Careers For Introverts & Extroverts
Career Coach: Résumé. The story of the introvert and the extrovert. I work with both types of individuals, on a daily basis in a career context. The fundamental difference is this: Introverts source their energy from inside of themselves. Extroverts are energised by being around others. They source their energy externally. Introverts ‘need to be alone’ in order to recoup what they have given out. This became SO obvious in two sequential coaching sessions. Both sessions had the focus of enabling each of the clients designing their ideal working environment. It was startling to see what a different answer that exactly the same question elicited in the two of them…
coaching assessment session
book a slotThe introverts vision was all about the building and the land around it. We talked about textures and materials, the elements and the quality of light. We talked about noise levels and the amount of space needed in order to work effectively. We talked about the surrounding landscape and the type of building that this person preferred.
“Never had I seen the difference so clearly.”
With the extrovert, we didn’t mention the building at all. The environment to them meant the people they would meet. The people WERE their environment. On trying to draw out even the smallest detail regards the physical place this person wanted to work in, I received the retort of “it’s not about the bloody building”, that left us both helpless with the giggles. And so, I surrendered to their need for the exploration of the psychic environment. And, if this is where an extrovert seeks their energy, then the people who surround them need to be right. We explored intelligence levels and teams, we talked of co-creating and dynamics, we eliminated the isolation of working alone in a back room.
Career Coaching: Résumé
Never had I seen the difference so clearly. Henceforth I shall remember that ‘it’s not about the building’ with an extrovert and that backing them into a corner in trying to elicit that kind of detail will serve neither of us well in the long run.