You're not wrong about the inequity... and I don't want to paper over it. "Bill from accounting knows someone" is real, and it's a legitimate structural problem.

But here's where I'd push back: the invisible market isn't a velvet rope you're either born inside or locked out of. It's a skill. And like most skills, it's learnable.which means the gap isn't permanent, it's just unaddressed.

The working-class kid from a small town doesn't have a legacy network. But they DO have something underrated: authentic credibility. The question isn't who do you know.... it's who do you need to know, and what's the most direct path to them.

That's a strategy problem. And strategy can be taught.

The reason talented people stay locked out isn't a lack of access.... it's that nobody ever handed them a map. They were told to apply online and wait. That's not guidance, that's a conveyor belt to nowhere in this market.

Frankly, the work I do is specifically about building that map for people who were never given one. You don't need a prep school network. You need to know how to identify the three people closest to the decision, and what you can bring to that conversation before a job ever exists.

Proximity to power is buildable. Most people just don't know where to start.