When you think about who might help you find your next role or project, you probably think of your closest colleagues and friends. The people who know you best. But they often know the same people and hear about the same opportunities you do.
A large experiment suggests the people a step further out in your network may matter more for your next move.
What the study found
In 2022, Rajkumar and colleagues from MIT, Harvard and Stanford published a study in Science called "A causal test of the strength of weak ties." Over five years, LinkedIn's "People You May Know" feature varied which kinds of connections it recommended to about 20 million users. That let the researchers see what happened when people added more weak ties, more strong ties, or a mix.
They found that moderately weak ties, people you share some connection with but don't know well, did the most to increase job mobility. The weakest ties and the strongest ties helped less. When people added more weak ties, they also applied to more jobs. The pattern differed by industry: weak ties mattered more in more digital industries, and strong ties mattered more in less digital ones.
The study looked at job moves on one platform, so it doesn't capture everything about careers. But it supports an old idea from sociology: new information often comes from outside your closest circle.
The people a step outside your circle can see doors you can't.
Tend your moderately weak ties
You don't need to become a constant networker. A few small habits help:
- Reconnect with former colleagues. A short note when you see their news.
- Say yes to the occasional coffee with a friend of a friend in your field.
- Share what you're working toward. People can't point you to opportunities they don't know you want.
- Be useful. Pass along an article, a job post or an introduction.
- Show up at one event a quarter in your field or adjacent to it.
Make it fit your life
If your energy is limited, focus on a handful of people you'd genuinely enjoy staying in touch with. Quality of attention matters more than the size of your contact list.
Where an accountability partner helps
Reaching out to people you don't know well can feel awkward. An accountability partner is someone in your corner who can help you decide who to contact, work through the wording with you, and cheer you on when you hit send. They care that you reach the next step in your career.
This week
Make a list of five people you know a little but not well: former coworkers, people you met at events, friends of friends in your field. Send a short, friendly note to one of them. Notice how good it feels to widen your world a little.