As you will hear from anyone with an opinion, the best way to get jobs is through networking.
This is why you see so many senior designers repeating the importance of networking. For example:
<aside> 💡 You work with a team of 4 designers. 3 years later, half of them have moved on to work at companies you would love join. If you had a great relationship with those former co-workers and they truly valued your skills, they will jump at the opportunity to personally referr you the next time a role that you qualify for opens up.
</aside>
Most big companies have a semi-formal referral process which actually asks for the relationship between the two parties. Ranked at the very top is "I have personally worked with this person in this job function." Not all referrals are equal. The "I met this person on LinkedIn" referral might be better than nothing, but pales in comparison with the personal connection.
Unfortunately, this strategy suffers from the chicken-egg situation of "what you just haven't personally worked with anyone else who has a job?"
True, you caught me.
It might be a bit bold to assume a big reason people starting out in their careers want to expand their network is to eventually get referrals to land jobs.
Aside from finding employment opportunities, there are tons of other benefits that come from networking that I won't dive too deeply into. The key to networking is to present a scenario where hopefully the person at the other end has something to gain from it as well, even if it is just feeling good about themselves.