# To introverts: is it important to network?



## Bunniculla (Jul 17, 2017)

Well I can’t keep up with being in a community. In most cases, I prefer to be alone or with a handful of people I’m close with. So taking the steps to belong to the community authentically wouldn’t really go down well with me in the long run. People get jobs from connections all the time, and that sounds cool and all, but I would rather just fight to get there myself. I don’t know, just always been like that since day 1. You might think why not just take the easier route and make connections but to me, making and keeping those connections seem more bothersome. I would have to “turn on” socializing mode way too often and it is very draining. Although I think eventually, anyone would need to take the helping hand reached out.


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## Eren Jaegerbomb (Nov 13, 2015)

I think its important or somewhat, it doesn't mean that I _enjoy_ it though. I've wanted to go to events but I've just never got around to it and they're usually at locations I can't get to or somewhere expensive etc or late. I could get uber but eh... I'll get around to it.


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## Eren Jaegerbomb (Nov 13, 2015)

Count Bunniculla said:


> Well I can’t keep up with being in a community. In most cases, I prefer to be alone or with a handful of people I’m close with. So taking the steps to belong to the community authentically wouldn’t really go down well with me in the long run. People get jobs from connections all the time, and that sounds cool and all, but I would rather just fight to get there myself. I don’t know, just always been like that since day 1. You might think why not just take the easier route and make connections but to me, making and keeping those connections seem more bothersome. I would have to “turn on” socializing mode way too often and it is very draining. Although I think eventually, anyone would need to take the helping hand reached out.


In other words you want to feel like you've earnt the job. You've worked hard for it. Not just some hand out from a mate with money or whatever.

Me too.


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## Bunniculla (Jul 17, 2017)

Eroticarmin said:


> In other words you want to feel like you've earnt the job. You've worked hard for it. Not just some hand out from a mate with money or whatever.
> 
> Me too.


Yeah, I have a strong sense of accomplishment when I earned it myself. Also, building up and maintaining a sense of belonging to a community involves a lot of frequent social activity, which just isn't for me.


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## Zidane (Sep 9, 2015)

Bunniculla said:


> I was at a casual networking dinner yesterday, and even though I wasn’t looking for a new position, I found it a bit pointless? Others tell me that its purpose is to just get your name and face out there, and expand your network so that if opportunities do arise, you would have a better chance at getting your foot in the door. Do you really think this is true or most likely you’ll just be forgotten after dinner is done? Do you think it’s important to network or just let your skills speak for themselves?


No. Anything that bores you to death is not worth doing. What a stupid question.


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## GusWriter (Jun 13, 2012)

Bunniculla said:


> I was at a casual networking dinner yesterday, and even though I wasn’t looking for a new position, I found it a bit pointless? Others tell me that its purpose is to just get your name and face out there, and expand your network so that if opportunities do arise, you would have a better chance at getting your foot in the door. Do you really think this is true or most likely you’ll just be forgotten after dinner is done? Do you think it’s important to network or just let your skills speak for themselves?


It really depends what you want out of your occupation, your social interactions, and well . . . life. I mean in general the more people you know, who you've made a good impression on, the more options you'll have in case a particular opportunity arises. 

I've heard of these things allowing people to find a job that makes then happy, but my experience is that they usually are all about career ladder climbing, and making as much money as you can, which is not my thing. Plus, in relation to my day job, at some of these things I get really bored by the people, and daydream, so I may not make the best impression anyway. 

But my answer above is all tainted by the "day job" thing. I've gone to a few events related to my writing world where I'll actually enjoy just about every bit of it and get something useful out of it.

So, I guess it just has to feel genuine for me. I'm not good at "playing the game", aka being fake.


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## Bunniculla (Jul 17, 2017)

Zidane said:


> No. Anything that bores you to death is not worth doing. What a stupid question.


It is worth it if you can gain exponentially more from the small sacrifice in the future. It's called planning for you and your family's future and well-being.


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## haato (Feb 19, 2019)

Bunniculla said:


> I was at a casual networking dinner yesterday, and even though I wasn’t looking for a new position, I found it a bit pointless? Others tell me that its purpose is to just get your name and face out there, and expand your network so that if opportunities do arise, you would have a better chance at getting your foot in the door. Do you really think this is true or most likely you’ll just be forgotten after dinner is done? Do you think it’s important to network or just let your skills speak for themselves?


In my opinion, networking is effective if you are able to sustain relationships with your connections in the long run. This means attending more networking events or meeting with your connections more frequently, which can be draining for introverts. Otherwise, you will be forgotten after dinner is done. Unfortunately your skills alone cannot speak for themselves because bigger and better opportunities rely on more established people, who are more likely to trust their friends rather than some random stranger. An analogy would be the trolley problem. So I would highly encourage anyone to network (or at least expose yourself to social situations) because it will greatly increase the amount of opportunities. It might be a bit scary, awkward, and fake at first but it gets better over time.


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## HelenMoroz (Jan 30, 2020)

who likes to work at home. and doesn’t like working with people is the best solution


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## Grey Wolf (Sep 9, 2017)

I think it's relative to your career, but I don't imagine most people who aren't super extroverted to begin with will have careers that require frequent networking. I envision ExxJs liking to network.


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## counterintuitive (Apr 8, 2011)

I don't really bother with it. In my field, attending conferences a couple times a year and just being generally pleasant to people I worked with in the past has been enough. I've gotten job leads through LinkedIn from people I never met before, and I applied online and got called back a lot too. So I don't need to network IMO. I am an extravert, technically, but it's mostly a cognitive distinction-- I'm pretty socially reserved, and frankly, my Fe sucks. :laughing:


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## reymond32 (Mar 17, 2020)

naah. Do freelancing and enjoy life. be your own boss.


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## pwowq (Aug 7, 2016)

Ask these questions:
- What are you doing?
- What do you want to achieve?
- Can this be beneficial for me/my business?
- Which people will I meet?
- Why will I meet these people?

Basically figure out if and/or why it is important. If you fail that, don't do it.


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