Does the thought of making small talk make you cringe? Does schmoozing make you feel like a schmuck?

Zack, who’s the president of Only Connect Consulting and an expert in personality and the workplace, travels the nation, rubbing elbows with and making presentations to executives in private industry, the public sector and federal agencies; she’s also an introvert … so who better to write about introvert networking than a person who shatters the stereotype?

Introverts Can Sizzle on Networking Job Search

By Devora Zack author of “Networking for People Who Hate Networking: A Field Guide for Introverts, the Overwhelmed and the Underconnected.”

To network or not to network?  That is the question.

What’s at stake?  Whatever you most want to accomplish; no biggie.

What if you don’t like networking and have no interest?  It drains you.  It never works.  You don’t have time.  You don’t need to.  It’s phony, self-serving, fake, inauthentic, superficial, conniving, manipulative and useless.

Hold it right there.

In my experience, people who claim to hate networking also believe they are not good at it.  The reverse is true.  People who hate networking fail at traditional networking by following advice never intended for them in the first place.  You have the raw materials to be a stellar networker.  You are just following the wrong rules.  Standard networking advice fails you, so you assume you fail at networking. Plus you hate it.  What is networking?

Networking is the art of building and maintaining connections for shared positive outcomes.

That doesn’t sound so bad.  You can now learn networking methods aligned with the true you.

Networking propels you to your potential.  Think of a goal.  Perhaps you want to find a job, build your career, win a promotion, make a connection, improve the world, build a reputation, achieve your dream or grow a business.

Networking will further your aim.

As a consultant and author, I have never met a person who did not benefit tremendously from learning how to network on his or her own terms.

The more authentic you are, the more resilient and valuable networks you create.  You can successfully network by being real; applying natural strengths.  You can learn to work with, rather than fight against, your lovable self.

The very traits previously labeled as liabilities are now your finest networking assets.

I am an off-the-chart introvert.  I have conversations with people in my head that I think actually took place.  I need to process ideas before speaking up – or get myself into trouble.  The idea of a free-floating happy hour propels me into free-floating anxiety.  A cacophony of external stimuli doesn’t excite me; it drives me away.

I happen to also be Type A with an exceptionally high energy level.   Introverts can be low-key or intense; prefer the back of the room or the spotlight.  These traits are not linked to what defines introversion.

Introverts are reflective, focused, and self-reliant.  Extroverts are verbal, expansive, and social.  These characteristics lead to three key distinctions:

• Introverts think to talk; extroverts talk to think.
• Introverts drill deep; extroverts stretch wide.
• Introverts energize alone; extroverts energize with others.

These differences lead to a plethora of opportunities for introverts to shine in the networking arena.  Don’t condemn yourself for who you are.  Embrace, accept, and flaunt your natural style.  Okay, maybe flaunting is a bit much to ask.  Still, it is something to work towards.

I have discovered techniques that turn the world of networking for introverts upside down — or shall I say right side up? These insights can transform you into a networking star. You can even enjoy your customized version of networking.  Seem impossible?  It’s not.

Standard networking adages include:

• Promote yourself constantly.
• Never eat alone.
• Increase contacts for increased success.

Until now, networking advice has been written for people of a particular temperament – the very personality style already predisposed to enjoy the prospect of spearing cheese in a room full of bustling strangers.

Research reveals this personality type is 30-50 percent of the general population.  The rest of us have been left to wander aimlessly through the foreboding terrain of meet-and-greets.

Networking tips just for introverts

Pssst.  Want customized networking techniques created especially for you? 

Introverts think to talk.

• Focus on listening rather than self-promotion in initial job search conversations.
• Carefully select what job search events to attend – target those of most interest.
• Prepare in advance specific questions to ask new contacts. 
• Prepare and practice aloud responses to FAQ while on a job search.

 Introverts drill deep.

• Research the type of job most suited to you and focus your attention there, rather than dissipating your energy casting a wide net.
• Arrange one-on-one meals with select individuals rather than joining large groups.
• Follow up with others based on their interests, proving your immediate value.
• When at a career fair or job conference leave yourself blocks of time between sessions to pace yourself, increasing your focus at the programs you do attend.

 Introverts energize alone.

• While at networking events, periodically step away from the group to recharge.
• Volunteer – this gives you a focus, purpose, and specific role while networking.
• When arriving at an event, pause to look over attendee nametags – giving you initial alone time and the opportunity to strategize who to meet.
• Make notations about new contacts on their business cards – increasing your ability to remember details and creating breaks between conversations.

