Can Raffles Jakarta Networks Boost Success?
- Raffles Jakarta
- 53 minutes ago
- 10 min read
Each educational institution asserts that its network constitutes a valuable resource. Many do not explain how a network generates results, making it difficult for potential students to see the difference between a true benefit and promotional rhetoric.
This inquiry is notably one of the most extensively researched in social science, and in 2022, large-scale experimentation conclusively resolved it. The response is affirmative; networks significantly influence career trajectories. The more intriguing discovery is that they achieve these results via a mechanism that is commonly misunderstood and that the prevalent guidance on networking is nearly contrary to what the evidence indicates.
Can Raffles Jakarta networks boost success?
Raffles Jakarta networks can enhance achievement, and the rationale for their effectiveness is compelling. A randomized study involving over 20 million individuals over a five-year period provided causal evidence that professional relationships enhance job mobility, but with an important caveat: it is neither the nearest acquaintances nor the most remote strangers who are the most beneficial. Weak ties exhibit moderate strength.
This relationship is precisely the type of association that an educational institution provides on a large scale, facilitated by experienced faculty, industry placements, a consortium of 16 colleges spanning nine nations, alumni networks, and public showcases where your work is presented to unfamiliar audiences.
A network cannot replace competence. It dictates the audience for your creations. The task dictates the subsequent events.
The theory, and the experiment that finally tested it
In 1973, sociologist Mark Granovetter presented a thesis that emerged as one of the most frequently referenced discoveries in social science. He suggested that individuals are more inclined to discover new prospects, such as employment, via weak ties, which refer to casual acquaintances, rather than through close friends and relatives (Granovetter, 1973).
The rationale is that individuals in close proximity traverse similar social spheres as you, thus possessing a comparable level of knowledge. A contact resides in another social sphere and possesses knowledge that you have not received.
The theory held significant sway for fifty years, yet it was based on observational data that fails to distinguish correlation from causation. The disparity diminished in 2022.
Scholars from LinkedIn, MIT, Harvard, and Stanford conducted numerous extensive randomized experiments on the platform's People You May Know algorithm, intentionally altering the quantity of weak or strong connections suggested to users.
The studies encompassed over 20 million individuals across a span of five years, resulting in approximately 2 billion new connections and 600,000 new employment opportunities (Rajkumar et al., 2022). The outcome provided causal support for the theory.
Weaker connections enhanced job mobility to a greater extent than stronger ones did. The result represented a novel instance of experimental evidence rather than correlational evidence.
The finding that changes the advice
The research yielded three modifications to the theory, one of which ought to alter perceptions regarding network construction.
The correlation between tie strength and job transmission is non-linear. It creates a reversed U configuration. Weaker connections enhance job dissemination, but only to a certain extent, beyond which the benefits of weakness diminish (Rajkumar et al., 2022).
In other words, the least substantial connections, people you have never engaged with, are of limited value. Moderately feeble connections exist. Essentially, these individuals are those with whom you have approximately ten shared connections and engage with infrequently.
There exists an additional qualification that merits attention.
Weak connections enhanced mobility to a greater extent in highly digitized sectors, whereas robust connections were more significant in less digitized industries (Rajkumar et al., 2022).
The type of connection that benefits you is partially determined by the industry you are entering. The consequence for students is particular.
It is not worth collecting contacts in a chaotic manner. It is effective to establish a substantial network of genuine, professional connections, individuals who know who you are and have seen your contributions, spread across various sectors of an industry.
This network represents the results of a well-managed educational system.
What kind of network a school can actually supply
A network is not merely a compilation. It is a framework, and five characteristics of studying at Raffles Jakarta produce the type of research deemed beneficial.
Faculty who are practicing professionals. An international academic team, holding international certifications and carrying substantial industry experience, delivers the teaching while working in their fields rather than just teaching. Each of these people is a live connection to a different part of the industry, and a student critiqued by them for a year is not a stranger to them.
This arrangement is close to the definition of a moderately weak tie.
