‘Moderately weak’ ties best for moving jobs, study finds

The researchers ran two experiments involving millions of LinkedIn members. Photograph: Felix Choo/Alamy

Whether it’s the friend of a friend or a new contact from a conference, arms-length acquaintances have long been thought more useful than close chums when it comes to switching jobs.

Now researchers say they have finally found a way to test the theory, revealing that while such “weak ties” do seem to facilitate job shifts, the most useful share a handful of mutual contacts.