I'm not a genius, nor do I believe I'm the absolute best at what I do.
It took me 30 years to realize that, no matter how good I am, networking often determines success. I'm in a career I don't enjoy, unable to move up or change, while others get jobs through connections. About 80% of my colleagues were hired this way, while a few of us got in by luck.
Networking seems to drive career advancement.
I'm naturally a loner and find it hard to feign interest in others' lives. I prefer spending time alone and struggle to genuinely connect with people.
Emotional intimacy drains me, and I dread future interactions, even though I know this is normal.
While I'm okay being alone, I feel that relationships are crucial for progress after a certain point.
I even broke up with my partner because I can't handle constant companionship. It was so draining that I stopped enjoying sexual intimacy.
I'm fine without a partner; I don't want to subject anyone to my solitude. However, I want to change careers, and I know connections are vital.
I'm feeling stuck and unsure how to move forward. It seems the two crucial factor (luck and networking) are outside my influence.
Every single one of my jobs came not from networking, but just cold applying to positions. If networking feels inauthentic to you, I would say just to forget about it and work at getting good at your craft. If you can demonstrate you have the skills and a company has a need for that skillset, they will hire and networking skills will be irrelevant.
Also, if you're not having much success at applying for a type of position, it may be that the timing is just not right, e.g. a company has a superabundance of web developers, but what they are really in need of is embedded software developers. In a lot of cases, it's not about you, but about what the company's needs are.
At one point in time, I applied to a company and failed to get in, but later on, I tried again, got the position, and it was a great opportunity. Was I that much better? Not really, just a timing thing.
So don't give up and keep moving forward with practicing your skills and applying. The more you prepare and try, the better the odds of success.