The first time I met Andrés Corral in person was last week. We had been friends for almost four years by then, first on LinkedIn, then WhatsApp, then video calls and Discord. We had never actually been in the same room. Turns out he is tall, which I did not expect, because on a video call everyone is the same height.
Back in 2022 I was a university lecturer in sports science. I had been teaching myself to code for a couple of months, with no real idea where it was going. One day I saw a comment Andrés left on someone else's post. He was talking about mentoring people trying to break into tech. I sent a connection request, he accepted, and a little later I messaged him with a question.
Andrés was a product manager. He ended up being my first mentor, and not long after, the person who gave me my first real shot as a developer. He gave me context. He pointed me in the right direction. He explained how the industry actually worked while I was still learning the basics.
That one relationship turned into introductions. Those introductions turned into projects. Those projects turned into more people. Every job I have had since traces back to that first conversation. There were a few jumps in between, but they all start in the same place.
I think sometimes about why it worked. It was not because I had a strong technical profile, because I did not. It was not because Andrés owed me anything, because he did not. It worked because I showed up with genuine interest, asked real questions, and actually did something with the answers.
I never landed a job by submitting an application on LinkedIn. Not one. Every door opened through a person. So if you are trying to break into this field, spend less time polishing your application and more time becoming someone worth introducing.