Thrive your career being an introvert

From what I can recall, everyone since my childhood has told me “Oh, you are an introvert. You talk so little”. When I joined the organisation I received this more “You are a quiet person. Do speak more. Share your thoughts”. More or less these feedbacks made me think maybe this is what is expected of me. I felt the pressure to be more outgoing.

What did I do next? I tried and tried. But it always felt forceful for me trying to be someone which I am not. At last, I decided to not force myself to be someone I am not.

Sharing a few things that helped me out being myself at the same time be able to grow in my career.

• Focus on your Strengths

Being an introvert, I am aware I might not be too good at communication but instead of focusing on something I am not good at I try to focus on things I am good at.

Maybe I am not that person who gets noticed in a big crowd and who owns the stage. But on the other hand, I know I am pretty good at 1:1 interactions, I can connect with people closely with direct conversations.

From feedbacks and retrospection, I started to see that I am good at being an active listener, analytical thinking, finding patterns, and connecting dots. I try to figure out my strengths, how I can use my strengths.

Focus on your strengths and leveraging it for your benefit

• Use technology to your advantage

At times, it is hard being an introvert and to get a chance to talk in big groups. The bigger the crowd it gets harder to talk and you might end up feeling invisible in meetings.

Specifically during remote work, I find “Raise hand” very useful. It lets people notice you, pause and let you speak. Dropping on your opinions, questions on chat is another way to put forward your views during meetings. Recently trying to keep my video on, it helps people to see you and also lets them stop when they feel like you have something to say. Taking smaller steps to turn on my video as much as I am comfortable in.

• Find a good mentor

Imposter Syndrome is my favourite topic. At every step I used to question my abilities, doubt myself. I still recall times when even during positive feedback I did not believe it. These are moments a mentor would be your saviour. A mentor can really help you grow confidence and makes you feel empowered. They have experience and knowledge that is very useful. I have had amazing mentors that have helped me grow immensely. Knowing you have the support of someone more experienced gives you the confidence to make decisions and ask questions. A mentor can not only guide you on how to grow professionally but also give you that emotional support you need on certain days.

• Take Breaks

Social interaction drains you of being an introvert. You would feel that you need some time away from people. It can be exhausting at times both physically and mentally. 

What helps me out is Take quick short break, close my eyes, and take a few deep breaths. Once I begin to feel ease I resume to work.

• Push Yourself little

Although staying in our comfort zone is what we all like it, but getting little bit uncomfortable helps us grow.

Early on in my career, I realised that I struggled to contribute during meetings. Always thought maybe I am not good enough. I was even scared to ask my doubts which resulted in more confusion and lack of understanding. 

With time slowly I pushed myself, when I found something confusing, I would ask questions. This enabled me to clarify some misunderstandings and also gave me confidence to speak up more.

A learning I had, I need to push myself but not be hard on myself. Key takeaway was “As long as I am contributing taking part in discussions, putting on my views, it’s okay to stay quiet at times when I have nothing to contribute”

These are some things that really helped me. Hopefully somewhere it could help you too 🙂