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Networking for Shy People and Introverts

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HERE’S A NETWORKING TASK!

Just kidding. But if that made you cringe or feel a little itchy, you might be a reluctant networker.

Lots of people are, especially the shy and/or introverted among us (like me).

If you’re an introvert, you’d probably never do any networking if you didn’t have to. But the truth is, networking is extremely important and useful when it comes to building your career. LinkedIn states that 70% of workers hired in 2016 had a connection at the company they were hired by. CNBC says as much as 80% of all jobs are filled through personal and professional connections.

Pretty significant.

Still, networking can be awkward, even if you aren’t the introverted type. The good news is that networking doesn’t have to be hard.

Read on for some tips to make it more manageable for you.

TIP #1: GET OTHER PEOPLE TALKING

If you’re shy or an introvert, you might prefer it when other people are doing the talking. So get other people talking! Take the night before your networking interaction to come up with a few open-ended questions (no yes-or-no questions homie) that prompt the person/people around you to do some informative storytelling. Make sure the questions you ask are relevant, though. You want to prompt stories that help you learn what you need to know to get you a little closer to your goal(s).

Speaking of goals…

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How To Identify Transferable Skills

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We’ve all heard of transferable skills by now. But what are they? How do you identify YOUR transferable skills? And once you’ve identified them, how do you describe them in ways an employer in a different field or company can grasp?

Put simply, transferable skills are skills that can be applied in different situations or environments. We all have them, but sometimes they can be hard to identify and describe.

Before getting into how to identify and talk about yours, let’s take a look at some classic examples of transferable skills and why they’re important.

TeachingCritical ThinkingProblem SolvingCoordinating
Relationship BuildingTeamworkListeningCustomer Service
PlanningFlexibilityFlexibilityEvaluating
ManagementOrganizationPublic SpeakingMentoring

As you can see from the table above, there’s lots of transferable skills, and you probably have a decent amount of these.

Let’s pause right quick. You might notice that these are generally what we’d also call “Soft Skills.” Soft skills are mostly interpersonal, while hard/technical skills are mostly industry or job specific. 

Part of why soft skills are so valued by employers is because they’re relatively difficult to teach. How many week(s) long trainings have you sat through at work where communication or collaboration was a big topic? And how many communication- or collaboration-related problems did you encounter at work after said training? Exactly.

Highlighting your transferable skills well will make you a much more attractive candidate because hiring managers know the value of soft skills: they’re absolutely necessary for success in the workplace.

So let’s take a look at how you can practice identifying and describing your transferable skills.

DE-CENTER THE CONTEXT

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Changing Careers: Where to Start

THE GRAVY, ISSUE 7

One of the more frequent conversation topics I have with people is career pivoting. Moving from one career field or industry to another.

If you’ve ever thought about switching careers, you’re not unlike a lot of people. According to Apollo Technical, 32% of workers between the ages of 25-44 considered changing careers in the last year. That’s a pretty big number.

And while lots of people consider changing careers, many find the challenge of doing so intimidating. 

Pivoting from one career to another can be difficult. Sure, there are those overnight success stories, but those are few and far between. The much more common reality is that it’s going to take you time, effort, planning, and resources. 

And that’s ok, because you CAN get the job done! People of all ages can and do pivot careers every year. Here’s what I’ve learned about how to successfully change your career.

COMMIT TO IT

First of all, no, it is not too late for you to change your career. You are not too old. You did not wait too long. Yes, you are smart enough. Yes, you can do what it takes.

You just have to commit to it. Changing careers is no small task. You need to decide that this is happening. A lack of commitment to the process and goal will likely draw out the search longer than what it probably needs to be.

Don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to give 100% of your energy and time to your pivot. Even if you can only manage 20%, GIVE 20% and be consistent. The idea is to put consistent action into the goal of changing careers. Making it real will help you find more success.

SELF-ASSESSMENT

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NEWS AND UPDATES

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The 5 Major Screening Factors

THE GRAVY, ISSUE 6

Do you ever wonder what hiring managers are looking for in their candidates?

The specifics of what a hiring manager needs for a particular job will vary depending on the job, the company, and potentially a variety of other considerations, of course, but there tends to be a pretty consistent 5 themes.

These 5 themes make up the 5 Major Screening Factors. Master these screening factors, and you’ll position yourself as a frontrunner in your job search.

SCREENING FACTOR #1: PERSONALITY

That’s right. When it comes down to it, and all the remaining candidates are technically qualified for the role, the deciding factor is often personality.

Do they like you?

Do they feel like you’d work well with the other employees?

Does your communication style vibe with theirs?

Would your energy level work well for this role?

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Next Issue on March 30th: Changing Careers: Pivot Your Career Successfully

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How to Write a Good Cover Letter

THE GRAVY, ISSUE 5

Cover letters scare lots of job seekers. 

“How do I write a good cover letter?” 

“How long should it be?” 

“What about the heading and address and all that stuff? What do I do about all that?” 

“Should I write a general cover letter, or a specific one for each job?”

Let’s talk about cover letter writing. And guess what! Cover letters (in my opinion) are actually pretty easy. Especially compared to resumes.

FIRST THING’S FIRST…

Cover letters are easy because they’re short. Really short. The whole thing, including the heading, the addressing, and content, should be 1 page. That means your actual content should be around half a page–4 paragraphs, 14-17 sentences.

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