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“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

An old boss of mine used to say that. He also said things such as “Beerful of fridge,” “I don’t often have five-syllable days,” and “Anyone who can fire me: Do not annoy,” but that’s another matter. (And yes, I used to write these down when he’d come up with them. You just don’t want to forget a saying like “We’re the drug dealers as far as sales are concerned.”)

I came across that list of boss-sayings the other day, and the one about luck got me to thinking: How much of what we do as tireless job seekers and career climbers is due to our own good hard work, and how much to being the right personality, the right charisma, the right cultural fit?

Soft skills vs hard, sending out resumes vs networking…when it comes to getting or holding onto a job, is it just the luck of the draw?

Or is the answer, “All of the above?”