
As a gauche introvert, my heart sinks each time I come across
Well-intentioned advice that advocates for networking, I just want to toss
All my hopes of achieving success some day
In a garbage can, simply throw away
Any ambition that I harbor deep inside
I have not succeeded, though I have tried
To network with people, try to sell
All the qualities I have, things I do well
But it is already difficult for me to effectively communicate
Any attempt at self-promotion leaves in a more awkward state
*
I stay in a corner hoping someone important would see
The quality of my work and consider offering me
A chance to prove myself, a challenge new
But even if I get there, further what would I do
Because at some point networking would become inevitable
Without it I would bring nothing to the table..
*
I have come to terms with my introversion
I must learn to thrive with my mild aversion
To networking in the way that experts recommend
Maybe I shall still be successful in the end..

We were a group of introverts working for an extrovert supervisor. Every time she decided to take a client out for dinner and asked us to go along to ‘get to know them’ we demurred. She’s the boss. She’s the extrovert. Let her do it. Getting to know them was akin to networking–the worst!
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I have shied away from dinners after work- it takes away my “me” time that I use to read and write.
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