How cold messages and networking work better than AI-polished resumes in landing jobs

In a world of polished resumes and AI-drafted cover letters engineered to stand out from hundreds of other applicants, it’s easy to assume that who-you-know matters less than it once did. Every application now arrives flawless: keywords optimised, achievements quantified, tone calibrated by an algorithm. When everyone sounds equally impressive on paper, the human element should be the first thing to go.

A recruiter sorting through a thousand near-identical applications has no reason to care about a name they recognise, a mutual contact, or a conversation that happened months ago.

Data from a new LinkedIn report says otherwise: 96 per cent of Indian professionals say their professional network is important to navigating their career, and the hiring numbers back that up. Indian applicants with an inside connection were 8.5 times more likely to get hired than those without one.

The effect is just as strong for younger professionals: fewer than 20 per cent of Gen Z job applications in India include an inside connection, yet those that do are nearly 10 times more likely to lead to a hire.

Where you live used to decide your ceiling — now it doesn’t have to

The shift matters most for people who don’t live where the jobs traditionally are. As Nirajita Banerjee, LinkedIn Career Expert, puts it: “For a long time, where you lived shaped the course of your career. Professional networking is changing that.

The research suggests that 87 per cent of Indian professionals believe networks can widen access to opportunities for talent outside India’s traditional hubs, a belief that runs highest in Chennai at 91 per cent.

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The effect is sharpest in Pune, where half of professionals 50 per cent as per the report, says advancement requires a blend of skills, visibility and network, eight points above the national figure, suggesting the city’s competitive job market has made relationship-building a practical necessity rather than a nice-to-have.

Skills alone, it seems, is not the whole picture. In Chennai, 43 per cent say the best chance of advancing comes from a combination of skills, visibility and network, and in Pune that rises to 50 per cent.

“I had no one who knew someone”

For Anjali Shukla, Career Advisor and Content Creator, the proof was personal. “I didn’t start in a city; I had no one who knew someone,” she says. What she did have was curiosity. “My curiosity to just send a message and ask for help changed my career.”

She admits the first cold messages were intimidating. “I felt shy about sending cold messages at first but pushed myself to try it anyway.” The response surprised her: “People and seniors were ready to help. They appreciated that I was asking the questions.”

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That built her confidence, and the things she had assumed would hold her back stopped mattering. “My city, my college name and my degree didn’t matter anymore. The ability to ask questions and work on the responses received helped me land new job offers and even business opportunities.”

Shraddha Pawar, Software Development Engineer at Adobe, tells a similar story from further out. A first-generation engineer from Jeur, a small village in Maharashtra, she grew up without access to people who could guide her through the corporate world. “Figuring out career opportunities, reaching the right people, and navigating the industry often felt unfamiliar,” she recalls.

A friend’s nudge to personally reach out changed that.. She began connecting with people on similar journeys, learning from their experiences and eventually sharing her own. “Over time, these connections opened doors to opportunities and conversations I never imagined having.”

Today she is an engineer at Adobe and a creator with over 100,000 followers. For her, a network “helps bridge the gap between where you come from and where you aspire to go. Your starting point shouldn’t determine the opportunities you can access.”

Sending the first text is the hardest part

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If networks work this well in landing a job, why isn’t everyone using them? Because the first message is hard.

46 per cent of Indian professionals say they don’t feel confident reaching out, and the figure climbs to 53 per cent in Hyderabad and 66 per cent in Pune. Fear of judgement weighs on 52 per cent of Hyderabad’s professionals, while 45 per cent nationally aren’t sure how to begin, 40 per cent worry about being a bother and 35 per cent about sounding inauthentic.

Ironically, the people they hesitate to approach are far more willing than they imagine. 92 per cent of Indian professionals say they would respond to and support someone reaching out for career advice, even a stranger.

LinkedIn Career Expert says the best way is to start small and build gradually: a thoughtful comment, a shared interest, or a genuine question can be a meaningful starting point. Chennai’s professionals already take this broad view, with 84 per cent counting the sharing of their own thoughts as networking.

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The small steps pay off, too. In Chennai, 39 per cent say connection made them feel more confident. Women are leading the way, having grown their professional connections faster than men over the last six years (+86 per cent vs +76 per cent).

Next time you are applying for your ideal job, remember: the resume may open the door, but it is the relationship that often walks you through it.