A corollary to the Law of 250 is the strength of weak ties. As we stated earlier, if one of your 250 is also a family member or close friend, there will likely be some overlap. You may have fifty, one hundred, or even one hundred fifty contacts in common. So actually it is those who are the weakest ties who have the greatest potential for your network. Your weekend tennis partner may share no first-level contacts within your 250, potentially opening you up to a totally new group of people.

It is typically not your first-level contact who may be your eventual Hiring Manager. Typically, you will usually find your hiring contact two or three levels deep.

This is not to discount the importance of the first-level contactsthey are the starting point and will determine your eventual success or failure in networking. But dont be surprised if one day you get a call from a person completely unknown to youa friend of a friend of a friend referring you to a particular company. Cultivate all your contacts and watch them grow!