active networking is the 10th circle of hell,never in my life have I felt so actively disgusted with myself in a social context. how do you do this without the urge to 
or how do you tamp down that urge because oh my god I cannot stomach it, it feels so fucking slimy to do. i can’t even do it at events where the sole purpose is networking, my dad pressed me into one and I bailed 15 minutes in after hovering around, it feels so utterly degrading and gross
Intentionally “networking” sounds absolutely miserable, but slowly picking up contacts in your career as you work different companies is worth it. I’ve never actively sought out a network or gone to any events or conferences, but now I just kinda know dozens of people in my field, and whenever I get a new job I’ll already know a few people there. Or I’ll come to an interview and be surprised that one of the people across the table used to work with me a couple years ago and they’ll see me as the safe bet to hire. Or someone will switch agencies and ask me if I want a recommendation to come work with them.
It just feels like an inevitable result of working in the same career for long enough. It started with me getting a shitty entry level job through dumb luck without a network and sticking with it, though.