Quote: (02-29-2012 08:24 AM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:
When you guys go to a new country and don't know anyone, how do you build yourself a social circle?
In the context of careers or business, how do you build a professional circle?
Has this been an issue for anyone here?
Something happened to me today that made me think of this thread.
A friend of mine dared me to take the MENSA test with him, so I tagged along.
Unexpectedly, both of us got some networking in. The overall test consisted of 2 separate tests with breaks after each part, where we could mingle. We met a civil engineer, some It guys, an electronic engineer student, a communications consultant, an aviation engineer, a lawyer and an entrepreneur.
If you get into the MENSA, you then have access to its worldwide network. As long as you pay up your measly membership dues you have this access of generally successful people to network with at regular meetings. MENSA also has an international hospitality program, basically you can notify them ahead of time and they make arrangements to introduce to the kind of people you want to meet, provided they are within MENSA too.
I managed to pass the test, and I will suss out the networking opportunities available over the course of the near-future.
You don't necessarily need to be intelligent. Every intelligence test can be hacked. The pattern recognition test was used today and if you passed that then you're allowed in (you only have to pass one of the tests, at least to join the branch I wrote at). You can easily fake a high score on the pattern recognition test by studying the underlying principles of the test and by practicing.
Here's a good breakdown of the pattern recognition test (the explanation will make more sense as you practice the test):
http://www.jperla.com/blog/post/how-to-ace-an-iq-test
Here's an example test to practice with:
http://www.iqtest.dk/main.swf
The pattern recognition stuff is a lot like math, you may be naturally good at it or you may need someone to explain it to you and with a lot of practice only then do you get it. Do the same with the pattern recognition test, then you can join MENSA and network. The quality of people may vary greatly from city to city though. I guess some countries may also prefer not to use the pattern recognition tests.