Work, success, and meaning at every stage of your career
I’ve written before about mistakes people make when networking, so it’s only fair that I also write about people who get it right. One of the best things you can do when asking for help in your job search (or any venture) is to reconnect with the person who helped you. Recently, someone I connected got it right, and I hope that jobseekers can benefit.
As you go through the personality results, you begin to see how your style has probably been a part of you since you were very young – and how little you’ve changed over time. (You can predict your four-year-old’s behavior just as accurately as your spouse’s, can’t you?)
Paul Tieger’s Do What You Are is one of the best career advice books I’ve used. The book is organized into chapters on each of the 16 personality types of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI.) Each chapter offers a list of what makes work worthwhile for that personality type. The lists work so well because they aren’t specific to any occupation. They focus on what makes your personality type tick and where you’ll find satisfying work and people who understand you. When I coach people on career transition, I suggest that they focus on these concepts rather than salary and duties. After all, you probably know what the job involves already. What you don’t know s what the team is like – and how well you’ll fit in.
We all have stressful days when everything seems to go wrong. Advance preparation can keep a bad day from becoming a disaster.
“Networking is often given a bad reputation because some people use the concept in a way that is inconsiderate, inappropriate, unprofessional, or just shortsighted.” Yup – that about covers it.
Networking is about deep connections, but it’s also about wide ones. Gladwell estimates that most of the benefit you get from your network does not come from strong connections (former bosses, personal friends, etc.) but from what he terms “weak ties.”
Think about all the information that comes across your desk in a given week. Instead of using things up and throwing them away, take the value that is there for you and think ‘Who else would be interested in this information?’
Brad Raney spoke to the WorkSource Professional Network on September 23. He is the author of “Improve Your VOWELS, Improve Your Career! The A,E,I,O,U’s of Finding Your Perfect Job!”
Even if you’re an extrovert, the term “networking” can make you anxious. It may be hard for you to meet new people or reconnect with those you haven’t seen for a while. If you’re unemployed, your confidence may be low; you may hate the idea of being in the position of asking for help instead of being able to offer it.
One of the most important networking skills you can acquire is the ability to make people feel appreciated. It’s an art form that doesn’t come easily to some people, but, like most social skills, it can be learned.
