Who Said Introverts Can’t Network? 👯‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

But first of all, I wish to debunk that extraversion is not based on the number of friends or how friendly you are - extroverts are people who are energised from social interactions, while introverts are energised from being on their own (i like to think of it as recharging! Using your phone while it’s charging slows down the charging right? 😹🪫)

I’ve had so many people mistake me for an extrovert just bc they see me as a “social butterfly” (I make small talk & joke around with many people) 🦋 but no I very much prefer to limit my social time 😗

So here’re some tips on how I network & socialise as an introvert!

📌 𝓕𝓲𝓷𝓭 𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓜𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓿𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷

Okay this is the most basic imo! You DON’T have to have many friends, and if you don’t know why you want to build your network, it makes it a lot harder for you to get out of your shell.

I think a lot about what kind of impression I want to leave amongst people, and I want to form MY own impression instead of letting other people comment that “hey I heard jasmine is like xxx” & it turns out to be a misconception. So to make my mark & make it easier for me to have random convos with my colleagues (it makes me feel more at ease to be myself!) or in the most crucial times, (💀) get my colleagues’ help / buy-in for anything, I decide to get out of my shell & make “friends” with them!

The extra perk is that now my workplace is full of people I feel comfortable to make small talk with, it makes me feel so much at ease to speak up too ☺️

📌 𝓒𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓮 1-1 𝓢𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼

I’ve been trying this since I started working in 2019 and I feel it has worked very well for me! Instead of throwing yourself into networking events or group settings, you can pace yourself by picking who you want to meet and establishing deeper connections with that 1 person. That way, you can focus on the conversations and impression you want to form, no stressing over what this whole group thinks of you!

📌 𝓟𝓪𝓬𝓮 𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼𝓮𝓵𝓯

I can’t stress this ENOUGH! As introverts, we want to be prudent with how we spend our energy, and as I laid out in front, we need our alone time to recharge!

I create these 1-1 settings via lunch & coffee breaks ☕️ when I first join a company, I leave my first week for settling down, and Week 2 onwards, it’s networking for me! I target to have at least 2-3 lunch / coffees per week so that I also have time to eat with my team / closer friends rather than burn myself out meeting new people.

Ofc you don’t have to make friends with EVERYONE. Once you feel like you know a comfortable number of people or you have already socialised everyone you want to, you can take a break and give yourself a pat on the back 👍🏼

📌 𝓟𝓲𝓬𝓴 𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓣𝓸𝓹𝓲𝓬𝓼

Maybe it’s just me, I have this imminent fear that I might touch on wrong topics! You CAN pick your topics ahead, and it’s usually better to consider neutral topics, so avoid controversial stuff esp if you’re talking to people for the first time 😅 bc most people in my current company are family people, I’d ask them about their family and it seems they do enjoy sharing about it!

In a prev company where it was full of youngsters, it’s easier to relate & with people of similar profiles as myself, we usually talked about BTOs / trends etc :-) most people like to be listened to, so when you pick a topic that you can converse about & people feel excited to talk about, the convos can go smoother!

📌 𝓣𝓪𝓰 𝓐𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰!

Still too shy to take the first step? Start small, go with someone you feel more comfortable with, and ask them if they can bring you out for lunch with ANOTHER of their friend. If odd number groups make you feel awkward, ask to bring YOUR own friend too - you’re helping others know someone new too!

Remember to return this favour to other introvert friends / colleagues and be THAT colleague that brings them along too 🥰🫶🏼

📌 𝓓𝓸𝓷’𝓽 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓹 𝓣𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮!

YES PLEASE DON’T JUST STOP AT ONE LUNCH / COFFEE CHAT!! Go for another a period of time later (it can really vary!) - I personally do it maybe once in at least 2 months…? But this works well for me bc I do make small talk with these colleagues when I catch them informally!

It can be as simple as a “Hi! How are you these days!!” or as deep a conversation that dives into their recent struggles / successes. I think one key strength that introverts CAN have is to be attentive and relate to people, so embrace this strength of yours and extend that personability of yours. Remember that people like to feel “special”, so when you’re able to remember the little, unique details about them, your affability goes 📈

📌 𝓔𝓷𝓭𝓷𝓸𝓽𝓮

Start from convincing yourself why you even want to network - and just saying, there’s NOTHING wrong with wanting to keep to a small circle & just ignoring everything I write here 😹

But if you do decide to embark on this, remember that you CAN network, and set little goals for yourself, whether it’s 1 new friend per week or in 2 weeks! Use your strengths as an introvert (relatability, personability, etc) to your advantage ⭐️

YOU CAN DO IT!!! 💪🏼

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