If you're coming straight out of University, there are likely several dozen people who have a reasonable idea of your capabilities -- your classmates and your professors. That's your network.
And the value of that network is often very low in finding a job after university. Your peers are unlikely to be in a position to offer you a job, and your professor may have a connection but realistically this is unavailable to hundreds of grads every semester. When you’re fresh in the career “use your network” feels like the same kinds of job postings that say “junior engineer - must have 3 years professional development experience”.
