Networking is about working your close relationships. Not quite.
56% of jobs found through connections came from acquaintances — NOT close friends. Your network strategy is backwards.
"Networking is about working your close relationships" is only part of the story. The supporting research is cited below. Read on for the full evidence.
"Networking is about working your close relationships"
Misleading. Sociologist Mark Granovetter's landmark 1973 study "The Strength of Weak Ties" found that 56% of people who found jobs through social connections did so through acquaintances — people they saw occasionally or rarely — not through close friends.
Everyone knows the advice: it's not what you know, it's who you know. So we focus on the obvious candidates — close friends, former colleagues we're tight with, the people who'd take our call on a Sunday. The stronger the tie, the better the lead.
The Surprising Truth
Sociologist Mark Granovetter's landmark 1973 study "The Strength of Weak Ties" found that 56% of people who found jobs through social connections did so through acquaintances — people they saw occasionally or rarely — not through close friends. Close ties move in the same information circles you already inhabit; weak ties (acquaintances, former colleagues you rarely see, conference connections) link you to entirely different networks and job markets you'd never reach otherwise. Granovetter's paper became one of the most-cited in sociology and fundamentally changed how economists model labor markets and social mobility.
What This Means for You
Reach out to the people you haven't spoken to in a year — former classmates, past coworkers, conference connections, alumni. They are statistically your most valuable career network, precisely because they inhabit worlds you don't.
Primary Sources
- [1] Granovetter, M.S. (1973). "The Strength of Weak Ties." American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360–1380.
- [2] Granovetter, M.S. (1974). Getting a Job: A Study of Contacts and Careers. Harvard University Press.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is networking about your close relationships?
56% of jobs found through connections came from acquaintances — NOT close friends. Your network strategy is backwards.
What are weak ties in networking?
Sociologist Mark Granovetter's landmark 1973 study "The Strength of Weak Ties" found that 56% of people who found jobs through social connections did so through acquaintances — people they saw occasionally or rarely — not through close friends. Close ties move in the same information circles you already inhabit; weak ties (acquaintances, former colleagues you rarely see, conference connections) link you to entirely different networks and job markets you'd never reach otherwise. Granovetter's paper became one of the most-cited in sociology and fundamentally changed how economists model labor markets and social mobility.
How should I network to find a job?
Reach out to the people you haven't spoken to in a year — former classmates, past coworkers, conference connections, alumni. They are statistically your most valuable career network, precisely because they inhabit worlds you don't.
How We Verified This Claim
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For this myth — Networking is about working your close relationships — we reviewed the cited sources above and checked the claim against the published findings. The claim was then cross-referenced with the SmartAss Facts database of over 5,000 verified facts to identify related content.
If you believe our verdict is incorrect or you have a more recent primary source that changes the analysis, the science always wins — we revise pages when the evidence warrants it. Last reviewed: 2026-10-13.
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