No more stamping out your instincts.  Welcome to the world of networking for people who used to hate networking. 

Interested in learning more about networking? Click here for more on TheWorkBuzz.com.

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Today we have a guest post from Duncan Mathison, who is the co-author of the book “Unlock the Hidden Job Market: 6 Steps to a Successful Search When Times Are Tough” with Martha I. Finney (FT Press, 2009). You can check out their Web site at www.unlockthehiddenjobmarket.com.

Job Search CPR:  How to Bring Your Job Search Back From the Dead

The difficulty with evaluating the progress of your job search is that there is only one true sign of success – a new job. So when you don’t see a lot of progress in this awful job market, you have to ask yourself, “Am I doing the right things to land a job or am I simply missing the mark?”

OK, so your job search might not be completely dead, but if it is not showing much life it is probably time to check its vital signs. Here are the signs of trouble and the right treatment to bring your job search back on track. 

Your calendar is blank.  You have no job interviews or networking meetings scheduled except coffee with an old friend.  You might also have next month’s networking mixer mostly attended by other unemployed people.  Your search is on life support.

The treatment: Start by scheduling the activities that will fill your schedule with interviews. In addition to meetings, schedule the time you will check job postings, research companies, and catch up on your professional reading.

Schedule specific telephone time to follow-up with every networking lead you have including those intimidating, very important and hard-to-reach people.  With busy people, it is easier to schedule appointments a few weeks out than next week when they are heavily booked. Sure you want to be working instead of networking next month. Be happy that you won the appointment.  If you land a job before then, the meeting can always be cheerfully cancelled.

Nonresponsive employers after a having “for sure” job interviews.  It has been weeks since a promising job interview after which you heard nothing. Even your follow-up calls have not been returned. Careful, this can be a job search momentum killer.

The treatment: Grit your teeth, give out a low growl and vow never to treat a job applicant like that once you are in a position to hire. Sorry, but this is pretty typical (and inexcusable) behavior of employers. It’s time to move on. The best cure for a job that does not pan out is to have another two in the hopper. While you are at it, vow never to ease up on your job search just because you have a hot prospect.

Flat-lined with no new job leads. On-line job search tools significantly cut the time it takes to find any posted positions in the open market both for you and everyone else.  As a result, employers are often buried in applicants and competition can be intense. Often employers bypass posting positions preferring informal sourcing instead.

The treatment: Apply only to posted job ads that are a fit and skip the long-shots.  Adjust how you invest your time and go after the hidden job market through targeted identification of possible employers and, of course, the holy-grail of any job search: networking.

Exhausted network with no pulse.  You have talked to “everyone” and they don’t know of any jobs “out there.” Now you are starting to feel like a stalker and you soon will have no friends left much less networking contacts.

The treatment: The important thing about networking is to know that networks tend to form in clusters of smaller groups. Network clusters can be insular and you may find yourself operating in a closed loop of contacts, thus the impression you have talked to everyone possible. If so, it’s time to “cluster jump.”

Start with the “100 rule.” Make a list of 100 people you know regardless of their relationship to your profession as well as industry experts such as authors, professors and consultants.  Make sure every one of those people know the type of job you are looking for, the typical job titles of someone who would be your manager, and the industry you could work in.  For bonus points, give them a list of 75 employers you think might hire someone with your skills. Ask them if they know of anyone who might know something about employers on the list.

Not enough major employers. You think you know who they are. You have established who among the top local employers could hire people with your skills, you have spoken to the hiring managers and they have your resume. Now what?

The treatment:  According to government statistics, about 50% of all jobs are with employers who have less than 500 people. It’s time to dig deeper beyond the darlings of the local business media. Consider that many companies could have small field offices and R&D operations in town.  Can’t relocate? In today’s virtual world, your job may not require you to be in an office or at corporate headquarters. Look outside of your community for employers if your job can be done remotely.

What have you done to revive your job search? Has it worked?

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But I digress … I’m here to talk about one book in particular. While I would love to tell you (again) about CareerBuilder’s job search handbook “Career Building,” I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you about this particular gem I found called “101 Toughest Interview Questions … and Answers That Win the Job!” by Daniel Porot and Frances Bolles Haynes. It’s not your typical dry interview book. This book is compact and comes in a flashcard-like format and arms you with the answers that interviewers really want to hear.