Industrial attachment. The Center of Professional Development runs projects, industrial attachments, industry research, and career support alongside study, with the stated aim of assimilating students into the industry long before graduation. An attachment creates ties inside a firm that persist after it ends.
A network spanning nine countries. Raffles Education operates 16 colleges and universities across nine countries in the Asia Pacific and Europe, with cross-campus exchanges, workshops, competitions, and collaborative projects, plus progression routes overseas, including Singapore and Milan. Geographically distant connections are the least redundant kind, because they reach information that never circulates locally.
Public work. Exhibitions, student showcases, and competitions put student work in front of people who do not yet know the student. Alumni have won the Mittelmoda Fashion Award in Milan, taken the Harper's Bazaar Asia NewGen Fashion Award, and won Jakarta Fashion Week. Visibility is how weak ties form in the first place.
Alumni contact. Events connecting graduates working in industry with current students create ties across cohorts, which are precisely the moderately weak connections that carry job information.
Why the shape of a network matters more than its size
This phenomenon entails an additional dimension. Ronald Burt's research on structural holes posited that the benefit arises not from possessing numerous contacts but from linking disparate groups within a network that lack direct connections. Individuals situated within these interstices experience a broader spectrum of information and are more inclined to generate innovative concepts (Burt, 2004).
This approach recontextualizes the offerings of a multicultural, multidisciplinary, and multinational institution. A group composed of individuals from various nations, an academic staff sourced from diverse industries, and curricula encompassing fashion, design, business, technology, and psychology within a single location generate a network characterized by structural diversity rather than a homogeneous cluster of alike individuals.
A fashion student acquainted with business students, a designer familiar with individuals in the hospitality sector, and a Jakarta student connected to someone enrolled at an overseas institution: each serves as a conduit.
Sociological research on social capital has consistently highlighted that networks operate via information pathways, duties, and anticipations, as well as common standards, and that these constitute communal resources rather than personal belongings (Coleman, 1988).
A student entering an institution becomes part of its established network, which represents the genuine essence of school affiliation.
How a tie becomes an opportunity
It is essential to be specific regarding the mechanism, as the abstraction conceals a fundamental truth. A necktie does not secure employment. It provides insights, typically insights that are available before a position is publicly announced.
An individual indicates that a studio is undergoing expansion, that a client requires a freelancer in the upcoming month, and that a position is imminent.
In the creative and commercial industries, a significant portion of recruitment occurs through this avenue prior to any public announcements, explaining why individuals outside these networks remain unaware of the opportunities.
The second aspect a tie provides is endorsement. A referral from a trusted source diminishes the likelihood of employing an unfamiliar candidate. The efficacy of the moderately weak tie lies in the fact that the individual possesses sufficient familiarity to provide specific and credible insights yet maintains a degree of distance that allows for access to diverse information and a distinct employer. The third aspect pertains to the context on the opposing side.
A student who has undergone an internship within a company comprehends its operational dynamics, decision-makers, and core values, thereby influencing their subsequent self-presentation.
None of these necessitate the student being gregarious or participating in events equipped with business cards. They require the student to engage in observable tasks alongside professionals, which characterizes studio education rather than networking.
The limits, stated plainly
Three prerequisites are essential, and any institution that refrains from articulating them is marketing rather than elucidating.
A network determines who sees your work, not whether it is of high quality An introduction opens a portfolio. A portfolio opened. What happens next depends entirely on what is in it. Experienced hirers note that visual evidence of what someone has produced is much more convincing than claims made about them (BYU Design Review, 2025).
Networks amplify capability; they do not replace it, and a well-connected person with weak work simply becomes known for their weak work.
More contacts is not the strategy. The inverted U finding means that indiscriminate connection collecting produces diminishing returns. Depth of a moderate kind matters, meaning people who could actually describe what you do.
