The Strength of Weak Ties in Job Searching
It is natural to assume that close friends yield more influence in a relationship dynamic than acquaintances, but LinkedIn’s recent experiment undermines this notion, especially in the context of job searching. The world’s largest professional network just published an internal five year study that verifies the sociological theory of the “strength of weak ties.” Author Natasha Singer’s article in the New York Times delves into the details of the experiment and its implications for the platform and what that means for people in the real world.
LinkedIn conducted their experiment primarily through the “People You May Know” section, which is a part of the platform where an algorithm suggests people to connect with. Researchers used the section to track the correlation between connections made, job applications submitted, and new hirings to determine whether or not people are more likely to become employed or experience new opportunities through weak ties (acquaintances) as opposed to strong ties (close friends). In the experiment, users with about ten mutual connections are considered a weak tie, while those with more than twenty are considered strong ties. LinkedIn deployed different variations of the algorithm to their sample size of 20 million users that would either increase or decrease the selection of weak ties suggested in the section. The algorithm analyzed data like employment history, job titles, and mutual connections while simultaneously gauging the likelihood of a connection forming between users. The results found that as the algorithm suggested more weak ties, users applied to more jobs and experienced significantly higher job flexibility. Thus, researchers were able to conclude that weak ties proved to be much more helpful resources during a job search than strong ties. Out of the twenty million people in the study, there were two billion new connections made, seventy million job applications submitted, and six hundred thousands new jobs accepted. This experiment is the first time that researchers have been able to prove the strength of weak ties in a large-scale experiment that truly assigns users to each other on the random basis of varying social connection strengths.
The dynamics and results of this experiment closely correspond to the value of triadic closures and bridges that we’ve discussed in class. By facilitating the possibility of making a suggested connection with a weak tie, the algorithm was able to prove that weak ties can be life-changing and that forming these connections can bridge not only two people together but also different groups of, often strongly connected, networks together. Furthermore, these weak connections now open up the possibility of other connections, both weak and strong, that can be made through triadic closures. This is exactly both the value and a testament to the strength of weak ties and triadic closures, as weak social ties often lead people to new opportunities and sources of information. This is why as a result of their experiment, LinkedIn recently deployed a new feature that notifies users when a first or second degree connection is actively hiring employees at their company.
Not only does LinkedIn’s experiment connect to our course material but also to my own personal experiences. While actively networking and seeking internal referrals during my internship search, the vast majority of those that have significantly helped me during the process are weak ties. I don’t personally know any of the people I have spoken to, yet our connection formed because of some shared experience in both of our academic backgrounds. Whether that is graduating from the same high school or having gone to Cornell, these pieces of shared information have been enough to form a weak tie between us. These people are normally more than happy to speak with me on the phone, and they often internally refer me to their company.