Question: I hate networking. Do I need to network to get a job?
Dear Job Hunter,
Yes and no.
It really depends on what your goals are.
The first thing thing we need to do is examine why you hate networking. Generally speaking, it is for one of three reasons:
1. You are not passionate about your career or industry.
2. You lack confidence.
3. You are only thinking of yourself.
Let’s take a look at all three of these:
1. You Are Not Passionate.
When you are passionate about what you do, you’ll love making connections with people in your tribe or community. Your industry is full of people who are aligned with your passion and who share your mission and values.
If you are not passionate about what you do then networking feels cheesy, slimy, or fake. That’s because you are not being true to yourself and therefore you are being forced to make connections with people who you don’t really care about.
2. You Lack Confidence.
If you don’t like networking because you lack confidence, then this is telling you something about yourself: you need to build more confidence.
There is NO WAY your career will grow unless you have confidence. Stop putting this off and build more confidence. The only way you will get to where you want to go in life is by facing your fears.
If not now, when?
3. You Are Only Thinking of Yourself.
This is where most people get networking all wrong. They think it’s about going out there and getting people to help them.
Wrong.
Your entire mindset should be: How can I help you? You need to come from the mindset of helping other people without expectations of getting anything in return.
If you have a selfish mindset, flip it around. Focus on helping other people without expectations and you will start to see some real magic happen.