Network access is unequally distributed, which is the argument for institutional provision. Students whose families already work in an industry arrive with ties. Students without that inheritance do not receive financial aid. A structured program of attachment, practitioner teaching, exhibitions, and alumni contact partly equalizes the playing field, which matters more in a market where informal hiring is common.
Why this matters in Indonesia specifically
The regional environment heightens the significance. In August 2025, Indonesia's open unemployment rate was 4.85 percent, equating to approximately 7.46 million individuals, with a rate of 16.89 percent for those aged fifteen to twenty-four (Badan Pusat Statistik, 2025a; Tempo, 2025).
In a highly competitive entry-level market, the distinction between a cold application and one that includes context is significant. Simultaneously, the industries these graduates join are expansive and expanding.
The creative economy engaged 27.4 million individuals in 2025, accounting for approximately 18.7 percent of the national labor force (Badan Pusat Statistik, 2025b), and contributed Rp1,611.2 trillion to the gross domestic product in 2024, with over half of its workforce being under 40 years old (Antara, 2025).
The creative sectors are structured in a manner that renders connections particularly significant. Employment progresses via projects, freelancers, referrals, and reputation instead of solely through advertised openings, indicating that knowledge of opportunities disseminates socially.
A study utilizing national survey data from over 76,000 graduates revealed that practical workplace experience significantly enhanced employability as well as adaptive and collaborative abilities (Jackson & Dean, 2023), partly due to increased recognition among industry professionals.
How to actually use it
The study endorses certain explicit behaviors instead of ambiguous networking.
Regard lecturers as professional connections rather than mere educators, as they represent the most attainable industry links for students.
Regard the attachment with sufficient gravity so that individuals there recall your presence.
Participate in contests and showcase your creations, as exposure fosters connections effortlessly while you engage in productive activities.
Maintain accessibility to individuals from different programs and campuses, as they serve as connections across structural divides. Continue to generate output, as each connection you establish is only as significant as its ultimate focus.
Can the networks enhance achievement?
The empirical data indicates that connections causally enhance job mobility, and the frameworks at a campus on Jalan M.H. Thamrin produce the particular type that is effective.
The evidence further indicates that this functions as a multiplier rather than a catalyst. It amplifies whatever you genuinely construct.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do professional networks really affect career outcomes?
Yes, and there is now causal evidence. A set of randomized experiments on LinkedIn covering more than 20 million people over five years, during which around 2 billion new ties and 600,000 new jobs were created, found experimentally that weaker professional connections increase job mobility. This was the first large-scale experimental test of a theory first proposed in 1973.
Are close contacts or distant acquaintances more useful for finding work?
Familiar contacts tend to be more beneficial, although not the most remote individuals. The study revealed an inverted U curve, indicating that weaker connections enhance job transmission to a certain extent, after which the benefits decline.
Individuals with moderately weak ties, characterized by approximately ten shared connections and sporadic interactions, facilitate the highest levels of job mobility.
What kind of network does studying at Raffles Jakarta provide?
Five main sources: faculty who are practicing professionals working in their industries; industrial attachment placing students inside firms; a network of 16 colleges across nine countries with exchanges and competitions; public exhibitions and showcases where work is seen by people outside the school; and alumni contact events linking graduates with current students.
Is a bigger network always better?
No. Research on structural holes indicates the advantage comes from bridging gaps between otherwise unconnected groups rather than from sheer numbers. A varied network spanning different disciplines, industries, and countries carries more useful information than a large but similar one, because similar contacts tend to know the same things.
Can a strong network make up for weak work?
No. A network determines who sees your work, not how effective it is. Experienced hirers place far more weight on visual evidence of what someone has produced than on claims about them. Connections function as a multiplier on capability rather than a substitute for it.
Why do networks matter, especially in creative industries?
Because work in these sectors moves through projects, referrals, and reputation rather than only through advertised vacancies, information about opportunities travels socially. Indonesia's creative economy employed 27.4 million people in 2025, and youth unemployment reached 16.89 percent in August 2025, which makes arriving with professional context rather than a cold significant.
Marketing Manager
References
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