The Introvert’s Guide to Job Search Success If you’re an introvert, chances are job searching makes you uncomfortable. Not that anyone really likes to look for work. Most people would rather skip this process if they could, but for introverts that sentiment seems to count double. If this describes you, a word of caution: You could find yourself saying yes to the first thing that comes along—whether or not it’s the best job for you—just for the relief of being done with your search. That’s not a great reason to cement a decision that will impact the career you’ve worked so hard to build. So, what’s the better plan? Take a few minutes now to read about each part of the job search process, and tips to improve your strategy for those steps. As with other life challenges, you’ll likely find that practice and small successes in the early steps will set the stage for overcoming your reluctance. And even if parts of the process still make you uncomfortable, now you’ll have the confidence to know you can implement strategies to get the result you want.
Networking: Mastering the art of small talk We’re starting with the part of job search that makes introverts cringe: Chatting for the sake of chatting. Of course, it’s really chatting for the sake of bonding and getting to know each other, but that doesn’t make it any more comfortable to do. These tips for
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managing small talk will help not only with your job search, but with other situations where you need to be both social and professional at the same time.
Start the conversation yourself. If you jump in first, the other person will not guess that you’re uncomfortable. This will be easier if you think of a few topics in advance. As you’d guess, politics and
