An influential American Sociologist, Mark Granovetter, created one of the most influential social network theories and one that is extremely helpful to all those in search for full time or internship positions.—THE STRENGTH OF WEAK TIES.
Let me explain…
Many assume that the best people to ask about networking contacts are their parents, close friends, and other family members. While these people could lead to some wonderful contacts in the professional world, they are not always the best network to go through.
Imagine for a second you found this fantastic company, ABC, Inc. and you were interested in finding a contact at this organization that you could contact to speak to regarding employment opportunities. According to Mark Granovetter the best people to ask in this situation are those outside your normal circle which are considered your “strong ties.” Those people that you have repeated and frequent interactions are great for trust and friendship exchanges, however when it comes to finding out about unique opportunities, they are less useful. Why is this? Because this network of strong ties, normally your parents, friends, and family, are very similar in background, experiences, and many times these contacts will all have redundant information. They generally move in the same social circles. What you need for finding unique job opportunities is connections to a diverse network. This means weaker connections to a broad range of unconnected people. How do you create this network of weak ties? Simple…many of you already have. Linked-in, Facebook, myspace, are exactly the kind of networks that people should use to find new approaches to normal questions. Many of your connections on facebook, myspace, etc, have very broad experiences, backgrounds and many do not know eachother. These are exactly the type of people you want to reach out to.
Networking is extremely important in any job search, but even more so with our current economic situation. Many companies are scalling back on hiring, job posting, and career fairs, and will tend to find qualified candidates more from employee recommendation, networks, and other cheaper means. It is important for you to find a way through your various networks to find a way to reach a hiring manager that you need to talk to. Remember, only about 40% of positions are posted. It is up to you to find the other 60-80% and the best way to do that is through your STRENGTH OF WEAK TIES.
Tags: , job search, networking, weak ties
Jena joined the CSPD as the Assistant Director of Recruitment and Professional Development with over 4 years career services experience including a background in corporate recruiting. She is excited to work collaboratively with the Fox School students regarding career search strategies and hopes students gain some additional insight into the job search through “Opportunity Knocks”.
Kel is an undergrad majoring in Management Information Systems, graduating in 2010. He is very involved and hopes to share some of his experiences with other students. His goal is to motivate others to do their best. He believes that with a little inspiration you can get where you want to be. Through this blog, he wants to show you that opportunities are out there.