Referrals for Jobs
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenchaykowski/2015/10/14/linkedin-unveils-new-referrals-product-revamps-recruiter-tool/
Very early in the semester, we discussed how individuals are more likely to find a job from an acquaintance than a close friend. This is because a close friend has more ties to similar people to you, but an acquaintance, with whom you may only share a weak tie, has stronger connections to a whole group of people that you have never met. This increases the chances of finding a job in your larger network.
LinkedIn has been a way for people to find jobs for several years now. People make connections on LinkedIn and follow companies to see openings, while companies look for people with the qualifications they desire. This is relatively in isolation from another way of finding jobs — getting someone to refer you. For example, I have a friend who worked at Facebook last summer, and I asked him to refer me for the internship this coming summer. He had to put in some paperwork and go through a convoluted process, while I still have to wait to hear back from the company. While referrals are probably better for getting people jobs given the factor of having a better gauge on the person the company is looking to hire, it is still a somewhat hairy process. The new product of LinkedIn Referrals looks to simplify this process by allowing referrals to occur through the LinkedIn interface that already connects people.
We can think of LinkedIn as a social network that is focused on finding jobs. I may just hope to find a job by looking at where my connections work, or who my connections are connected to, cycling through the network until I get to a company page with an open position. But this new referrals process allows users to directly refer their direct connections to the company they work at. I think this is a really good idea, and will help bridge the gap of finding jobs through acquaintances. Connections on LinkedIn can be both strong and weak personal ties, but all of those ties can lead to a job.