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Beyond a resume and cover letter, networking is a useful skill that can greatly affect your job search.Don’t give up on networking because you didn’t go to the best school or live in a large city. Being an introvert makes some things difficult. It’s hard to be open and let strangers into your life. Small talk doesn’t come easy, and it’s hard work to establish rapport with new people.Here is some piece of advice for building a network even if you are shy.
Prepare
Before you head into your next social event, spend a few minutes thinking about what you want to learn from others. Have a few questions ready to ask new people, such as “How did you get started in your career?” or “What are you passionate about?” If being put on the spot makes you nervous, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with writing questions down and practicing ahead of time.
Improve your phone skills
Practice speaking on the phone and get comfortable with that form of communication.So instead of shooting your pals a text the next time you want to update them on your life, give them a call instead. Make sure you speak slowly and clearly, because these are techniques that can help you if you ever have to tell a potential employer about yourself over the phone.
Do interesting things
You could indulge yourself martial arts, yoga or running.Such activities will let you meet new people and make new friends instantly without having to go directly into networking.Sign up for foreign language classes too. You want to meet people, even if you have no interest in linguistics or fighting.
Challenge yourself
Challenge yourself to meet at least two people each month .Through these connections,you will get to have interviews and many referrals—not to mention newfound confidence and a clearer sense of direction in your career. Even if you don’t go this far, think about how you can challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone just a little bit. It might have unexpected—and great—results.
Have other good connections
If you build your network enough, you can become a higher value person, simply by knowing other high value people. This one is not a beginner step, but it does explain some of the exponential returns you can get from networking.
