Brewed Fresh Daily

A computer connected to 100 computers is economically more powerful than a PC linked to only 10 - that's the network effect. It turns out that the same holds for workers and their personal connections to companies. While the Internet's breadth may offer individuals the chance to post their qualifications for millions of employers to see, about half of all jobs are still found through personal contacts of some sort. And the more connections you have, the more you end up being paid. Why? Companies that make judgments based solely on a r�sum� are flying blind, to a degree. By contrast, if a job applicant once worked with a current company employee, or attends the same church as a company worker, the company can glean hints about how that applicant will perform. Such personal information - about reliability, or a sense of humor - can lead companies to bid more aggressively for someone's services. But such data is conveyed almost exclusively through personal network connections. And if the information is available to 10 potential employers instead of 2, wages are more likely to be bid higher.