The book is divided into four sections which address employers’ main concerns when hiring a new employee – 1) Can you do the job? 2) Who are you? 3) Will you fit in at the company? 4) What will you cost us? — and supply potential interview questions that will answer those matters.

Porot and Haynes cover questions from the most standard (“What are your greatest achievements?” and “Do you prefer to work alone or in a group?”) to the most challenging (“So?” and “Have you approached any other organizations?” and “Would you like to sit in my chair one day?”) and give suggestions and fill-in-the blank options of how you might answer each.

For example, the authors give five sample answers that you can adapt to your situation and personality to the question, “Why do you think you have the potential for this job?”

• I know my potential, and I can tell you that I plan to enrich the company in two areas. (Mention two areas in which you are 100 percent sure you can add value.)
• I can answer that positively for two reasons. (Mention two examples or facts as proof.)
• My three strongest qualifications for this job are ______, ______ and ______.
• Based on the information you have shared with me today, I can say that I have the potential as well as the enthusiasm and persistence that you would expect from someone working for your company.
• I have encountered situations and challenges in my previous jobs that are similar to those involved with this position and I have a successful track record. (Elaborate on one.)

But I don’t think you should read this book before your interview. I think you should read it before you even apply to jobs. “Why?” you ask? If you review all the questions as a job search exercise, the information you discover and the answers you craft can be used in your cover letters and help you discover holes in your resume. All that in a purse- or backpack-friendly size.

There is one question that I take issue with: “What is your favorite Web site and why?” This wordsmith and bibliophile whould have liked the question to read: “What is your favorite book and/or Web site and why?” (Hint to anyone who ever interviews for a job with me.) Otherwise, as Chelsea Handler would say, I give this book … my blessing.

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I was flipping through the pages of Pink Slipped: A post-layoff survival guide and figured one chapter in particular would be helpful to you. Edie Milligan Driskill, CFP, CLU, author of Pink Slipped, devoted an entire section to post-layoff identity.

The answers to the following two questions will tell us a lot:

1. Who were you the day before you lost your job?

2. Who are you today?

If the answers to those two questions are not exactly the same, then you’ve got some work to do.

Driskill goes on to explain that the title on your business card (real or imaginary) doesn’t mean that’s actually who you are. It can. As she says in the book, an accountant is an accountant as long as he or she has a CPA license. Whether or not the accountant is on someone’s payroll is irrelevant. Or another example she gives is that a physical therapist who gets a job as a waitress in order to make ends meet might not consider herself a waitress. She’s a physical therapist working as a waitress.

That might sound a bit hokey to some of you, but think about it this way:

One strategy that employers use to encourage people to be productive and stay around is to find titles that will feed their egos and give them status within the organization. If you were handed one of those titles and you bought into it, you forgot that it was a rental contract. Believing that you actually owned it will cause you to have an overall harder time dealing with the loss of your employment.

Losing a job is hard on all aspects of your life. It’s an unwelcome surprise. It affects your finances. You’re reminded of it daily when you’re at home instead of at work. If you connected yourself more to the idea of the job than the actual work you like doing, you’re going to have a hard time coping and a hard time finding work. Job titles differ from company to company, as do the responsibilities and expenses that come with them. Your job search needs to encompass a range of options that let you do what you like (and hopefully make what you’d like). That’s why we like to recommend job seekers:

• Search for jobs by skills, not just by titles
• Know what they’re good at and what they like doing so that they can find work that suits them–not just another job they hate like the last one they  had
• Know what they don’t want to do, because ruling out what doesn’t work makes it that much easier to find the job that will work.

Pink Slipped: A post-layoff survival guide is out now if you want to read more about handling unexpected unemployment.

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Last week we told you about our new book, CAREER BUILDING: Your Total Handbook for Finding a Job and Making It Work .

Expanding on CareerBuilder.com’s popular content, CAREER BUILDING takes readers from résumé and cover letter tips to office etiquette to career troubleshooting to job hunting while you’re working and leaving gracefully when you go.  It’s filled with the statistics you need to know and includes a plethora of good and bad examples of résumés, thank-you notes, networking letters, information on job-hunting in the digital age, such as social networking profiles, résumé “keywords,” and e-mail mistakes to avoid .

Right now, we’re offering a special offer when you purchase the book. Order Career Building today and get three free résumé SnapShots – a $49.99 value!

