Who has gotten a job with absolutely no connections?
nathanb: I got my current job--my first out of college--without any connections. It's a kernel programming job. I got it because I was able to talk intelligently about writing distributed systems and what a node-local kernel can do to facilitate distributed user-space applications.That said, never underestimate the power of connections. I got my first internship because I "knew a guy who knew a guy". You never know when your scoutmaster or soccer coach or parents' friend from church or whatever unlikely acquaintance is going to end up working for (or founding!) the company that can provide you your dream job.