Networking as an Introvert 101

Networking events have become increasingly talked about and valuable to personal and career growth. These events can lead to a lot of positives such as a new job, great opportunities, and connect you with the right people. Even socially the more familiar you are, the better connected you are to many opportunities. That being said, anyone can benefit in some sort from networking even if all you make is one connection because that one connection can change your life. The only thing is, networking doesn’t come easy to everyone.

I think those who are socially outgoing and natural extroverts get an advantage. For myself, a self-proclaimed extroverted-introvert…or is it introverted-extrovert? Not sure – it reallyyy takes a lot out of me to go to these kinds of events. I’m about 60% introvert 40% extrovert on a regular day and I still find that networking events unnatural to me since I’d much rather keep to myself and a familiar group. With that said if there’s any fellow introverts reading this, I’ve compiled 5 tips to help you navigate these high energy, overly socializing events.

1. Identify your why

Why are you networking in the first place? It doesn’t have to be rooted in hoping to meet the CEO of that job you want. Your why may be anything as simple as meeting someone with similar interests. The reason can be big or small, simple or complicated – it really doesn’t matter, but the important thing you do know is why. It’ll add more intention behind going in the first place and keep you there in the most vulnerable moments when your mind is telling you to leave. Another big tip is to scope out the event (find out things such as who will be attendance and who do you have a likelihood of meeting?) so it matches your criteria but it’s v v important to identify the why.

2. Have a Goal in Mind

Aim to connect with at least three solid people. This isn’t a competition to see how many people you can meet -_- it’s about the quality connections you can make. Being an introvert, we have a small window of socializing time. I fear that if I don’t push myself to at least achieve a certain marker or threshold of meetings, then I’ll tap out way before I’ve even tried. So try to go with a goal in mind to accomplish a certain amount of conversations and genuine connections, at least.

3. Go With a Friend

I’m not advising that you go with a friend so that you both can end up tucked away to yourselves. If you’re like me and need to find refuge to restore your social battery, having a friend around can help you with that. If you don’t have a friend to go with, then you can always lean on your smartphone but try not to rely on this! You still want to look available and you came there for a reason. So think of having a friend/or your phone as a life support – use it in dire situations for your introverted salvation otherwise it’s just there for support.

4. Excuse Yourself from Meaningless Convo’s

I can’t stress this point enough lol…I’ve been to quite a few networking events, some better than others, but the common denominator is there’s that one person who just wants to waste your time. As an introvert, it’s a big stretch to even be socializing at this capacity and now that I’m here you want to take up my time with your nonsense!?

Unfortunately not everyone goes to these events with the same intention. Especially as a woman, it can be hard to measure whether a guy is genuinely trying to connect with you professionally or just wants to take you out. Do your best to gauge peoples intentions early on and be ready to abort a conversation quickly. You’ll know this is the case if the person deflects from your point, asks you personal questions (what do you like to do? Where do you hang out?) or it can just have nothing to do with why you’re even there. Your time is valuable! And some people like to waste it. Make it worth your while to gently excuse yourself from the conversation if it’s headed left (trust me on thisss).

5. Break the Ice

So unfortunately not all networking events can promise that you’ll connect with people and have quality conversations. Sometimes you have to put in that work, walk up to a stranger and say hi. I promise you it’s not that scary and you won’t die, but it may have to happen at some point during the event. On the upside, I can however give you some tips that’ll help make this easier.

The good thing about networking events is that people in attendance have a variety of different personality types which actually works to our advantage. As an introvert, we’re pretty approachable which means more often than not, an extroverted person will likely strike up a conversation with us. However, you do have to “look available” to be spoken to. You can do this in variety of ways but I find the easiest is to make eye contact and smile. Another easy thing that works is to break the ice by finding something relatable to start a conversation. It can be as simple as asking, “how are you finding the event?” “have you gone to one of these before?” “I like your top.” Lol ok the last one is definitely me. I love clothes and will compliment someone if I see it’s what I like, then depending on my mood continue to ask questions. If they’re receptive, they’ll ask questions back and boom, you got a conversation. Remember, don’t get intimidated at these events because you won’t have to do all the hunting- leave that up to the extroverts.

I hope you can recall on these tips and tricks for your next socializing event – whatever that may be. Remember you can do this! And stay open, you’d be surprised at what can come from unexpected situations.

Have any advice you can add to this list? Please feel free to add on! I want to hear about your networking experiences. Do they always live up to the expectation? Comment below xox.