If you've just moved to a new city, or feel the need bring a breath of fresh air to your social life, then I want to share with you a technique that I call the "join the team" technique.
Related:9 Cheap Ways To Network In A New City
It's a great way to quickly meet new, and interesting people. You can use it if you've just moved to a new city, or if you just want to make some new friends, and expand your social circle. It works particularly well if you're an introvert or if you hesitate to go out of your way to meet new people. The counter-intuitive thing about this is that it seems like it's going to take a lot of time, but it's actually the opposite.
Don't Make This Common Mistake When Trying To Meet New People
People make a common mistake when they're trying to meet new connections and make friends. They think that they can go to places like bars and clubs to do it. They go to places where they have nothing in common with the other people.
It turns out that that's the hard way to do it. As most people go there to meet the friends they already have, not new ones.
Friendship works in a way where you need a context or an environment, where a new friendship can emerge. You need something that brings you together, like a local community, an interest group, some sort of event, or private party.
It's much easier that way, as people go there expecting to meet new friends.
This means that if you want to meet new friends, you need to join a local community. The problem there is that you have to remember to do it, you have to motivate yourself, even after a long day, you need to work up the courage and go out to meet people… this is why the common advice of just "join a club" doesn't work.
However, if you apply the technique I'm about to teach you, you can make it inevitable to meet new friends, it will become a natural part of your life; you won't need to motivate yourself to do it. Here is how…
Step 1: Find a one or two communities or clubs near you. Look for them on Meetup.com, Facebook groups, Eventbrite.com, or a Google search.
Step 2: Attend one of their events to see if the people there are the kinds of people you want as friends.
Step 3: Go to the person or team who organizes their meetings, introduce yourself, tell them that you like what they’re doing, and that you would love to volunteer with some help. Don't overpromise, only commit to doing something you actually have time for.
Step 4: They’ll probably be glad you asked and give you something s to do. All you'll have to do after that is show up to the events and do what you promised you're gonna do. Again, don't overpromise.
Here's why this works...
Reason #1: If you're hesitant about meeting new people, this will give you sort of an excuse, sort of a legitimate reason to step up and meet new folks.
Reason #2: If you do this, you'll instantly be seen by the people in that community as someone who provides value, someone who is generous enough to put some of his or her time to help the community.
Reason #3: People are curious about who's running the thing, who's organizing the events… and if you're one of the hosts, people come to you and try to get to know you. You won't have to make a lot of effort, as people will be all around you.
Reason #4: Here is the magic: You know how much motivation it takes to go out of your way, and out of your comfort zone to meet new people. When you commit to helping a community, you're set. It removes that friction from your life, you won't need motivation to go out and meet people, you'll just do it.
At first, you'd think that it would take a lot of time to pull this off… but it's actually the opposite. In one event, you could meet one, two, three, or sometimes, seven interesting people. All you're doing is investing one or two evenings per month, and in return, you're meeting a lot more people than the average person.
Learn More
If you want to learn more techniques like this one, and have the tools to meet, connect, and make friends with the friends you want, I recommend that you get in my Free Social Skills Newsletter.
Best of luck!
-Paul SandersThis post was originally published at an earlier date.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.