How much truth is there in the saying, "it’s who you know not what you know?"

"Who you know" can definitely help you in finding an internship or a permanent job. I definitely recommend building your contacts and constantly growing your network circles. LinkedIn is great for maintaining and growing your contacts. But also leverage other social media channels. Remember that anything on your social media accounts may be viewed by a prospective or current employer, so be careful what you post. During my career, I have had found most of my jobs/positions through networking. So "what you know" will help you do the job, but "who you know" will get you the exposure to the opportunity in the first place. So you do need both. "What you know" is your skills and experience -- what you would put on your resume. After you get a job, "who you know" within the company is critical to your success and ability to get things done -- for example, knowing who to include and when in order to foster collaboration, teamwork, and getting the right "buy in" and approvals when needed.

While it is important to build your brand by forming a network of people who can help guide you where you want your career to go, what you know will ensure your success in your given role. So I would advise you to build relationships with people who've achieved goals you set for yourself who can act as mentors and resources and at the same time, keep a keen focus on what you need to know in order to grow in your career of choice.

What you know is most important in the early part your career (at the most junior levels). Showing you are competent is key to demonstrate that you belong and can add value in your job. Later in your career (at the more senior levels) a large degree of competence is already an expectation. So the senior most people want to surround themselves with people they know and trust, that is where who you know becomes more important. My advice to you is to do the job (whatever it is) to the best of your ability. Make sure you start to build your circle of friends and stay in touch with everyone that you work with along the way. Build your professional network like you would build your circle of friends on Facebook. Wishing you good luck.

Who you know gets you the interview! What you know gets you the job!
Who you know gets you the project! What you know lets you complete the project!

Over a decent span of time what you know will eventually guide how successful you are! Who you know can just make it happen faster.

Hope that helps

Its a nice balance of both. I have seen highly skilled people who failed in their careers because they relied too heavily on their knowledge alone. "Who you know" is important in two ways... 1) it helps you get exposure to new opportunities and can help in the interview process; and 2) advocates while you are in a job are equally important. Advocates (your manager, a mentor) can introduce you to new people and help describe your value to a company to others. Finding a manager you like, trust, and can grow professionally under is a very important thing to look for.

In my career "who you know" has taken me a long way! Building a network, and building your credibility within that network is an awesome resource to tap into. Think about professors, people you've met at past jobs, your current peers that will one day be working at a company you may want to apply for!...If you have an "in" at a company - it holds a lot of weight to help get the job and be seriously considered above other candidates. With all that said, you're only going to be credible within your network (or someone that your contacts would WANT to refer) if you demonstrate responsibility and ability. If people know you to be kind, smart, and hard working - they'll likely recommend you. WHO you know will help get you in the door. WHAT you know will actually get you the job.

Who you know can help you get your foot in the door at a company. Grow your personal network, and keep in contact with people in your network. LinkedIn is a great way to
track the people in your network, but you should also maintain individual contact with key members of your network. You may have hundreds of contacts in LinkedIn of people you know, or have met somewhere along the way; but, there may be 25 people that you keep in regular contact with as part of your immediate network.

Work your network. A quick phone call or a note can keep you in touch with a key contact. Later, when you are seeking a key contact inside a company, it is easier to make a call to someone you have kept in touch with along the way.

Yes and no.

Who you know gets your foot in the door. It helps you network. What you know is how you sell yourself and get an actual job. Never underestimate the power of your social network.

Who you know, helps you get interviews and face time with people and may get you in the door of a place you might not be able to if you didn't know someone, but once you are there it is what you know that sets you apart from everyone else. Be confident, be honest, be open with the person you are interviewing with - You will be asked about strengths and weaknesses - they will be looking for what you have learned and what changes you have made to change your weaknesses or development opportunities into strengths.

It's certainly important to build a network of colleagues/contacts throughout college and within the workplace however; it is more what you know, the skills you've developed/mastered and reputation earned as someone who is capable, accomplished, flexible, eager, etc that will permit you to leverage this network for future challenging, satisfying opportunities throughout your career.

While it shouldn't be the case, it sometimes can. However, if you really know your product, you have the skills, and your performance is high, you can overcome much of this bias.

This is a tough question but here is what I have learned over the years. Who you know can maybe get you an interview and guide you however is more about the hardwork and what you know that gets you the job. If you are willing to work hard and have a lot of knowledge that will help land the job. If i could tell you anything i would tell you learn everything and anything you can. the more you know the more opprotunities there are.