{"id":2494,"date":"2015-05-12T05:28:56","date_gmt":"2015-05-12T09:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/?p=2494"},"modified":"2015-04-20T15:23:10","modified_gmt":"2015-04-20T19:23:10","slug":"tackle-your-fears-network-effectively","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/2015\/05\/tackle-your-fears-network-effectively\/","title":{"rendered":"Tackle Your Fears &#038; Network Effectively"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fcbkbttn_buttons_block\" id=\"fcbkbttn_left\"><div class=\"fcbkbttn_like \"><fb:like href=\"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/2015\/05\/tackle-your-fears-network-effectively\/\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\" layout=\"button_count\"  size=\"small\"><\/fb:like><\/div><\/div><p><a href=\"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Networking-Cindy-Key.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-2512\" src=\"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Networking-Cindy-Key.jpg\" alt=\"Networking Cindy Key\" width=\"200\" height=\"176\" \/><\/a>Do you dislike networking? \u00a0Why is that?<\/p>\n<p>Do you lack skill in this area or is something else holding you back?<\/p>\n<p>Do you want to be a more effective networker?<\/p>\n<p>Often professionals considering a career move or seeking a new position ask how important networking is to success. \u00a0My reply? \u00a0&#8220;Networking is critical to your career.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>When I inquire as to why they are asking, their answers vary. \u00a0Here are the most common replies from my clients:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I am not a skilled networker.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Making small talk is not my thing, that&#8217;s why I don&#8217;t like to network.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Starting a one-on-one conversation is frightening. \u00a0I just can&#8217;t do it.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I find silence dreadful.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Networking seems like a waste of my time.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;If networking is what it takes to get a promotion, I am worried about being promoted.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Do any of these sound like you?<\/p>\n<p>Professionals need networking skills. \u00a0At work, and in the world, you need to be able to effectively connect, engage and communicate with different people in various settings. \u00a0One of the best ways to develop networking skills is repeated practice of solid techniques.<\/p>\n<p>Though, for many of my clients the challenge of effective networking is not totally about skill. \u00a0The actual issues can range from less than effective venues to support their goals to the type of networking they have selected to poor networking techniques. \u00a0Any of these issues can result in time invested with limited results leaving your feeling like networking is just a waste of your time.<\/p>\n<p>For other clients, the challenges revolve around\u00a0fears or beliefs about networking. \u00a0The big fears that show up for my clients are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fear of starting a conversation<\/li>\n<li>Fear of not knowing what to say<\/li>\n<li>Fear of saying the wrong thing<\/li>\n<li>Fear of trying something outside of your comfort zone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Here is a quick assignment to help you see what you need to tackle first.<\/strong> \u00a0Jot down your answers to the following questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What do you\u00a0dislike about networking?<\/li>\n<li>What do you believe about networking?<\/li>\n<li>Do you want to improve your networking skills and\/or networking venues?<\/li>\n<li>Are you happy and content with your current level of networking success?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now that you have noted your answers, you\u00a0will know\u00a0what to tackle first. \u00a0Your answers will also help you determine if skill, fear or some combination is your biggest challenge.<\/p>\n<p>Your next step is simple. \u00a0Decide what, if anything, you want to change. \u00a0Is this an area worth tackling? \u00a0You can start today and be networking more effectively by the end of the week. \u00a0You can discover more about tackling your challenges &lt;here&gt;.<\/p>\n<p>Do you have a question or comment? \u00a0Post it below or give me a <a href=\"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/contact\/\">call<\/a>. \u00a0I am happy answer your questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you dislike networking? \u00a0Why is that? Do you lack skill in this area or is something else holding you back? Do you want to be a more effective networker? Often professionals considering a career move or seeking a new position ask how important networking is to success. \u00a0My reply? \u00a0&#8220;Networking is critical to your [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,94,25],"tags":[9,77,10,141,6],"class_list":["post-2494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-job-search-2","category-mindset","category-networking","tag-accelerate-your-search","tag-fears","tag-job-search","tag-networking","tag-opportunity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2494"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2513,"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2494\/revisions\/2513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}