What I loved about working with Mike at Find My Profession was that networking just works differently when someone else does it for you.
If you're reaching out to a company and saying "hey, I'm interested in this job and think I'd be a great fit", the natural response is something along the lines of "of course you'd say that -- you want the job."
But when someone else reaches out for you and says that you'd be a great fit, and they don't have any obvious skin in the game, it has a much bigger impact. People are more inclined to take it at face value, and then you have your foot in the door at the company.
Also, money spent on getting a professionally prepared resume is just a good investment. Every mediocre or crappy resume that you send out is a waste of time and burns another opportunity.