Best Career Advice

The Strength of Weak Ties

Due to my continued and steadily advancing age, I occasionally get asked to impart career advice to college students or folks more junior in their careers. One of my goto thoughts for this is about the power of networking. Every job that I have had since my first one after the military in the mid-90s, which I landed because of an interview at a career fair, was because of friends and colleagues. My role at Etsy is a prime example of this. I had known Etsy and consulted with them several times between 2008 and 2017, even speaking at Code as Craft in 2011. But none of that mattered. What eventually led to me being offered the CTO role was the chairman of the board asking a NYC fractional CTO, Jon Williams, for a suggestion. Jon and I ran in similar circles doing tech consulting and he passed my consulting firm's name along. Jon continues to play a pivotal role in Etsy’s success but most relevant to this story was the power of having him in my network at the time Etsy was looking for tech leadership.

In a very famous article, The Strength of Weak Ties, Mark Granovetter argues that weak ties, which are acquaintances as opposed to strong ties which are close friends and family, can serve as bridges connecting two groups of friends through the weak ties of individuals. These weak ties are fundamental in connecting tight knit groups with the rest of the community, thus allowing community strength and organization. Weak ties have been shown to play an important role in organizational performance including innovation, product and service quality, and project milestones.

One of my practical applications of networking is that I try to speak with a former colleague or acquaintance at least once per week. Often these are folks that I worked with years ago and they are off doing great things with their careers. The benefit of this for me is the social aspect of catching up with an old friend and sharing some memories and some laughs. It is also a big benefit to me to hear what is happening in their industry or field. In this way I learn about emerging trends, hot topics, areas of concern, and opportunities. It is really easy to become very insular when you are at a full time role with a company. You are often heads down, plowing through 60+ hour weeks, handling the latest crisis, and all the while trying to plan for the next quarter.  You don’t feel there is time to lift your head up and take a look at what’s happening in the industry or keep up with peers. But you should. Not only can this time help you in your current role but if you ever start looking for a new challenge this network of former coworkers, colleagues, peers, and acquaintances can be the key to your next job.

As a 2022 article by Dylan Walsh in MIT Sloan School of Management’s Ideas Made to Matter stated:

For most of life’s important considerations, we rely on those who know us best. But when it comes to seeking employment, it may be better to look further afield….[A] study looked at outcomes for 20 million people on LinkedIn over five years, during which 600,000 new jobs were created. The data suggested that weak ties were better for job mobility, on average, than strong ties. 

The article continues with the notion that 10 mutual friends was the ideal number for a connection to help you find and secure a new job. People’s connections with more or less than 10 mutual friends reduced the probability that they would help with a job search.

Whether you are looking for what is going on in your industry, hot trends, or help landing your next role, try to remember how important networking is to all of these. I should also add a quick note that if you are planning on asking someone for something, be that a recommendation or to share knowledge, it pays to lay the groundwork by keeping the relationship warm. I personally am quick to disregard a request from someone that I knew 15 years ago and haven’t spoken with since popping up to ask for a favor. Just like any other relationship you need to put in your time. Give before you ask.