Quiet Careers

Maggie Graham http://www.quietcareers.com/

Quiet Career Strengths

How Introversion Works for You as You Advance Your Career

Introduction

I deal with two major dimensions of the career world:

Exploration and focus

Job search

For both of these domains, introversion is a major asset, and at the same time, a drag.

We’ll look at both sides of the coin.

First, let’s get one thing straight: I’m not going to teach you how to fake extroversion or blend into a noisy world.

I don’t want to swim upstream in the river of the cultural ideal of the extroverted world. I know it’s there, and some great voices, like Susan Cain’s, are out there asking to turn the tide on those stereotypes. I support those advocates, but my mission here is different:

I want you to move forward with your career agenda.

So, I’ll add my voice to introversion advocates, but I’ll save generalities for another time. Right now, let’s put the focus squarely on you and where you’re heading in your career.

YOU ARE LIKE AN OCEAN:

QUIETLY EBBING AND FLOWING TO

THE RHYTHM OF LIFE, BUT WILDLY

EXPANSIVE AND PROFOUNDLY

POWERFUL. YOU ARE BOUNDLESS.

YOU ARE WHOLE. YOUR QUIETNESS

IS YOUR STRENGTH. YOUR DEPTH IS

YOUR ADVANTAGE.

~ALETHEIA LUNA, QUIET STRENGTH

Tap Into Your Enthusiasm CURIOSITY WILL CONQUER FEAR

EVEN MORE THAN BRAVERY WILL.

~JAMES STEPHENS

You don’t have to pretend.

You don’t have to hustle.

You don’t have to override your natural temperament.

All you have to do is access your own curiosity.

Which topics are calling to you right now?

You don’t need to find the one true subject that speaks

deeply to your heart. All you need to do is explore what

sparks something inside you and follow it for just a little

ways. If you’re still curious, keep going.

If you lose interest, ask yourself one more question:

Is fear present right now?

We often talk ourselves out of the pursuit of a direction,

typically by telling ourselves stories like:

I don’t have what it takes. (This often sounds like your inner critic saying, “Who do you think you are?!” particularly when you see others – seemingly more talented, or more resourced, or more … [fill in the blank] – already further down the path than you are).

That’s unrealistic.

I can’t ask other people in my life to bend to accommodate my exploration of this idea.

Once you put a hook into your curiosity, it will lead you

where you want to go:

Toward your own strengths – and the answer to what’s next for you in your career.

In the direction of those with whom you should align yourself and how to engage with people in the so-called “networking” game (because you’ll be fueled by your genuine interest rather than a fake agenda).

To the next phase in any conversation, whether it’s an exploratory one or a formal job interview (because you’ll be able to tap the vein of your curiosity and steer in that direction – rather than depend on an artificial structure of questioning).

Suggestion: When you’re in a conversation,

get curious about others – while at the same time

listening to your own resonance.

Use Your Listening Superpower

IF YOU ASK AN INTROVERT A

QUESTION, WAIT UNTIL SHE THINKS

ABOUT IT. INTROVERTS THINK

BEFORE SPEAKING, NOT THROUGH

SPEAKING. IF YOU WANT TO GET TO

THE GOOD STUFF, YOU NEED TO

SLOW DOWN.

~LAURIE HELGOE

Introverts notice. We soak in detail, nuance, and subtlety.

You can use the data you collect to steer you.

Overtly begin to gather details about:

What’s important to you – where do you experience strong emotion such as wonder and awe or anger and resistance? Use your body as your barometer. Where do you lean forward? Tense up? Retreat?

Where’s the other person’s attention? What does that tell you about them and what matters to them (and how they’ll make hiring decisions)?

Suggestion: Use bridging language to let others know when you’re reflecting.

“Let me think about that for a minute.”

“I’m pausing here so that I can reflect on what you just said and

integrate it.”

“What a great question! Give me a minute while I ponder that one.”

