3 min read As graduating seniors start the job hunt and many students look for summer internships, barriers to access to opportunities are becoming more and more apparent. Being connected to important players in your desired field continues to be a requirement for entry. Articles such as “Why Personal Connections Matter & Can Get You Hired” from job-related sites such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn show how important connections can be, but they fail to account for how these connections privilege certain demographics and maintain barriers to people who have a hard time entering the workforce. According to Glassdoor, referrals by current employees can increase the chances of an interview by 2.6-6.6%. If we let these preferential practices and industry expectations of connections continue, the divide between the haves and the have nots will only grow.