“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know!”  The old adage, while certainly over simplified and perhaps a little cynical, is an important reminder that often the one break a person needs to get started in a career is a personal connection to that first opportunity.  In the age of online social networking, the connections we have are often impersonal and disingenuous.  A person who is merely a number in you connection list is not likely to prove to be reliable or effective in helping you advance your career.