Originally published 23rd September 2022

Networking is hard work. Especially hard if prolonged social interactions drain your energy. And even more especially hard if you have some expectation for that interaction and feel some kind of pressure to get value out of the conversation.

However networking is important — some say even that it is crucial to finding success in life. I don’t just mean networking in the sense of a career or business setting, because networking in itself goes way beyond that. As a human you have limited information, access, and experience — and most of the time the only way to level up or find opportunities is to talk to other people. I have come to gain the majority of my accomplishments from someone saying something to me in passing that I wasn’t previously aware of before. Whether it was a super helpful organisation, a link to an application form I had no knowledge of, or any other small bit of information that allowed me to know more than I did before.

So that’s why networking is crucial. But, if by nature you are more introverted and not as eager to put yourself in social situations, you will be happy to know that you can learn to adapt networking to work for you. I have some tips which I hope will help below.

Start by building relationships online

If you’re new to networking then this is a really good starting point. Make a LinkedIn account and connect with people you already know; this could be classmates, teachers, or colleagues and then you will start to get recommendations of other people’s profiles and see the diversity within your news feed start to grow. I have made quite a few connections via LinkedIn and think it’s a great place to find opportunities to build your network.

If someone is of particular interest to you, or they posted something that excites you then comment/message them to get more information. Making connections online is so effective and definitely not as daunting or mentally draining for an introvert!

Keep interactions short

When I started new roles and wanted to network around my team and other stakeholders, I started by putting in 30-minute calls with everyone. This was a big mistake — 30-minutes was way too long, I felt the need to fill all the silences because I initiated the conversation, and then all of this networking left me feeling drained.

Deciding to make each catchup 15 minutes was so much better for me, this was just enough time to get to know the other person without it feeling strained. I also reminded myself that this was just an initial meeting and that if I wanted to follow up on something of interest with them then I could always schedule more time.

Be prepared but not pressurised

As an introvert, it is already stressful being in a social situation, let alone feeling pressure to get value or answers from that interaction. If I’m trying to network with someone big and important, something that always helps me is brainstorming questions beforehand. And not just general questions like “tell me about your career journey”. Maybe search them up incognito on LinkedIn and find some interesting personalised information on them. This shows you have done your research and that you are interested in them as a person. This tactic always makes the other person feel good as it shows you actually care about the interaction!

If you are especially nervous, think of more questions so you have many at hand to fill any awkward silences, that way you won’t feel any pressure with all of the talking points in front of you. It’s like having a safety net just in case things struggle to start flowing.

Remember to never feel bad about being an introvert, you just have a different way of gaining your energy! It is possible to have a large and rich network whilst being an introvert 🙂

Thanks for reading!