Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm an introvert and I was lucky to find a job where I work for a corporation but I'm basically the only person in the office. I have a manager but he travels a lot so Monday-Friday I'm the one answering the phone, dealing with emails, running reports, etc, etc. If you really can't bear the corporate environment, is it possible for you to find work in a similar situation?
Maybe you are feeling shy because you dont know your colleagues so well & always meet them in a setting where you are discussing work. Try to join your colleagues for lunches, happy hours so that you will get to know others outside work & can be more comfortable with them in a workplace setting. Many offices have volunteering opportunities so find something that interests you & find some people who share your interests at work. Not saying you become an extrovert but there is no harm in being visible from time to time. You dont need to anchor or start a conversation, leave that to the extroverts. Usually its one or 2 people talking in the group & rest are just filling in the gaps by agreeing, disagreeing, saying something funny, nodding. Also, toastmasters helps a lot in improving communication skills. See if you have a local chapter in your area.
Sometimes its not easy for extroverts to easily mingle either. I lived in country for almost 10yrs & moved to a big city recently. People in a lot of big towns are not laid back or friendly like the people in small cities so its a big challenge for me to fit in, despite being an extrovert.
As an introvert, I find the business world to be incredibly daunting. Everyday feels like a winding obstacle course, like a gigantic test of emotional endurance. (snip). I am beginning to get the sense the modern business world has no place for introverts, even if the area of the business happens to deal with a primarily introverted task (software development in my case).
I am an introvert. ISTP (Myers-Briggs), meaning in practical terms: "energized by solitude, quite curious about how things work, risk-taker (motorcycling, driving on racetracks), wonky sense of humor."
I am also in the corporate world, working in a leadership role at a tech major. One of the biggest. My background is software test, light test devlopment, project management, solution management, and team/organizational leadership.
Not a cover letter...point being I gradually worked through some personal realities (preferences) that led me to a good place over time. It did take many years, however, of self-conditioning. You've got to step outside your box, what negotiators sometimes call "going to the balcony", and decide what you want our of your career. We'll leave the personal life ramifications to other threads.
I wanted economic security, and forward progress in the career. To get that, you've got to be very good and adaptable and deliver results, in technical roles. Management roles, some of the previous plus ability to successfully navigate the political minefield, motivate others, and play ball to stay ahead of the game. These days, staying still isn't enough, you'll be targeted and terminated eventually as a non-team player if they smell something "off". That's the hard truth of tech, and a more-competitive job market in-general. Our country is having severe growing pains over this new reality.
I chose to be a bit more management than technical. The phrasing is deliberate: chose, vs. attempting to fit into a box I didn't like as much (purely technical). So, for success, attitude adjustments were required. I call it "embracing the horror", a riff on Steve Buscemi's line from "Armageddon" (film). Two years of business school at a Top-20 eradicated any hesitation I had to embrace the horror. It was tough, though, leaving old habits behind. They hammered them out without mercy. Business schools...the good ones...let you know pretty baldly that business leaders do all the things you mention not liking: building and motivating teams, navigating the org and dealing with peers, building and working closely as a member of high performance teams, and more. Don't like any of that? They'll flunk you out. 12% of our class was flunked out first eighteen months for various reasons (academics, 8-ball behavior that couldn't be changed, personal crises, financials).
Depends what you want out of life. I may never "love" some of the above, and in my personal life I'm truly a ranger (rover, independent, not a joiner) and always will be, God willing. But at work, I dunno: I do the above, I'm good at it, I'm sincere (drinking my own Kool Aid, embracing the horror), and darned if others don't see it and like working with me. And me with them.
Just a thought, I know it's hard. Seriously. Fellow introverts get that you're not rude or confrontational, it's just how (we) think and operate. But...pause. Think how words and deeds will be interpreted. Smile, listen, be respectful, and only then comment. It's a start.
I second this. Introverts should read this to learn how to handle the stresses of a world or workplace that values extroversion and extroverts should read it to clear misconceptions and understand that we're not loners .
The more objectively performance-based your job, the better chance you have at succeeding regardless of your personality type. If you're a high performer, you win.
In that schmucky middle-management corporate TPS report world, yes, it's political and yes, you're at a disadvantage since you will be unfairly judged based on how well you sell yourself as opposed to the work speaking for itself.
I think it's more if extroverts can survive. You can be all bubble and friendly if you want but at the end of the day if it is all sizzle and no steak you are gone. Front end operations is nice but if there's no back end then there is no business. Who survives longest a customer service manager or an accountant?
No, you still have to deal with office politics. If you are in a cube farm surrounded by a dozen or more coworkers, you can't escape it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
