I’m an introvert – always have been, always will be.
When I started my job search after 10 years with the same company, I was thrown into a panic many introverts have experienced. I had to be become more visible and tell the world that I was looking for a job! I learned I needed to create a LinkedIn profile and connect with old high school acquaintances so that I could ask them for referrals. I was told to write a personal branding statement and practice delivering it to friends and family so that the words would flow naturally when I talked to strangers. Most importantly, I needed to network, network, network – because that’s how people really find work.
None of these suggestions appealed to me.
Put myself on Linkedin? I’ve avoided social media for as long as it has existed. I’m not convinced that anyone cares what I ate for lunch, and I don’t want to open myself up to public scrutiny.
Create a personal brand? This phrase has always sounded self-important to me. Plus, I couldn’t imagine sharing my personal brand with a stranger in line at the grocery store after overhearing that they worked at my dream company.
Network? I envisioned idle chatter at a party. I would ask and be asked the same routine questions before moving on to someone else I would never see again. That sounded worse than speed dating!
I resisted the advice, doing nothing I had been told to do. I was seeing Laura Paradise for career coaching, and she asked why I wasn’t reaching out. I explained that networking horrified me as an introvert.
She encouraged me to reframe the idea of networking and see it as a way to make meaningful connections. It doesn’t have to be milling around a room making small talk. You can network anywhere, with anyone. Try to speak to one person at a time, look for topics you both find interesting, exchange contact information or connect on LinkedIn, but don’t think of it as a transactional relationship. If you reach out to let someone know their favorite author is coming to town for a book signing, reaching out for an introduction to a recruiter later on won’t seem so strange.
So, I volunteered to clean up a nearby wetlands. Mentioning my job search to strangers came easily since I live in a culture where people ask, “What do you do?” soon after learning your name. I added a few people to my new LinkedIn page and left feeling better about this thing called networking (and feeling really good about all the invasive plants I helped remove).
I attended a monthly social event hosted by The Job Hackers, a non-profit that offers Agile project management training. During the event, I met Maria. As we said goodbye, she asked if I’d be interested in forming a support group for job seekers within The Job Hackers and we scheduled a coffee date to talk more.
Something interesting happened each time I put myself out there – not only was I able to make genuine connections with people I truly enjoyed speaking to, I felt less intimidated by the idea of making connections. Today, I’m still a part of that support group with Maria. She’s one of several job search buddies who have become close friends. I was recently contacted on LinkedIn by, you guessed it, an acquaintance from high school. When she found out I was looking for a job, she recommended me for a position at the large, well known tech company where she works. Did I get the job? Nope. Did I get an interview for a job I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to apply to if not for someone on the inside encouraging me? Yup, and I got positive feedback from the hiring manager.
And because the universe laughs at us sometimes, I now create LinkedIn profiles for a professional resume writer, using my writing skills to help define and articulate other people’s personal brands.
It turns out that networking isn’t so bad. Stepping out of, and even redefining my comfort zone hasn’t made me any less introverted. But it has taught me that the world of job searching, with its hope-inducing highs and crushing lows doesn’t have to be navigated alone. I’m stronger, more confident, and probably more likely to find a job because of my growing network!