The subject of a new study reveals that a well-placed referral can boost the upward career mobility of African-Americans.
Job searches can be fraught with false starts or dead ends. That’s why there’s some truth to the old chestnut, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” And recent research from Tufts and Stony Brook University reveals that Facebook friends—especially those who you don’t know very well—could provide the all-important referral that lands the job. The study found that 90% of these so-called “weak ties” helped get friends jobs.