i’ve been networking for about four months now. landed a few coffee chats, talked to maybe a dozen pms or pm-adjacent people. nobody’s offered me anything concrete, but i’m also told “these things take time.”
here’s where i’m stuck: i don’t know if i’m supposed to keep grinding or if i’ve already hit diminishing returns and should pivot to apm applications instead.
i’ve seen people land roles in month two of networking. i’ve also seen people grind for a year with nothing. so how do i actually know when to cut my losses?
what’s the actual metric here? is it number of conversations? elapsed time? quality of conversations? or is it just a gut feeling that you’re not getting anywhere?
i’m also worried that if i switch to apm applications now, it looks like i gave up. but if i keep networking and it doesn’t pan out, i’ll be behind on apm deadlines. so what’s the reasonable decision point?
four months with zero concrete movement is actually a signal. not that you failed—but that your approach or network isn’t working. the “give up” worry is fake. switching strategies isn’t failure, it’s adaptation. decent rule: if you’re not getting warm intros by month three or four, your messaging or tactics are off. apm timeline gives you clarity. go for it. you can always network during the program anyway.
honestly like 4 months isnt that long but also if ur not feeling momentum maybe time to reset?? like apply to apm anyway just in case? no harm in trying both at same time
The metric isn’t time elapsed; it’s quality of output. After four months, you should have: at least two or three people in your network who genuinely know your background and PM ambitions, invitations to second or third conversations from initial contacts, and at least one person who’s aware of specific PM roles that might be open. If you have zero of those, the networking approach isn’t working—not because you’re doing it wrong necessarily, but because the compounding hasn’t started yet. That’s when APM applications make sense as a parallel track.
Four months is still early! But trust your gut. If you want clarity, go for APM applications. You can do both! Take the action that feels right. 
I networked for about five months before I switched modes. Looking back, I realized I’d been having surface-level conversations. Like, coffee chats where neither person really cared. The moment I committed to APM applications, I actually got more serious about my networking conversations too. Something about having a deadline made me better at real connection. The shift wasn’t giving up; it was raising stakes.
also don’t fall for the “wait it out” trap. networking coaches and online people always say “stick with it.” sure, sometimes that’s right. but sometimes you’re just not connecting. apm apps open a new door without closing the networking one. apply.
the momentum thing is real like if u feel dead inside abt reaching out maybe thats the sign? also application deadlines exist so like might as well apply?
One more practical thing: APM applications take 2-3 months of intense effort upfront, then you wait months for decisions. If you start now, you’re committing to a three-month grind plus waiting. Networking, as a parallel activity, actually keeps you sharp during that waiting period. So the decision isn’t really binary. Start APM applications, continue networking at lower intensity, and reassess in December or January when you have more data. That’s the real play.
The thing that helped me decide: I asked my one mentor figure “if I were betting my own money, would I tell me to keep networking or apply to programs.” He said apply. That’s when I knew. Sometimes you need outside perspective on whether your current path is actually working or just familiar.
Consider also your personal risk tolerance. APM acceptance rates are 3-5%, so it’s not a guaranteed backup. But it is a structured path with known outcomes. Networking might land you faster, but the variance is enormous. If you’re someone who needs clarity and structure, APM applications probably should start now. If you’re comfortable with high uncertainty, continue networking while keeping APM as a future option. The psychological fit matters as much as the timeline.