I’m Tired of People Wanting to Network With Me

Dear Evil HR Lady,

Will you please stop telling people to network in order to find jobs? I appreciate the need to keep in contact with former colleagues and to speak with people I meet at professional conferences. I know that I will some day want a new job and I hope my contacts will help me.

But, I’m happily employed. In fact, the problem is I have a good job with a good company. I swear everyone I’ve ever passed on the street has tried to get me to get them a job. If I worked with you in the past, it might make sense. But, just because your cousin is my next door neighbor, doesn’t mean you now have an “in” at my company.

I get LinkedIn requests from people I’ve never met, but they’ve seen my name along with my company, so they send a request. I’m tired of it. Tell people to stop. I feel guilty not helping these people, but I also refuse to recommend someone if I don’t know what kind of worker they are.

I'm Tired Of People Wanting to Network With Me