Edinburgh Napier University - Old boys' and girls' network

Job hunters have always suspected that the key to a plum position is not what you know but who you know, and now research from Edinburgh Napier University's Employment Research Institute has proven it. The study on the power of social networks says that the more employed friends you have, the higher their job status and the stronger your personal ties with them, the more likely you are to get a job. For younger workers, the number of contacts known overall is more important than whether they hold senior posts, while over-50s rely heavily on small social networks and "word of mouth" to obtain employment.