Dont Dread Working a Room - Revise Your Thinking for Career Success -

Dont Dread Working a Room - Revise Your Thinking for Career Success - Its always a good time for a reminder of the importance of extending ourselves in order to meet job success literally.   Jason Jacobsohn at Networking Insight suggested that networkers who dread a room full of strangers change their mindsets to take full advantage of the potentially beneficial contacts before them.   He suggests the following mindsets (commentary my own): Mindset 1: Room Full of Opportunity Remember, all it takes is one great contact to get you on the way to where you want to go. If there is a room of people, every Hello, my name is could turn into a possibility.   You may meet your next employer, business partner or spouse.   All you need to do is walk inside and introduce yourself.   No one is going to bite you.   Just do it! Mindset 2: Channel Fear into Energy How many people do you know who LOVE to work a room? Probably not many.   Most of us (even extroverts) dont jump for joy at the idea of a room full of strangers.   A little nervous energy could be a good thing.   Dont let fear paralyze your chances for job search success. Mindset 3: Speaking Practice If youve developed and practiced your elevator pitch, theres no better place to use it than a room full of potential contacts.   This is just the opportunity youve been waiting for! Mindset 4: Posture Practice Jacobsohn reminds us to have good posture, a firm handshake, smiles and strong eye contact. Mindset 5: Learning Opportunity It is nice to sell yourself, but remember that you have a great opportunity to learn about other people in networking situations.   Think about how you can help them before trying to figure out what they can do for you. You dont know enough to know what it is you dont know.   (Trust meThis is true.) Networking is a way to open those doors.   Ive written about the importance of speaking to people you think cant help you.   One way to break the ice in a networking situation is to find someone whom you are pretty sure isnt a great contact.   Approach them, introduce yourself and try out your elevator pitch.   Youll get great practice and you may be surprised to learn how the cold lead may become your best networking ally.