How do I begin to network to find a job when I don't have any friends here?

LinkedIn is a good place to start. Don’t shy away from community events like festivals, fund-raisers, and farmers markets either. Good luck!

Your network extends back to wherever you came from to get to where you are now. Use your prior contacts to help make introductions in your current location. “The world is getting smaller” because people you already know (who aren’t in your current location) know people where you are now, and would probably introduce you if you would only ask.

You can also look up former classmates who now live in or near your current location, for example.

Go talk to the director at your local Chamber of Commerce and volunteer to work at any of their events. They usually have a monthly business night out and they can always use volunteers to serve food, drinks, clean-up, etc. It is an amazing opportunity to network. Join a church or a civic club.

Research career fairs in your area. Attend them and get business cards from representatives of companies that you’d like to work for. (Be selective here.) Contact the representatives a week later, remind them of how you met, and let them know you would like 20 minutes of their time to do an informational interview. Research the company and then meet with the representative. Be ready with 5 or 6 questions about the company and what it’s like to work there. Don’t sell yourself. Just be interested in the representative. Connect w/the representative on Linkedin. When openings come up with the companies you selected, contact the connections you’ve made to get first-hand information about the positions.

Good luck!

Well I think you’ve got two different questions here actually: (1) How do I network for a job, and (2) How do I socialize in a new place.

You can eventually merge the two, but for now there are strategies to help you network for job purposes that don’t involve going out and mingling (i.e. – the internet), but socializing and meeting new people in person in a new place is something that will help you out in all aspects, not just job hunting.

For the job networking, definitely start with LinkedIn , as suggested above. Create social profiles for yourself with a professional tone and represent yourself on those profiles as you want to be seen by prospective employers. This includes facebook, twitter, Google Plus, etc. Then be active on those and befriend like-minded people in your new place with similar interests and jobs. Career fairs are another good idea (@give_seek). If you go to church, find one close to you and mingle with your age group there as well. One more suggestion would be to check out Meetups in your town (www.meetup.com) that fit your style.

As for the socializing and meeting new people, you should get out and do that regardless if it’ll open up new job networking opps. Don’t start with social gathering places (bars, clubs, etc), start with events and places that interest you. Do you play board games? Find a local gaming store. Do you work out a lot? Find a popular gym nearby. Look on the internet or in the local paper for events and gatherings that you’d enjoy. If you’re indulging yourself first and foremost by going places and doing things you like to do, you’ll be leaps and bounds better off when it’s time to break the ice with a stranger in the same setting.

Oh, yeah. I should have mentioned meetup.com for social networking that can also give a jump start to career and employment networks. By all means sign up for some local meetups in your area.

Thanx. I’ll check it out!

You’re welcome. Good luck.