People sometimes like to tout "networking" to those in the job search....I find it annoying at times and I don't see it as the panacea that some people think it may be.
Networking can be effective when those in your social circle are supportive of your goals, and you are supportive of theirs. But when people get increasingly competitive rather than supportive, then how effective is this strategy? Unless maybe you are dealing with close relatives who look out for you because they are family...they can help. But when the job market is cutthroat competitive, even with $8/hr low wage jobs, it can bring out people's lesser base instincts...and you are left to fend for yourself in this dog eat dog world of getting ahead of the game.
My grandparents (now deceased) lived during the Great Depression, and I was born in '77 so I imagine most of Gen-X's grandparents knew that hard time in history all too well. But to hear them talk, it seems like people surviving in that era had more of a "we're all in this together" attitude. Fast forward to today's version of that, in which we have increasing disparity between the haves and have nots, and the gainfully employed look at the rest of us with a "Gee, sucks to be you" kind of contempt. Then because you don't have much money, you don't get to spend as much time with your friends and you become increasingly isolated.
Anyone else notice this a lot?
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