I’ve been looking for a new job for a long while, and I’m finding it difficult. I’ve adjusted my approach based on a range of different advice and suggested strategies. Nothing has worked so far. One idea I’ve come across often is that if you don’t know someone at the organisation you’re applying for, you have very little chance of success. I’ve heard that to combat this, you should always contact the hiring manager or another person mentioned in the job description before you apply.

I have two questions. The first is whether this is actually worthwhile or would it just seem contrived and be a waste of my time? And if it is worth a try, what should I say in this unsolicited correspondence?

The maxim that “it’s not what you know but who you know” has been around for a very long time, and I’m sad to say it’s probably never been wrong.

That’s not just my opinion, it’s a fact that’s been confirmed by several experts I’ve spoken with for Work Therapy over several years, including Professor Carol Kulik from the School of Management at Adelaide University. I got in contact with her about your question.

While it’s not true that you have “very little” chance of application success unless you know someone inside an organisation, Kulik says that there is clear evidence from 50 years of workplace research that employee referrals are a highly effective way of increasing your prospects.

As to whether you can go from knowing nobody at a firm to striking up a meaningful relationship with a hiring manager or HR team member based on a well-timed email, Kulik is doubtful.

What researchers refer to as ‘weak ties’ – the friend of a friend, a relative you don’t see often – can be hugely valuable for jobseekers.

“The jobseeker is bundling together two different issues: Does already knowing someone inside the hiring organisation help? And, if it does, can you manufacture that advantage by contacting someone just before you apply? My answer is yes to the first question but no to the second.”

The problem is that a referral is rarely an off-hand, “yeah, I know that person – they seem OK”. It’s generally more complex and more serious than that.

“Employers like to hire referrals because referrals tend to have better skills and experience and perform better on the job than non-referrals. Employees know that they are putting their own reputations on the line when they make a referral, so they tend to be cautious; they only pass a referral on when they are pretty confident there’s a fit.

“In today’s AI-driven marketplace, it’s easier than ever for people to shoot off large numbers of polished applications that don’t necessarily reflect either their fit with, or their genuine interest in, a particular role. As a result, employers are becoming more sensitive to the signals they receive from trusted human sources.”

Kulik told me that this wasn’t to say all referrals needed to come from a person the applicant knew intimately. In fact, she said, what researchers referred to as “weak ties” – the friend of a friend, an acquaintance made through social sport or a book club, a relative you don’t see regularly – could be hugely valuable for jobseekers.

“Close friends or family members run in the same circles, know the same overlapping set of people, hear about the same opportunities,” she explained. On the other hand, “weak-tie relationships bridge two otherwise disconnected networks”.

Your question is whether you can create a “weak tie” relationship days, or even hours, before applying for a job. Kulik says that’s highly unlikely.

“Contacting the hiring manager to get specific information about the role? That’s fine. Sometimes ads are unclear, and getting a little more information might help the jobseeker submit a stronger application. But I don’t recommend calling with the sole purpose of making a connection.”

Yes, the research clearly shows that networking improves hiring opportunities, and Kulik says that networking before you need a referral is an excellent away of increasing your overall job prospects. But contacting a hiring manager is not really networking.

You asked whether the tactic might “seem so contrived that it would be a waste of time”, and I think your instincts were right. It’s almost impossible to conjure a referral out of thin air.

Send your questions through to Work Therapy by emailing jonathan@theinkbureau.com.au