“I tend to do best when I percolate for a bit on questions. Can we

loop back to this one?”

Leverage Technology

SURPRISINGLY, I THINK IF YOU’RE

KNOWN ON THE INTERNET, YOU’RE

PROBABLY AN INTROVERT.

~FELICIA DAY

In this job market, face-to–face meetings are not as important as they used to be.

Consider using LinkedIn and other social media to dig for information and to make small overtures that will help you to connect with people you want to be in community with.

I’m not suggesting stalking (well, maybe some benign type – but only for research and exploration).

The truth is, you can find out quite a bit about someone you’re interested in before you ever meet them in person. In fact, it’s expected that you do your homework in advance of exploratory conversations and job interviews.

You can craft your input and connection request to suit each situation.

Suggestion: Adapt to this era of limited attention spans:

Brevity wins, especially early in the process of connecting with

someone.

Use white space, both literally on your marketing materials such as

your resume and LinkedIn profile, and metaphorically in your

speech and conversations (allow for pauses).

Emphasize Self-Care

SOLITUDE MATTERS, AND FOR SOME

PEOPLE, IT’S THE AIR THEY BREATHE.

~SUSAN CAIN

Imagine that your energy is the water level in a well. If you don’t attend to the inflow, you can’t keep drawing from it.

Be mindful of your energy drains, and replenish to counter those depleting activities.

I remember going to an all-day job interview. It was a job I really wanted, one that filled me with hope and purpose. I loved talking to the people on the interview team. I was fascinated about their projects. My escort for the day had to pry me away from each of my conversations because they ran long (and could have kept going).

But when I got to walk out the door at the end of the day, I was thrilled to exhale and return to the cocoon of my car. I spent the next day in solitude, and it was the most relaxing and nourishing schedule I could have imagined. I didn’t want to debrief the interview. I didn’t want to hear about anyone else’s day. I didn’t want to have any more input. Done – I was done!

Suggestion: Plan ahead and schedule – on your calendar – blocks of time to be by yourself.

Connect Genuinely

TELLING AN INTROVERT TO GO TO A

PARTY IS LIKE TELLING A SAINT TO

GO TO HELL.

~CRISS JAMI, KILLOSPHY

It’s time to reframe networking.

Here’s another superpower that introverts share: Authenticity.

We don’t schmooze.

We don’t work the room.

We don’t collect masses of business cards and systematically consider how we’ll use one person to get to another.

We seek depth.

We want the truth, so if you want something from us, just ask.

The good news is that this concept loops back to the first one in this mini ebook– which is to follow your curiosity. If you want to get somewhere in your career, it’s got to be rooted in values and truth for you. If you’ve got that, you can easily follow the thread of your natural interest and let it guide you.

Whom do you want to meet?

What do you want to ask them?

What do you have in common?

Follow those threads, and you can’t go wrong.

Closing Thoughts

Here’s my authentic and genuine curiosity:

What brought you here?

What’s next for you in your career?

Where are you stuck?

Schedule yourself onto my calendar for a complimentary

discovery session so that we can dive into those questions.

WHEN YOU FAIL TO TAP INTO YOUR

WELLSPRINGS OF INNER STRENGTHS

DUE TO TOXIC HABITS,

ENVIRONMENTS OR PEOPLE, YOU

WIND UP FEELING TRAPPED,

STRANDED OR UNHAPPY. YOU END

UP IN SOULLESS JOBS, DESTRUCTIVE

RELATIONSHIPS AND EMPTY

FRIENDSHIPS. MOST OF ALL, YOU

FIND YOURSELF UNSATISFIED WITH

WHO YOU ARE, AND YOU OFTEN

BECOME YOUR OWN WORST

ENEMY, PERPETUATING THE CYCLES

OF PAIN, ANGER AND FEAR WITHIN

YOU – LIKE I DID.

~ALETHEIA LUNA, QUIET STRENGTH