What are SnapShots? They are icons that help you stand out from the competition by highlighting your résumé when it appears in an employer’s search on CareerBuilder.com.

SnapShots draw attention to your online résumé by…

• highlighting your experience, education, skills and certifications, and other traits.
• letting you stand out from the more than 24 million résumés on CareerBuilder.com.
• giving your résumé visual cues to make it jump off the page and say, “Pick me!” to employers.

To take advantage of this offer, click here.

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These days, job seekers need all the tools they can get their hands on. CareerBuilder.com just released “CAREER BUILDING: Your Total Handbook for Finding a Job and Making It Work” (Collins Business) and it’s filled with advice you can use not only in your job search but also throughout your career.

Here’s an excerpt:

Are you employable?  

For some people, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a guiding principle. And if you’ve found one job, you can certainly find another. You know all you need to know about job hunting, right?

If you find your job hunt isn’t giving you anything but a stress headache, maybe it’s time for a refresher. Ask yourself these questions:

Is my résumé targeted?
Just because you’re applying for multiple jobs, don’t assume the same résumé works for every position. Each job posting will stress different qualities over others, so rework each résumé to highlight the experience and skills that correspond to that particular employer. Your résumé will prove not only that you’re qualified for the job but that you also pay attention to detail.

Am I networking?
We’ve said it once; we’ll say it again-networking is crucial. Think about this: There is only one of you and there are thousands of job openings. The more people know you’re looking for a job, the better your chances of finding one are. You can never be sure who will know of an available position. Networking can also connect you to a hiring manager, directly or indirectly, giving you the edge over other candidates.

Do I know something about the companies I’m applying to?
“Tell me what you know about the company” or “Why would you fit in well here?” have become staple interview questions, so don’t be caught off guard. Shrugging your shoulders and saying, “I don’t know” isn’t going to score you points. Look at the company’s Web site and read press releases and newspaper articles to see what’s going on with your prospective future boss. In addition to preparing for the interview, you’ll learn whether the company and its culture are a right fit for you.

Am I targeting my job search?
Sending out several résumés is key to finding a job, but you also need to be selective about the jobs to which you’re applying. While you don’t need to possess every single skill listed on a posting, you should at least be qualified for the position and prove that you have transferable skills. Your targeted résumé will help prove you’re a serious candidate and have the right qualifications for the position. If you’re spending time applying for jobs you’re not qualified for, you’re wasting valuable time you could be devoting to a position that’s a better fit. If you recognize where your strengths lie and what transferable skills you possess, you’ll see better results than if you apply to any posting you come across.

Has someone else evaluated my résumé and interview technique?
Feedback is critical to job hunting. Ask someone else to read your résumé and review it as if they were hiring for the job. Friends or colleagues can provide objective points of view to help you revise your résumé.

Your interview skills need the same attention. Are your answers succinct or too short? Thorough or rambling? What you think you’re saying isn’t necessarily what others hear, so find this out now rather than in the interview. If you don’t think that a colleague or friend can offer constructive feedback, make an appointment with an interview coach.

How am I presenting myself?
Employers are assessing your presentation before you even show up for an interview. Your e-mails and phone conversations with hiring managers or recruiters should also send a professional message. Don’t send emails written in all capital letters and/or using three exclamation points-it’s bad netiquette in personal correspondence, but it’s even worse in business. Put the same thought into your outgoing voice mail message. Don’t try to be funny by playing 30 seconds of your favorite song or talking with a mouthful of food. Hiring managers might hang up instead of ask you to call them back. Give a normal, casual greeting, or use one of the preprogrammed options that come with most accounts.

If a recruiter calls you, don’t try to hold a conversation with your TV blaring in the background or your child screaming on your lap. If you’re asked whether it’s a good time to talk, you can be honest and say you’re in the middle of something. Then ask if he or she can call you back in 15 minutes or find another day that’s convenient for both of you. You’ll be prepared to answer all the recruiter’s questions and won’t be distracted.

Your goal is to find a better job than you had, right? So you have to conduct a better search this time around. Put the effort in and you’ll see the results.

From the editors of CareerBuilder.com, CAREER BUILDING is filled with the statistics, tips and priceless information on job-hunting and working in the digital age, including good and bad résumé samples, using social networking, searching online, résumé “keywords” and e-mail mistakes to avoid. In today’s unstable economic climate, CAREER BUILDING is the guide you can’t afford to go without.

