I reached out to a connection on LinkedIn who works at a company I'm targeting, hoping to get a referral for an open role. I sent a polite message asking if he could refer me, but his response was blunt: "I only refer people I have actually worked with." At first, I felt a bit hurt by his response, but after reflecting on it, I realized he was right. If he puts his name on my resume and I don't perform well, it could damage his reputation. It made me think about the challenge of breaking into a new network. If everyone only refers people they know, how can someone like me get a chance? It feels like a Catch-22: I need a referral to get past the resume bots, but I can't get a referral without having worked with someone already. I wonder what the best approach is—should I spend months building a relationship with someone just for a referral? Or is networking on LinkedIn just a myth if there's no shared history? I'm curious how others have navigated this situation.