When I arrived in Australia with an economics degree, two suits and $400 to his name, I had no idea a chance introduction would eventually lead to my first job in the country. That introduction, to the Peruvian ambassador led to a business lunch, which led to a conversation with the Peruvian consul in Sydney, who then shared a list of Peruvians who had built careers here. 

What followed was a long chain of calls, coffee catch-ups, and conversations with engineers, business development professionals and technical specialists, eventually connecting me to a finance manager at IBM who put my name forward for a role. That first job in Australia did not come from a job board or a recruiter cold call. It came from a network built one conversation at a time.

The lesson for job seekers and professionals at any career stage: your network is not something you pull out only when you need it. Treating it like an emergency contact list, ignored until a redundancy or a career change forces your hand, wastes years of positive interactions. A genuine professional network is something you build steadily, tend regularly and contribute to long before you actually need it.

That means staying in touch with former colleagues even when there is nothing to ask for. It means showing curiosity about what other people are working on, not just what they might be able to do for you. It means following up on introductions, even the ones that feel inconsequential at the time, because you never know which node in that chain eventually opens a door.

Intentional does not have to mean transactional. The strongest networks are built on genuine interest and reciprocity, not a running tally of favours owed. Invest in relationships consistently, and when an opportunity does arise, you will already have the trust and rapport in place to make the most of it.