Facebook helps job hunters, but causes stress too, survey finds

Looking for a job through Facebook? Close Facebook friends may help more than casual acquaintances, though these intimate friends can also cause you some stress, according to a study by the social media giant.

The report by Facebook research scientist Moira Burke was based on a survey of 3,000 Facebook users who were asked "about major events in their lives, their stress levels, and how much support they received from friends and family," she wrote Thursday in a Facebook blog. The study included 169 people who recently lost their jobs. Burke noted that sociologists point to the "strength of weak ties" in finding work, as acquaintances may have a broader network that could aid in job-hunting. But on Facebook, she added, that's typically not the case. "Our research found just the opposite," she wrote. "People who talked more with strong ties were twice as likely to find a new job within three months. And those who talked more with weak ties were less likely to find a job." That's likely because of the nature of Facebook interactions.