Welcome Back! We hope you had a great Thanksgiving and tried out some of our Networking tips during the break. If you are still feeling shy we’ve got some helpful tips that may get you over that last bump.
First we’d like to start out with a great quote by Betty Bender:
Anything I’ve ever done that ultimately was worthwhile…initially scared me to death
This is all well and good, but who the heck is Betty Bender?! She’s a motivational speaker and consultant and … we just really liked this quote.
Alright so awhile back we posted a similar article from Simply Hired Blog to help with this called, “Networking for Introverts” by Tess Gellerman (Career Development Facilitator at the Michael Chavez Center for Economic Opportunity).
We still love all the tips highlighted and discussed in this article but wanted to give you a few “did you knows” to help ease your mind and assuage your fears.
Here goes: Did you know…..
- Most people like to help others (especially fellow Bucknellians!), and will be honored that you approach them for information, especially if you are prepared, informed, confident and appreciative of their time. Keeping this in mind will help reduce your stress level of the interactions.
- We are only bothering people if we don’t know what we want or have to offer. In fact, we feel more out of place if we haven’t learned more. So make sure you use this time wisely to really ask questions and get to know as much as possible. It’s OK to leave knowing that you had the wrong impression about a profession and would really not like to do x-career after talking with someone. As I always say, “knowing what you don’t want to do is half the battle!” I’d still count this interaction as a success because you learned more.
- Even if the person can’t help you, you never know what may result from the conversation, so what do you have to lose? This person may know someone who knows someone…you never know where networking may lead you!
- Sometimes we are afraid of appearing needy when asking for information or help but being sincere and genuine when connecting with someone helps to foster a sense of belonging…and most people enjoy talking about their job and/or career path anyway (especially when it’s helping ‘the younger generation’).
- Creating a two way street and sharing as much as you can is helpful when creating positive interactions between you and your contact. (Helpful Hint: this is a good time to bring in that elevator pitch)
Well, that brings our November Networking Month to a close. We hope you’ve enjoyed this series and have learned a lot.
Now – let the networking begin (at the Jan. 31 Internship and Job Fair)!
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