aka “Burgers & Beer Night.”
Do you have a close friend who is in a time of job transition? Instead of telling them “you’ll keep an eye out for a job,” considering hosting a “Burgers & Beer” night in their honor.
I learned how to do this from my brother Tom Hunt when I first moved to the DFW area in 2010. The basic idea is to bring a group of people together and give them the tools to tangibly help your friend during a time they need you the most.
The key concept of this effort focuses on using the “Power of Who” as explained by Bob Beaudine in his book The Power of Who – You Already Know Everyone You Need to Know. Your “WHO” are the people who really care about you and are there for you when you need them.
We had a Burgers & Beer night at my house last night for my friend Kurtis Gare as he enters into a time of trusting GOD to guide him to a new and exciting place to lead. It was a great night of hanging out with friends and making new ones, all in support of Kurtis and his journey.
Most people here last night had never experienced an event like this and loved the idea, so I am writing this article so you can do this for the people in your life you care about the most. (Note that not everyone likes beer so call it what you want, just make it happen.)
Here are the main steps to host your own Burgers & Beer night for someone in your world.
Step 1: Help your friend get their LinkedIn page up to date, and help them create a search Bio. A search Bio is better than a resume because it is more personal and prevents you from being discounted because your resume does not have what someone is looking for. (Click the photo below to download a word version of this Search Bio.)
Step 2: Get your friend to send you a list of their “WHO” and you invite them to your home for a Burgers & Beer night in support of their friend. Ask the invites for a night that works for most of them and then set that night up for the event. You take care of all the details so it’s not a burden for anyone to attend.
Step 3: Make it a fun night and toward the end, you share with the attendees how they can help their friend in this time of need. Create a helpful sheet like this one so they can actively get involved in helping your friend connect to the right people. (Click on the photo below to download a sample of this in a word).
*Special note: NEVER talk about finding a job for your friend. Only talk about introducing your friend to great people who will help them because they care about you.
Great people always know other great people, so tell the people in your WHO that you “Want them to meet a great friend or yours and see who they might introduce your friend to, that will help in his research on business trends.”
Notice I do not talk about looking for a job. If you approach someone saying you want them to meet a friend who needs a job, this person feels the pressure to find them a job, and the person they would introduce your friend to will want to avoid meeting them because they don’t want to get hit up for a job. Keep it third person all the way. (Contact me if you don’t understand what this means.)
Step 4: Have your friend share their vision and passion for life that night so everyone is clear about what matters most to them. Kurtis shared that night that he was taking a big step of faith in trusting Jesus Christ to lead him to the next great opportunity. This was a reminder to his WHO that he wants them to be in prayer for him along the way, and to check in to remind Kurtis that GOD is in control when things seem doubtful.
This is just one way you can be tangibly helpful to a friend when they are in a time of need. This also works for a friend who is starting a business, or ending a long relationship, and needs your support to keep going.
Make time to help those you care about the most and host your own Burgers & Beer Night. Invite me and I’ll come help you pull it off.
Robert Hunt.