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Looking for a new job search tool? We’ve got just the thing.

From the editors at CareerBuilder – including TheWorkBuzz writers Anthony, Rachel and yours truly – comes CAREER BUILDING: Your Total Handbook for Finding a Job and Making it Work, a no-nonsense handbook that tells workers of all ages and all stages of their careers everything you need to know about landing a great job and navigating through the workplace. 

Expanding on CareerBuilder’s most popular articles, CAREER BUILDING is filled with insightful statistics and advice from top experts on making yourself indispensable as a candidate or employee.

Take a look inside the book here.

With U.S. employment in turmoil and millions of people looking for jobs, this new book couldn’t have come at a better time. CAREER BUILDING offers expert tips for job-searching in a bad economy, including:

• What to do after a layoff
• How to look confident (even if you have to fake it)
• How to make yourself relevant to a variety of employers
• How to make a bad job work for you (when need be)

CAREER BUILDING also offers tough love for all workers, including:

• Extensive job searching tips
• Questions you should ask the boss
• Meeting etiquette
• Using, not abusing, technology
• Things not to say at work
• Preparing for a performance review

Get your copy today. It is available from major retailers including Amazon.com, Borders.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

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“It’s an unsettling time for U.S. employees as the nation works toward creating a healthier economy and job market,” says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.com. “The important thing is to be prepared and stay productive within your organization.”

Here are some tips for making yourself recession-proof at work:

• Seek out additional responsibility. Show you can wear many hats within the company by volunteering to take on different responsibilities. Try to get involved in long-term projects.
• Be a team player. Establish yourself as someone who proactively shares information and resources and tries to help benefit the work of others.
• Offer up ideas. Propose ideas for cost-savings, improved efficiencies or new revenue streams to help your company weather the storm.
• Toot your own horn. Keep a current record of your accomplishments and contributions to the company, quantifying results whenever possible. Share new highlights in a project update email to your boss and other supervisors who may benefit from your accomplishment and make sure to give kudos to others involved in the project.
• Stay positive. Keep focused on the task at hand and don’t let rumors impact your productivity.

If you’ve experienced a layoff already, don’t get discouraged, Haefner says.  It may take longer to find a job, but there are still companies out there hiring in a variety of areas such as healthcare, sales, government and education. Here are job hunting tips for workers who have been laid off:

• Finding a job is a job. Commit to looking for a job two to three hours per day.
• Transfer your skills. Look at how your skills can apply to other industries that may be hiring. There are universal skills that employers will search for such as strong communication skills, problem-solving, project management, etc.
• Leverage social media. Join various social networking sites and consider blogging to showcase skills, experience and creativity.
• Study job postings online. Job postings clearly spell out what employers are looking for and employers often use electronic scanners to search for keywords in their job postings. Update your resume using some of the same keywords as they apply to your experience.
• Make yourself more marketable. Consider taking this time to go back to school or obtain a certification in a classroom or online.
• Stay active. Consider volunteering.  Most employers views this as a relevant experience and it can help expand your network.

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It can make you wish things were as easy as they were in childhood, when communication was simple and where you were more open to new ideas and new people. Countless self-help books suggest the same thing: that personal and professional success can come to those who are willing to let themselves be more open.

“Open” might mean being more vulnerable, or even being the fool from time to time, but it also means that you embrace the humor of the situation and just let it be.

I’ve been reading a very intriguing and unique book by Peter Weddle, Recognizing Richard Rabbit. Weddle’s book tries to get a message to us via these two channels: on the left side pages, there’s text asking us questions about our lives (and careers) in language that we’re accustomed to.

On the right-hand pages, there’s an animal-filled fable that takes us back to childhood days and recasts these questions in simpler, more colorful terms. It’s a fascinating way to approach ideas – like giving up what you “should” do for what you really WANT to do – that can be tricky or uncomfortable to think about in traditional terms.

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Terkel wrote dozens of books, but perhaps one of his best-known works is a non-fiction book called Working.

Working was initially published in 1974, but it’s still a powerful and timely book. It’s a non-fiction book where Terkel essentially captures the narrative voices of workers from various walks of life: a book binder, a supermarket bag boy, even a gravedigger.

The stories Terkel captured were so compelling that it even became the basis for a Broadway musical.

Here’s an audio news piece that explores Working and its impact on American society.

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