A Recipe For Success

I was reading through some discussions on LinkedIn the other day and saw an article posted that presented an idea that forced me to think a little bit outside the box. Although the overall premise was focused more toward professionals seeking a new job, there were some tips that I would strongly recommend to any student as well. The author called it his "recipe for success", and since creativity isn't necessarily my forte, I decided to use that title as well.

The recipe for success is a very simple four step process that anyone can implement.

1. Make a list of all the things you love doing or things that intrigue you that you'd like to try doing. This is brainstorming so don't limit the list or judge it; write down everything you can think of.

2. Separate the activities you do with people from the activities you do alone. For example, gardening, reading, meditating, and writing are alone activities. Volunteering to run a fundraiser is with people.

3. Look at the activities you do alone and figure out if you can (and want to) do them in a way that includes other people. For example, join a garden club. Or a reading or meditation group. Or write something that other people read (a blog counts!). If you can (and want to) make them activities that include other people, keep them on the list. If not, then cross them off the list.

4. Now's the fun part: Spend your time doing things you love (or have always wanted to try) with other people who also love doing those things. If possible, take a leadership role.


These are all things that any college student can do. Getting yourself out there doing things you enjoy will showcase you in a positive light. When people see you doing things you enjoy, they see the best side of you, which is the side you always want to portray in your job search. And like always, you never know who might have that golden connection that lands you the dream job, so you may as well look around while having a good time!