A new labour study has found that if you are looking for a job through LinkedIn, it is good to make brief introductions and create a broad network of connections on the platform.
Weak ties with various professionals secret to career progression
According to studies, job hunters on LinkedIn who make “weak ties” with a wide range of professionals in their field are more likely to achieve greater career mobility compared to those who establish close, long-lasting connections. Researchers from MIT, Stanford, and Harvard Universities have released a study demonstrating how weak ties result in more employment applications and exposure to more prospects.
Five-year Data collected from nearly 20 million individuals and 600,000 new job listings globally showed that the networking theory, “strength of weak ties”, was very applicable in present-day algorithm-driven employers. According to researchers, weak ties on LinkedIn can lead to age increases and more promotions, especially in an environment driven by remote working and high tech.
MIT Sloan School of Management’s Prof Sinan Aral said that the strength in weak ties theory was among the most influential theories demonstrating that occasional arms-length connections are more beneficial for job opportunities, wage increase and promotion than strong relationships. In addition, Aral notes that weak ties in social platforms can be a useful part of managing one’s career.
According to research on the “paradox of weak links,” acquaintances are more likely to lead to upward employment progression than strong friendships. As per research on LinkedIn’s “People You May Know” engine, those who interacted with others the most frequently had the least chances of finding employment or creating new real-world employment prospects.
More job opportunities come from moderately weak ties
However, the authors point out that mutual ties and “moderately weak ties” produced the most employment mobility. Additionally, they warn against having connections to even the largest number of individuals because doing so could hinder one’s ability to move about in their career.
Findings indicate that relatively weak ties- connections between the weakest relations and relationships of average strength—are responsible for the highest career mobility.
