One job seeker I’m helping–we’ll call her Francine–had one bad experience with networking. Her ministering brother, when forwarding her resume to someone, did not say very flattering things about her. She had the email forwarded to her and has been hurt ever since. Now she is shy of networking, afraid the same experience may happen again. From my perspective, Francine decided to turn her experience into trauma (not saying the trauma is not real–what to one person is a traumatic experience to another is a bump in the road) and not network. 70-80% of jobs are found through networking. It is a proven path.
I shared with her the concepts of comfort zones, 9 no’s per 1 yes, and moving our feet. All growth takes place outside of our comfort zones. When we step out of our comfort zones, we grow in our capacity and abilities. If we don’t step out, we shrink or are forced out in what could be traumatic ways. The best salespeople recognize that rejection is part of their job. They know that nine contacts will reject them for every one that accepts. When jobseekers adopt the same attitude, no’s or ghosting don’t discourage them; they know they’re one step closer to a successful contact who can help them.
Francine mentioned to me last week that she knows that God can’t direct her if she doesn’t move her feet. She wants to receive God’s direction in her career search, so is willing to start moving her feet more often and networking. Hopefully, she will try the baby steps outside of her comfort zone. Baby steps usually turn into adult steps almost imperceptibly because imagined difficulty is so much worse than reality.
Embrace venturing outside of your comfort zone. Accept each rejection as one more step to success. Move your feet. Great principles for not just networking but living a full life.