I still think you chose the wrong field. There are millions of intelligent people in the US who could take the jobs you're applying for because you don't need to know ANYTHING about International Relations to do a job in it.

So they'd obviously rather take someone who has a good reference from a person they know. It's not cronyism, it's risk aversion.

People who complain about networking are just sore losers...

They just want the govt to give them everything...

The only thing wrong with my field is that where i live is a good three to five-hundred miles away from where any jobs in my field are. If i lived in the greater DC metro area, i'd just be signed up with all the temp agencies, and eventually i'd punch through somewhere (and have actual work in the meantime).

I do agree some marketable skills would help, but nobody wants to give me the chance to do that, either (no opportunity to improve my Japanese, jack squat).

Somebody's to blame here that isn't me. It's either old people, hiring managers, or cheaters.

Okay, so networking should be illegal... being older and more experienced than Mr Khan should be illegal... anything else? Maybe this would go faster if you just told us what should be legal.

Conversely, the people who defend this practice confuse me. Everyone who has disagreed with me in the thread has agreed that networking is not enjoyable. So if everyone hates it, why does anyone do it?

Mandatory retirement ages is something that should come back. Bored old people should not be taking opportunities away from me and people like me.

Transparent, merit-based hiring systems are what should be legal. All decisions should be completely open to public scrutiny. Every application put out should get a human-written response as to why they did or did not get this job. When these companies obscure their processes, i can only imagine they're hiding something harmful.

Fuck that shit. Clearly you've never had to hire anybody.

Because it works.  I got my first job because I went to a networking event and just by chance met my future boss along with the companies recruiting manager.  Are there any events you can go to just to meet people in your field?

Actually that brings up a questions:  Are you attempting to get a job by completely trying not to network?  If so I might suggest trying it and see where it gets you. 

It's not an issue of trying not to network. I can't network. I don't know anyone, an occurrence based purely out of the matter of luck, as i attended lectures and events and other things in college. Just never met the right person, and no i have no ins anywhere. I live in the wrong place, and lack the funds to get to the right place (the delightful catch-22 of needing a job to be able to do anything).

I've never had the opportunity to do so. But if i were, i would kill myself from overwork rather than undertake the exploitative hiring practices currently in place.