As AI transforms the job market, personal connections may be becoming more valuable than ever.

Applying for jobs has become remarkably easy. With tools like ChatGPT, you can tailor your resume to a job description, draft a cover letter, and prepare for an interview in minutes. What used to take an entire evening can now be done during a lunch break.

But there's a problem: everyone else has access to the same tools.

As job applications become faster and easier to produce, employers are receiving more of them, and candidates are finding it increasingly difficult to stand out. A polished resume is no longer particularly impressive when almost anyone can create one. For people entering the workforce or trying to break into a new industry, this creates an uncomfortable situation. They're doing everything they're supposed to do, yet getting noticed seems harder than ever.

A recent World Economic Forum article suggests that this shift could bring an old hiring practice back into focus: personal referrals. As employers struggle to distinguish between applications, knowing someone who can speak to your abilities may become an increasingly important advantage.

When Everyone Has a Great Resume

According to Greenhouse's 2026 research, 78% of surveyed job seekers across the UK, Ireland, and Germany use AI to tailor their resumes or applications. The same company's 2025 Workforce & Hiring Report found that recruiters were handling nearly three times as many applications per role as they did in 2021.

AI has undoubtedly made the application process more accessible, particularly for candidates who struggle with writing or don't have access to professional career services. But it has also changed what a good application means. When hundreds of candidates can produce equally polished resumes, the presentation itself becomes a less useful way to evaluate someone's potential.

Meanwhile, the job market is becoming more challenging for younger workers. An Oliver Wyman Forum and New York Stock Exchange survey found that 43% of CEOs planned to deprioritize hiring for junior roles over the following year, compared with 17% in the previous survey. For graduates who are already competing for a limited number of entry-level opportunities, increased competition makes the situation even more difficult.

This helps explain why employers may be paying renewed attention to referrals. A resume can describe someone's experience and qualifications, but a recommendation from a colleague or trusted professional provides additional information about how that person actually works. It doesn't replace the hiring process, but it can help employers decide which candidates deserve a closer look.

The Growing Importance of Who You Know

Professional connections have always played a role in hiring. What's changing is how valuable those connections could become as AI makes traditional applications easier to produce.

The World Economic Forum points out that referrals can improve hiring outcomes, but they also introduce a serious concern. When opportunities circulate primarily through existing professional networks, people without those connections are at a disadvantage. The very process that helps employers identify promising candidates can make it harder for qualified outsiders to be considered.

Consider two equally qualified graduates looking for their first job in tech. One has friends and family working in the industry, while the other recently moved to a new city and knows almost nobody. Both can use AI to write excellent resumes, research companies, and prepare for interviews. But the first graduate may also have access to conversations, introductions, and opportunities that never appear on a job board.

This is especially relevant for international students, newcomers, and people changing careers. Their biggest obstacle isn't necessarily a lack of ability or motivation. Often, they simply haven't had the opportunity to build relationships with people in the industries they want to enter.

If referrals become more influential in hiring, helping people develop new professional relationships will become increasingly important. Otherwise, AI could make job applications more accessible while leaving access to actual opportunities just as unequal as before.

How to Build Connections When You're Starting From Zero

For someone without an established network, getting started can feel intimidating. LinkedIn makes it possible to reach almost anyone, but sending messages to strangers rarely feels natural, especially when the conversation begins with a request for a referral.

A better place to start is with people whose experiences are relevant to where you want to go. If you're a student interested in product management, for example, you don't necessarily need to reach out to a director at Google. Someone who graduated from your university two years ago and recently landed their first PM role might have much more relevant advice about the hiring process, the skills they developed, and the challenges they faced.

Once you've identified someone, keep your introduction simple and personal. Explain what caught your attention about their background, share a little about yourself, and ask whether they'd be open to a short conversation. You don't need an elaborate pitch or a perfectly written message. Being genuinely interested in someone's experience is usually a better starting point than immediately asking what they can do for you.

When you do meet, focus on understanding their experience rather than trying to impress them. Ask how they got into their field, what surprised them about the job, or what they'd recommend to someone following a similar path. A 20-minute coffee chat can give you insights that are difficult to find in job descriptions or online career guides. You might even discover that a role you've been pursuing isn't quite what you imagined.

It's also worth thinking beyond the first conversation. A short thank-you message afterward is a good start, especially if you mention something specific you found helpful. If you follow their advice, come across an article related to your discussion, or make progress on something you talked about, those can all be natural reasons to reconnect. You don't need to manufacture reasons to stay in touch, and not every conversation needs to turn into an ongoing relationship.

Over time, these interactions can become a professional network built on shared interests and real experiences rather than a collection of LinkedIn connections. Some people may eventually offer advice, introductions, or referrals. Others might become friends, collaborators, or simply people whose perspectives you value.

Of course, finding relevant people and arranging these conversations still takes time. Searching through profiles, writing introductions, waiting for responses, and coordinating schedules can be surprisingly difficult, especially when you're new to an industry or city.

Can AI Make Networking More Accessible?

We've already seen AI transform how people search and apply for jobs. A potentially more interesting use of the technology is helping people discover and build relationships they might otherwise never have formed.

Rather than generating more outreach messages, AI could help identify people whose experiences, interests, and goals make them worth meeting. A student exploring a career in consulting might benefit from speaking with someone who recently made that transition. A designer considering a move into product management might want to meet people who've followed a similar path. These connections don't necessarily exist within someone's current social circle, but they could still be valuable to both people.

This is the idea behind LunchME, an AI-powered platform that helps people discover relevant professional connections and meet over coffee or lunch. Instead of focusing on collecting more contacts, LunchME aims to make it easier to turn potential connections into actual conversations.

Technology can help people find each other, but the value of a relationship still comes from the people involved. Whether it's a casual lunch with someone in your industry or a conversation with a fellow graduate, getting to know people outside your existing circle can expose you to perspectives and opportunities you might otherwise miss.

As AI becomes a standard part of the hiring process, improving your resume and interview skills will remain important. But spending time getting to know people in your field may be just as worthwhile, particularly if you're early in your career or trying to make a change.

Your next job might still come from an online application. It could also begin with a conversation over coffee.