it's not what you know but whom you know

A form of it's not what you know but who you know — For success, and especially to obtain employment, one's knowledge and skills are less useful and less important than one's network of personal contacts.

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Meanings

proverb
  1. alternativeAlternative form of it's not what you know but who you know.
Cite this entry
APA

it's not what you know but whom you know. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/it's%20not%20what%20you%20know%20but%20whom%20you%20know

MLA

“it's not what you know but whom you know.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/it's%20not%20what%20you%20know%20but%20whom%20you%20know. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “it's not what you know but whom you know,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/it's%20not%20what%20you%20know%20but%20whom%20you%20know.

Source: it's not what you know but whom you know on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.