I'm an Introvert and I love it!

I kid you not, I truly am an introvert. I have always represented myself as an extrovert especially in my mid to late twenties because I work in an industry that required me to be one- Recruitment. Of course, I did this unconsciously. My pervading logic was: I am in recruitment therefore I am an extrovert. I am also a very curious and adventurous person by nature so I find myself engaging in various activities and interacting with different people. Besides I can talk to strangers if I want to. I like going out. I have a large social network. Most of all, I can deliver a presentation that can knock all the socks off a crowd. This is why I always thought I was an extrovert...or so I thought.

I was reading this blog post by Cincyrecruiter and she embedded the slide below on her post:

Let me tell you that after finishing the presentation I felt something inside me click. For me, slide number 10 had the largest impact. It said: "It's about helping others. Sharing and learning." I so get it! It's about helping candidates connect to career opportunities that help companies achieve their business objectives. This has always been one of the things I love about my job! It has also been one of my recruiting mantras help and be helped.

Sacha did well capturing what it is like to be a "Shy Connector". So now I know why I don't like small talk. I also know why I go into cycles of what I call "hibernation" where I just prefer to be by myself. Accepting it just makes it easier for me to be aware of how I can capitalize on this.

According to Cincyrecruiter:

Introverts - Recharge by spending time alone.

Extroverts - Recharge by being around people.

It's a simple as that. Yet, there are a lot of negative connotations and misconceptions about being an introvert. It is because the majority of people aren’t very knowledgeable when it comes to introverts, in terms of why they are the way they are and why they do the things they do. Brian Kim writes an article called Top 5 Things Every Extrovert Should Know About Introverts which is a must read.

I am also copying and pasting Money Qoute's from posts that the Cincyrecruiter has summarized. She did a great job of linking excellent resources for both introverts and extroverts to use. There are also books on Amazon if you want to delve deeper into the topic.

* Funny and accurate: Caring for Your Introvert - Money Quote: "Now I am here to tell you what you need to know in order to respond sensitively and supportively to your own introverted family members, friends, and colleagues. Remember, someone you know, respect, and interact with every day is an introvert, and you are probably driving this person nuts."

* Introversion and Leadership - Yes You Can!!! - Money Quote: "Plenty of introverts are skilled at "acting" extroverted in necessary situations. An introvert who understands their energy needs will be able to "extrovert" with the others and be a social butterfly and then simply retire to their own personal space to recharge for their next social function."

* How to Network: For Introverts - Money Quote: "Introverts typically don’t like to talk about themselves - we prefer to talk about ideas. Force yourself to discuss some of the things you’ve done. Don’t brag, make sure they are relevant to the conversation. Then the extroverts can talk about you and pass your achievements along."

* Job Search Tips for Introverts - Money Quote: "Value your listening skills. When you're searching for a job and reaching out to others, you'll do this much more effectively if you're a good listener."

* Top 5 Things Every Extrovert Should Know About Introverts - Money Quote: Introverts have more brain activity in their frontal lobes and when these areas are activated through solitary activity, introverts become energized through processes such as problem solving, introspection, and complex thinking. Extroverts on the other hand tend to have more activity in the back of their brain, areas that deal with processing sensory information from the external world, so they tend to search for external stimuli in the form of interacting with other people and the outside world to energize them.

Moral of the story is whoever you are you have to learn to embrace yourself. Accept your strengths and weaknesses. Once you do, you can learn how to leverage this to create meaningful connections that can be mutually beneficial to your professional and personal relationships.

So that being said I end my post with an introduction: Hello, my name is Graciel. I'm an introvert and I love it.