The (Weak) Ties That Bind

Getting a friend to help you with your job search shouldn’t be hard to do. Putting in a good word with the boss and checking to see if a position has been filled — that’s what friends are for. Usually, though, it’s not that simple. Most jobs are obtained through second-tier contacts within your network.

These folks aren’t really your friends. They might be friends of friends, someone you met briefly at a professional event or a hiring manager who is several “connections” down on a buddy’s profile.

Getting help from these weak ties can take a certain finesse. Todd Wiseman, president of Teachmehowtosell.com, advises on how to make an impression on a weak tie. His methods are effective — once he leveraged his client to secure an hour-long interview with Donald Trump.

The key, he says, is to do thorough research on the person you are trying to reach so it doesn’t look like you’re just “name-dropping” a mutual friend in order to gain access. “If you’re going to have a second tier that you are going to use, it has to have some traction,” Wiseman said. “Take a good hard look at that second connection. You usually have only one shot at them.”

If you barely know someone at the company of your dreams, having worked with one of their colleagues in the past — or the fact that you met them briefly at a cocktail party last summer — won’t be enough to get your foot in the door, Wiseman said. To do that, you’ll have to reference the colleague or the cocktail party in a context that shows how you can help that person and their company. “Do your homework. Everything is preparation. It has to be done ahead of time,” he said. “Just to drop a name without having a plan doesn’t necessarily work.”

When Wiseman landed his face-time with Trump, it was through a star baseball player he represented. But Wiseman knew he couldn’t just call Mr. Trump and get a meeting just on that. He needed it to be timed perfectly — the morning after his client had the game-winning hit in the playoffs. More importantly, he said, you need to be calling with a legitimate business opportunity.

Andrew Schrage, the careers expert at Money Crashers Personal Finance, agrees that you need to show what value you can offer when reaching out to a weak tie. The mutual contact, he said, is just icing on the cake. “It would make your pitch more unique than a lot of pitches they hear,” he said.

Sometimes mutual friends might not be enough to get someone a job, but they can be enough to get an informational interview or a lead on another job, Schrage said. He suggests you shouldn’t be shy about leveraging network ties, but you shouldn’t rely solely on them when reaching out to a second-tier contact. “Don’t over state your connection,” he said. “I think that can be a turnoff.”