High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Bust out of Your Comfort Zone

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• Bust out of Your Comfort Zone: "Exposing your mind and character to new people, places, and things is its own reward — it helps you become a more interesting (and interested) person. And it makes you more self-aware, which ultimately makes you more professionally effective."


• How to be Unforgettable: "When meeting for the first time, many people fill silences by talking about themselves; turn the conversation around and ask them about their interests. And once they’re talking, be engaged in what they have to say."


• 7 Ways to Succeed in a Video or Phone Interview: "Appearing on screen can feel awkward, so if you don’t regularly use Skype then have a few practice runs with friends to get used to it."


• Networking for Those Who Avoid Small-Talk and Strangers: "When you have a 'wingman' at your side to help highlight your accomplishments at networking events, it can give you the confidence you need to approach others and break into conversations."


• Developing Your Strengths at Work: "You can boost your levels of optimism and self-belief by imagining what might be possible in the year ahead if everything went as well as possible and you were using your strengths each day."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Job Search, Personal Branding, and Interviewing

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share these every weekend so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• How to Turbo Boost Your Burnt-Out Job Search: "When you identify a company you would like to work for, network with as many inside connections as possible. Even if you have a solid contact, having more than one certainly can't hurt."

• How to Showcase Your Personal Brand in a Job Interview: "Perhaps the biggest benefit to personal branding as a job seeker is self-awareness of your unique skills and talents, and recognition of what you’re passionate about and what differentiates you from others."


• Millennials Are Redefining Work, Corporations Should Take Advantage: "We’re a generation with a new work ethic and tremendous potential, given the resources and scope of a large corporation. That young people all over the world are creating brands and technologies that challenge and overshadow decades old institutions — this startup revolution — is evidence enough of the great power of Millennial thinking."


• Claim Your Freedom at Work: "
  If you were free to approach your work differently, what would you change in order to boost your satisfaction and effectiveness?

  "


• Networking Success Even for the Most Shy: "So again, tag team, but also go prepared to be a connector. Show up at a networking event with some specific leads that you can share with other people. It’s a concrete thing, to go in with that spirit of generosity." 

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Networking Strategies

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

In this video Colleen Debaise provides some simple tips to improve your networking, especially if networking does not come easy for you.

Check out her strategies in the video below:

Networking for Introverts. How a Shy Person Can Take Advantage of Networking Opportunities.

I comfortably teach classes on job search techniques to hundreds of people. However, ask me to make small talk and socialize in a room full of those same people and I become immediately uncomfortable. People are often surprised to find out that I am – at my core – an introverted person. Put me in front of a class speaking about a subject I know well, and I become a very outgoing and confident person.

I constantly tout the virtues of networking in the job search – it has become an absolute necessity for success in today’s market. However, I was reminded by a colleague today that I personally stink at networking. Starting today, I have vowed to become better at networking, even though I am an introvert. So I decided we could learn about this subject together. In my research about how to best network as a shy person, here are the highlights of what I have learned.

Set a goal for yourself of what you want to accomplish at each event. Your goal can be as simple as getting through the first event while having a good time, collecting five business cards, or making a new friend.

Plan ahead to ensure your networking experience is successful. Think of several open-ended questions you can ask when you meet new people and listen attentively to their answers.

Realize that you must also be ready to talk about yourself. Prepare your 30-second commercial, also known as an elevator speech. However, your speech should be about the benefits you can offer – not necessarily all about you.

Look for other introverts at the networking events. You are not alone; there are other people who feel the same way as you. Look for small groups or people standing alone and approach them first.

End your conversations gracefully. Everyone is there for the same purpose – to meet new people. Ask your new acquaintance for their business card, let them know you don’t want to monopolize their time, and tell them how nice it was to meet them.

Follow-up after a networking event is critical. As an introvert, I really do not enjoy talking on the phone. Why not send a hand-written thank you note? It takes just a few minutes and adds a personal touch.

Analyze the success of each event. Don’t beat yourself up for what you did wrong or how you could have responded better. Instead, ask yourself what worked, what didn’t, where you need to prepare better, and whether or not the event was the right venue to market yourself and make the kind of connections you need.