A business professor and entrepreneur offered career guidance to young individuals struggling to find employment during a recent appearance, stressing that networking and personal connections remain critical for a long and successful professional journey.
During the interview, Galloway highlighted the stark realities of modern job searches. “When a company posts a job opening, they receive 200 resumes in about eight minutes. They narrow it down to the 20 most qualified candidates. Seventy percent of the time, the person they choose is someone with an internal advocate,” he stated.
Galloway’s advice—from the NYU Stern School of Business’s marketing department—aligns with extensive research on hiring patterns. Studies show employee referrals, while making up only 6% to 7% of job applications, [blank] across various industries, underscoring why building connections matters. You never know who might help you land your next role.
The social imperative
Galloway’s guidance seems deceptively simple: If you want a great career, you first need to build connections in the real world. “As a young person, the way to [achieve professional success] is to go out, make friends, socialize, and help others whenever possible,” he said, also recommending speaking positively about people behind their backs and positioning yourself to be remembered when opportunities arise.
“You want to be considered for opportunities even when you’re not physically present,” Galloway noted, emphasizing that effective networking creates advocates who will recommend you for positions even when you’re not actively job hunting.
The professor drew parallels to high school social dynamics to illustrate his point.
“The most successful people in high school aren’t the best-looking or the top athletes—they’re the ones who like others the most. Think of the kid who says, ‘Hey, great game, Brett,’ or ‘Wow, nice job on the basketball team, Lisa.’ The person who shows the most goodwill and genuine liking toward others is the most popular and successful in high school,” he explained.
Research supports Galloway’s claim. Referred candidates are [blank] more likely to be hired than those sourced through other means, and people hired via internal referrals [blank] perform 25% better and stay 70% longer than employees hired through traditional job boards.
This advice extends to current workplace trends around remote work vs. returning to the office. As expected, office-goers have a clear advantage because they can be more social with colleagues. According to a [blank], young remote professionals are 38% less likely to get promotions compared to their in-office peers.
You can watch the full interview with Scott Galloway and Shane Smith below.
For this story, [blank] used generative AI to assist with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.
A version of this story originally published on [blank] on October 7, 2025.