Does anyone else love networking?

I'm a Junior in college and I love networking.

I love it how I can email an alum from my school and a banker will email back within a day to schedule a call (my school's alums great for things like that). I like getting on the phone and telling them a little about myself, why I'm interested in IB, and hearing how they got into it and the advice they have.

The weird thing though is I'm an introvert--or at least I thought I was. I had like no friends in high school and a handful in college (so, currently). I'm not in a frat and I almost never attend parties. I'm not a nerd, but not social.

Maybe I like it because I can talk with a goal in mind instead of simple, pointless small talk: I'm trying to get information in a tactful way from the conversation, and maybe some help with an internship. Maybe I like it because networking calls are by definition professional, and I don't really have to worry about how I'm not in a frat, don't go to parties, don't drink, etc. as long as I can hold a decent conversation. Maybe I like it because I leave the call feeling that I've progressed towards something meaningful.

Of course we've all had calls that haven't been great. Once I called someone thinking he was in IB when he was actually in public finance (to be fair, nothing on his linkedin mentioned public finance--it just said "Associate" and I assumed IB Associate), but he was chill about it anyway and I learned about public finance. Another time I felt like we just didn't vibe and it devolved into an awkward kind of interview. 

But overall my experiences have been great! People seem like they want to help me, and that's nice.

What do y'all think about networking? Are there any introverts like me who also have found unexpected enjoyment?