Networking Survival: 8 Tips for Introverts
By Karen Kodzik, Career Management Consultant, Cultivating Careers & Robert Shindell, President & "The Career Doctor" at ILostMyJob.com

Can you relate to this scenario?

After putting on your best business casual clothes and grabbing a handful of business cards, you head out the door to a “networking event.” While in the car your mind is racing a bit with questions like, “I wonder who will be there? Will I say the right things? Will this be a waste of time? Is it too late to turn around?” As you pull into the parking lot you notice your slightly sweaty palms; you toss in a mint and take a deep breath. As you approach the room, the voice in your head says, “OK, you can do this.”  You quickly scan the room of over 100 people, hoping to spot a familiar face you can find safe harbor with. But the whole goal of being there is to “network” and meet new people, so you say to yourself, “OK, it’s game on!”

This is my true-life scenario. Even though I am a successful career consultant and I coach professionals about networking every day, to the surprise of many I am an introvert. I can feel the same pain of my introverted clients who have this networking experience. Because networking is such a large component of job search, here are the tips I offer to master the art of networking in a way that works for my fellow introverts.

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