“You need to network.”
It’s probably one of the most repeated pieces of career advice college students hear. Go to events. Make LinkedIn connections. Introduce yourself to recruiters. Stay after the panel. Send the follow-up email. Build relationships.
And to an extent, it’s true. Networking matters. Most industries thrive on connections, referrals and reputation. A recommendation from someone already in the room can open doors faster than a perfect resume ever could.
But at some point, networking starts to blur into something else entirely.
Because what happens when the people getting opportunities are not just connected, but born connected?
There is a major difference between a student attending career fairs trying to make a name for themselves and someone whose family already has one. The phrase “it’s all about who you know” sounds very different when some people enter adulthood already knowing executives, hiring managers, investors or people with influence.
For many students, networking means building connections from scratch. It means awkward introductions, unpaid internships, cold emails and hoping someone eventually notices your potential. For others, networking can look like having a parent who already works in the industry, a family friend willing to make a phone call or a last name that carries weight before they even walk into the interview.
And the uncomfortable truth is that both people can still technically say they “worked hard.”
That is what makes conversations about nepotism so complicated. The issue is rarely that connected people never work hard. Many do. The issue is that some people begin the race several miles ahead while others are still trying to find the starting line.
In industries like media, fashion, entertainment, politics and business, connections can act almost like a second currency. Internships are often easier to secure when someone can personally recommend you. Creative industries especially tend to operate through referrals and circles that can feel impossible to break into from the outside.
Students are constantly told that success comes from effort and determination, but effort does not always create equal access. Two students can have the same talent, the same GPA and the same ambition, yet one gets the interview because their parent went to school with the CEO.
That reality can feel discouraging, especially for first-generation college students or people without family ties to professional industries. It creates a system where networking is not just a skill but a privilege. Some people are taught how to professionally communicate, build connections and navigate corporate spaces from childhood because they grew up around it. Others are trying to decode the rules while actively participating in the game.
Social media has also made the gap more visible. The rise of “nepo babies” conversations online exposed how common inherited opportunity actually is. Suddenly audiences realized how many celebrities, models, editors and executives came from influential families. The frustration people feel is not always about the individuals themselves. It is about the myth that success is always entirely self-made.
Still, networking itself is not inherently bad. Human connection matters. Mentorship matters. Relationships matter. Most people would help someone they know and trust if given the chance. The problem begins when access becomes so concentrated that talent alone is no longer enough to break through.
There is also a difference between networking and gatekeeping. Networking should ideally create opportunities, not quietly reserve them for the same groups of people over and over again.
For students entering competitive industries, this can leave them wondering what they are actually competing against. Is it experience? Skill? Personality? Or decades of invisible social capital built long before they were born?
At the same time, resentment alone does not change the reality of how careers work. Connections will probably always matter. The challenge is figuring out how to navigate systems that were not necessarily built equally while still believing your work has value.
Maybe the real issue is not networking itself but the way people pretend the playing field is equal when it often is not.
Because sometimes it is not just about who you know.
Sometimes it is about who your parents know, who their parents know and whether the door was already cracked open before you even arrived.