Hi Daniel, I saw on our university's alumni page that you moved from teaching into instructional design. I'm a teacher thinking about the same move, and I'd love to hear how you approached it. Could I ask you a few questions over a 20-minute call? No pressure if you're busy.

Both examples name the link first, say what you want to learn, and ask for a small, specific amount of time. Neither asks for a referral. The UT Dallas page says plainly not to ask strangers for referrals, recommendations or introductions "before establishing rapport", and to avoid unsolicited sales pitches.

On LinkedIn, the same rules apply, and a clear headline helps people place you before they reply. My post on LinkedIn headline examples covers that part. This post doesn't cover LinkedIn networking in depth.

Networking emails follow the same structure as the messages above, with a short, specific subject line. This post doesn't cover writing them in depth.

What if they don't reply?

If someone doesn't reply, wait about a week and send one short follow-up, then move on. That's the University of Louisville's advice: "Wait about a week, then send one short follow-up message." The UT Dallas page warns against repeated follow-ups to someone who hasn't responded.

The Louisville page also says "Be patient, some people may not respond right away." I'd add that silence usually isn't about you. People are busy, and your message landed on a bad Tuesday.

How do I network without it feeling transactional?

Networking feels less transactional when you treat it as a two-way relationship: you ask to learn, you say thank you specifically, and you share how things turned out. The University of Louisville page (read 17 October 2026) calls good networking "ongoing and reciprocal" and suggests sharing updates on your progress.

The transactional feeling comes from asking for something big too early. That's why the Florida and UT Dallas pages both say to ask for information, not a job. When you only ask for 20 minutes of someone's knowledge, the request is small enough to feel normal.

Thank-you notes do a lot of the work here. The University of Florida page suggests a handwritten card or email that mentions a specific part of the conversation. The UT Dallas page says the same: mention something specific you learned. "Thanks for your time" is polite. "Thanks, your point about learning SQL before applying changed my plan" is memorable.

And then tell them what happened. If they suggested a course and you took it, say so a month later. That's the reciprocal part. You're giving them the satisfaction of knowing the advice landed.

Author's take. The nervous part is real. The University of Louisville page says nerves are normal ("That's normal!") and reminds you "this is a conversation, not a test." It suggests writing your questions down and practising with a friend. I'd do exactly that, because a written list stops you freezing on the second question.

If you're an introvert, all of this works by message first, and the conversations can stay short. This post doesn't cover introvert-specific networking in depth.

How do I keep a professional network going once I have one?

Keep a professional network going by getting in touch every month or every few months, and by tracking who you've talked to. The University of Texas at Dallas page (read 17 October 2026) suggests staying in touch "once a month or quarterly" and says weekly isn't necessary.

The same page suggests tracking contacts in a spreadsheet with calendar reminders. That sounds cold, but it's the only way I know to not forget people. Columns I'd use:

• Name and how you met
• What they do
• Last time you talked, and what about
• One thing to follow up on
• Next reminder date, which is the column that actually keeps the system alive

Staying in touch doesn't need a reason as big as a job search. A short update, an article that relates to something they said, or a question you've thought of since. The University of Louisville page suggests following up with later questions, which is a natural excuse to write.

The University of Florida page also suggests asking, during an informational interview, who else the person recommends you talk to. That one question is how a network grows past the people you started with. Each conversation can hand you the next one.

Where does my resume fit into networking?

In my own judgement, your resume fits into networking after a conversation, when someone offers to look at it or pass it on, not in your first message. I don't have a source for this. It's my view, and I'm marking it as that.

My reasoning comes from the career-centre advice. If the first message is meant to be about learning and not job offers, as UT Dallas and Florida both say, then attaching a resume to it sends the opposite signal. It turns "can I learn from you" into "please get me hired".

Once someone does offer, the resume needs to be ready. I'd have a current version prepared before you start reaching out, so you can send it the same day. I haven't measured whether that helps, and I'm not claiming it does.

Two parts of AceDraft are relevant at that point, and I'll say where each one stops:

If a contact mentions a specific opening, the job post is the thing to tailor against. My guide to finding the right resume keywords covers that. A short, clear summary also helps someone who's skimming on your behalf, and these resume summary examples show a few.

What haven't I tested?

I haven't tested any networking method in this post on a real job search, and the only measured evidence I have is one LinkedIn study with clear limits. Here's the full list.

• The weak-ties study (MIT News, September 2022) covered LinkedIn connection suggestions from 2015 to 2019. It didn't test outreach messages, informational interviews or resumes.
• The career-centre pages from Florida, UT Dallas and Louisville are advice. None of them reports a measured outcome, and none shows a date.
• The two example messages were written for this post. Nobody has sent them.
• I found no source for networking in India or the UK, so nothing here is specific to either.
• I found no source for any "percent of jobs found through networking" figure, which is why there isn't one.
• AceDraft has no networking feature. The resume section is my own judgement.

For the resume side, if you'd rather check than trust, check in presale page for our demo resume and you can verify our claims in the opensource tool we have mentioned there.

Use this plan if you're starting from nothing and want a slow, polite way in: people you know first, small asks for information, specific thank-yous, and a spreadsheet to keep it going.

Skip it if you need a job by next week. Everything here is built on relationships, and the UT Dallas career centre says not to ask strangers for referrals before you've built rapport. Apply directly in the meantime.

Sources

• MIT News, "The strength of weak ties", Peter Dizikes, 15 September 2022, on Rajkumar et al., "A Causal Test of the Strength of Weak Ties", Science. Read 17 October 2026.
• University of Florida Career Connections Center, "Informational Interviews", no date shown, read 17 October 2026.
• University of Texas at Dallas University Career Center, "Networking", no date shown, read 17 October 2026.
• University of Louisville University Career Center, "Networking & Informational Interviewing", no date shown, read 17 October 2026.