Community of Interests

I am a Job Seeker in Transition.

As someone in transition, I lost the opportunity to interact every day with colleagues at work and to feel like I belonged to a particular community.   

I’ve realized that the workplace is only one type of community.

There are so many other communities out there that we can identify with, join and hang out with. 

One of the things that binds a community of individuals together is shared interest.

Recently I attended two networking events where I felt I belonged to a community of individuals (at least in that particular moment in time) because of a shared interest.

On July 15, 2016 I attended a networking event for Human Resources professionals in transition.  One of our shared interests was our love for the human resources field.  This event was meaningful to me because I had some meaningful conversations with a couple of people.  The “right” ambiance is very helpful to hold a meaningful conversation.  (I’ve been to networking events where they play background music that is so loud that it’s not conducive to holding a meaningful conversation.   If I have to yell to make myself heard or I have to repeatedly ask my conversation partner to repeat themselves, then the music is too loud!)  

What do I mean by “meaningful” conversation?  At this particular event people asked each other what kind of HR job they’re looking for.   We initially gave our elevator pitch, but this initial question led into other questions (like where have you worked, what have you done, which geographical location do you prefer, etc.).  We gain a deeper understanding of our conversation partner if only we take the time to listen and to be curious enough to ask thoughtful questions.    

  

I thought the facilitator did an excellent job.  She referred us to a LinkedIn article by Dr. Richard Orbe-Austin called “Managing a Summer Job Search:  6 Reasons P.E.O.P.L.E. Succeed“ that is of definite interest to job seekers.

On July 13, 2016 I attended Culture Amp’s People Geekup (a networking event).

Culture Amp is “The Survey Platform for People and Culture” and its company web site can be found here.

Culture Amp describes a “People Geekup” as “an opportunity to meet the other People Geeks in (their) local community whilst also learning about People Analytics and the future of work.”

The part of the “People Geekup” definition that I really identify with is the “future of work.”  I am really interested in the future of work and to learn all I can about the future of work.   (I give a shout-out to Jacob Morgan, who is a thought leader on the future of work.   Mr. Morgan's web site can be accessed here.)

Culture Amp has held three People Geekup’s and I’ve attended all three.  I identify with this particular community. 

I enjoyed all my conversations that I had at the People Geekup on July 13th  for I thought they were all meaningful conversations.  Thanks to Culture Amp for bringing this community together and for always being warm and welcoming to their guests!   

Originally Published on LinkedIn:  July 16, 2016

Image Credit:  Pixabay