When you first engage in your job search, it is natural to inform family and close friends that you are seeking new opportunities, and asking the question, “Do you know of any openings?” And, by all means, you should certainly do this. The people closest to you are the most eager to help you, so you should definitely make them aware that you’re seeking a new job.
However, there is a powerful job hack that can make your networking many times more effective. And this is to discuss your job search with those who you are not that close with.
In 1973, Stanford sociologist Mark Granovetter wrote a famous paper called The Strength of Weak Ties. He found that significantly more job changers found their jobs from people they weren’t so close with (“weak ties”) compared to those who found their jobs through friends (“strong ties”). Why is this the case?
Granovetter found that individuals already knows most of what their friends know. So, if your friend was aware of a job opportunity, there’s a good chance you’ll already know about it as well, as you hang out in the same circles. Therefore, asking friends about new opportunities yields little new information, as there’s not much that your friend knows that you weren’t already aware of.
Contrast this to a “weak tie.” The classic weak tie is an old school classmate or a colleague from a previous work experience. You’re not in touch with them much, if at all, and you haven’t been for years. You now move in very different circles! There’s a very good chance that you are not aware of opportunities that they’re aware of.
Admittedly, it takes more guts to reach out to someone you’ve lost contact with. But that shouldn’t stop you, because when you do reach out to them to catch up and let them know about your job search, they may be able to connect you the job of your dreams!