How to find a job on LinkedIn: Form plenty of ‘weak ties,’ study suggests

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Looking for a job on LinkedIn? Then you might want to introduce yourself and build a massive network of known relationships on the platform, suggests a new digital work study.

LinkedIn job seekers who form “weak bonds” with a wide range of people in their industry are more likely to experience increased job mobility than those who form close, lasting relationships, researchers say. A new study published by researchers from MIT, Harvard and Stanford University shows that weak ties lead to more applications and access to more opportunities.

The study collected five years of LinkedIn data from 20 million people and 600,000 new job postings around the world. The results suggest that a 1973 networking theory dubbed the “strength of weak ties” is still very relevant among today’s algorithm-driven employers. Scientists even say on LinkedIn today that weak bonds lead to more promotions and pay increases, especially in a world dominated by high-tech or remote work.

“The ‘strength of weak ties’, one of the most influential social theories of the past century, holds that infrequent arm’s length relationships are more beneficial in terms of job opportunities, promotions and wages than strong ties. Despite over 65,000 citations over the past 50 years, there have been no large-scale experimental causal tests of this theory in relation to employment,” said Professor Sinan Aral of MIT’s Sloan School of Management in a statement.

“Weak ties on social media can be an extremely useful part of managing your career, promotions, promotions and even wages,” notes Aral.

A “weak attachment paradox” was tested, which ultimately supports the theory that acquaintances create more upward mobility than close friendships. Testing with LinkedIn’s “People You May Know” algorithm found that people with the highest engagement levels were least likely to land a job or create new work opportunities in the real world.

The study concludes that the LinkedIn users who were assigned weak retention recommendations were more likely to change jobs than those who received strong retention recommendations.

However, the authors note that so-called “moderately weak ties” and mutual connections elicited the most positive occupational mobility. They also warn that being too distant with as many people as possible can ultimately backfire when it comes to job mobility. “It’s not about ‘the weaker the better’ or ‘the stronger the worse,'” says Iavor Bojinov, a Harvard economics professor who is involved in the study. “Our results show that the greatest occupational mobility stems from moderately weak ties — social connections between the very weakest ties and ties of average strength.”

Although the researchers acknowledge that more extensive causal tests of this theory are needed, LinkedIn job seekers in the digital age should embrace the future where they will be assessed for employability by mechanized algorithms.

The study is published in the journal Science.