For jobs there's a competitive selection process, so referrals from people who passed the competitive screening are likely to be in a top percentile. With frie

For jobs there's a competitive selection process, so referrals from people who passed the competitive screening are likely to be in a top percentile. With friend networks, most people don't have a competitive selection process - you're friends because you went to school together, lived in same area, etc.. The referral for dating isn't as likely to be in a top percentile, so it makes sense to go and cast a wider net.