In the early part of my career I thought networking was smarmy and unsavory. I tried to avoid it as much as I could, because I didn’t understand what networking was and how to do it properly.
Over the years, I have found that the majority of people feel the same way. They (and I used to) think that networking means schmoozing people with empty small talk to gain some favor or to trick them into giving you something or buying from you, or generally having to give or get something with