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

Research using LinkedIn finds most useful acquaintances share a handful of mutual contacts

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.