Posts Tagged ‘opportunities’
Overcome fear of networking
December 17th, 2009
It’s a tired cliché, but in my case it’s true: I’m a people person. No, I’m not annoyingly peppy, but I could probably make friends with a tree stump. When nothing’s on the line, I have no problem chatting with complete strangers in stores, doctor’s waiting rooms, post offices. But ask me to go somewhere and network … Network? Gadzooks! You might as well be asking me to bungee jump from the Golden Gate Bridge.
For some reason, the idea of networking to further our careers scares a lot of us to death. Maybe it’s the idea that something is riding on our ability to be gracious and charming. Maybe we feel disingenuous about socializing to get ahead. But whatever the reason, we balk. And we fail to cultivate the contacts we need to help us connect to the opportunities we’d like to have.
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Learn to take a chance
December 7th, 2009
If my friend Diane and I were little girls and someone wanted to test our temperaments, a good way would be to give us each a wooden puzzle with a piece that’s cut too large. After trying it several times, Diane would probably hand the puzzle back to the proctor and say, “One of the pieces is too large.” I, on the other hand, would be determined to make the pieces fit if it meant taking off my shoe and hammering them together.
Diane tends to go with the flow—which is exactly how she ended up in the career of her dreams.