07/07/2025

Research Finds Being Well-connected isn't Always Good for Your Career

It can be a negative thing during performance evaluations

Conventional wisdom says that when it comes to career opportunities, it’s not about what you know, but who you know. And research has found, in fact, that prestigious connections do open doors and make people seem more capable than their peers—as if proximity to greatness implies a degree of similar excellence.

But what impact do these star connections have after someone has landed a new job? In new research, we sought to find out.

Our recent paper, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, investigated whether and how past connections with industry stars might shape long-term career evaluations and outcomes, particularly after an employee’s objective performance data becomes available.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Harvard Business Review.