By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
I’ve been helping people find new jobs for a long time. Recruited for firms you’ve heard of. Coached thousands of people through transitions you wouldn’t believe. I’ll tell you the same thing I tell every client who comes to me stuck: you’re fishing in the wrong pond.
The Research That Blew the Doors Off
Mark Granovetter, a young sociologist, surveyed 282 professionals ni 1973. Simple question: “How’d you find your current job?”
He expects the answer to be family, best friends, tight colleagues. Strong ties.
Wrong.
More than half found their jobs through weak ties. Acquaintances. People they barely knew. Former coworkers they hadn’t spoken to in years.
Granovetter publishes “The Strength of Weak Ties.” It became one of the most cited papers in social science history.
Here’s why it matters to you: your strong ties–your work wife, your college roommate, your three best references–they live in your world. They know what you know. They talk to whom you talk to.
Weak ties? They live in other worlds. Different companies. Different industries. Different conversations entirely.
That’s where the hidden market lives. Not in your comfort zone, but in the margins.
Let’s Be Clear About “Weak”
Before you go spam-connecting with 500 strangers on LinkedIn, stop.
Weak doesn’t mean random.
Weak doesn’t mean cold.
Weak doesn’t mean “hey, are you hiring?”
The research has caught up. MIT, Harvard, Stanford, LinkedIn ran a massive experiment. Millions of users.
The sweet spot? Moderately weak ties. People with about 10 mutual connections.
That VP you supported on a project four years ago.
The peer from your first job who’s now a Director somewhere interesting.
The recruiter who placed you once—you ghosted each other, it happens.
The speaker you chatted with at a conference in 2019.
These people have enough trust to hit reply and enough distance to bring you new intel.
That’s your target. Not strangers. Not your besties. The in-between.
Your Assignment This Week (Yes, Assignment)
Open LinkedIn. Filter connections by most recent conversation. Scroll past the first 50, the ones you actually talk to.
Who’s sitting there gathering digital dust?
Make a list. Twenty names. Not two hundred. Twenty.
Now send this exact message. Word for word if you want:
“Hey [Name] — saw you’re at [Company/Role]. Been following your work from afar. I’m exploring [specific direction] and your perspective would mean a lot. Coffee/chat sometime? No agenda. Just catching up.”
No ask. No resume. No “know anyone hiring?”
Just human connection. The ask comes later. If it comes at all.
The Part Where You Feel Uncomfortable
You’re going to feel weird.
You’re going to think “I’m using people.”
Half won’t reply.
Send them anyway.
I’ve coached executives, C-suite, people restarting at 55. The ones who land? They do the uncomfortable thing. The ones who stay stuck? They wait for their strong ties to magically produce opportunities those strong ties don’t have access to.
Hope is not a strategy. I don’t care how many affirmations you post.
Strong Ties Aren’t the Enemy
Your close circle? They’re your emotional infrastructure. Your references. Your “you got this” texts at 11 PM.
But for new information likethe unposted roles, the “we’re creating this for the right person” conversations, the intel on which hiring manager actually reads cover letters, you need bridges.
Weak ties are those bridges.
The Bottom Line
Your next role isn’t hiding in your comfort zone. It’s waiting in the margins. In the connections you’ve neglected. In the conversations you’ve been avoiding because they feel awkward.
Twenty names. Five a day. No agenda.
Track it. Follow up. Watch what happens.
That’s not networking. That’s hunting.
And you didn’t come this far to graze.
Ⓒ The Big Game Hunter, Inc., Asheville, NC 2026
What Companies Look for When Choosing a Board Member
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS job search coaching and career advice globally because he makes job search
38 Deadly Interview Mistakes to Avoid
You will find great info and job search coaching to help with your job search at JobSearch.Community
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter
Schedule a discovery call to speak with me about one-on-one or group coaching during your job search at www.TheBigGameHunter.us.
The Interview Mistake Too Many Executives Make (And How To Correct It)
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 3000 episodes over 13+ years.
We grant permission for this post and others to be used on your website as long as a backlink is included to www.TheBigGameHunter.us and notice is provided that it is provided by Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter as an author or creator. Not acknowledging his work or providing a backlink to www.TheBigGameHunter.us makes you subject to a $1000 penalty which you proactively agree to pay. Please contact us to negotiate the use of our content as training data.
