I’m a self-confessed introvert and over the years, I have owned several online businesses. Yes, I consider myself highly creative. Yes, I love solving problems. Yes, I love serving my clients, but I’m also an introvert, who would rather curl up with a good book, than face another networking meeting.

Now the typical business owner is generally seen as gregarious and extroverted (and from an introvert perspective loud). So, the question I had to ask myself, will the fact that I’m a definite introvert make it almost impossible to succeed?

Initially I thought the whole startup and business scene was entirely dependent on acting as an extrovert. Think open office plans in startup hubs (could not think of anything worse), pitching to a room full of investors, and networking an entire room, (like your life dependent upon it) and heaven forbid engaging in small talk (sad face).

Yet despite these so-called limitations, I’ve quickly learnt that I’m not only in very good company (Bill Gates, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, and Marissa Mayer are all introverts), but there are huge advantages and strengths in being in introvert. So instead of becoming a pretend extrovert, I’m embracing my ‘true’ nature and just leveraging off my strengths.

And then this got me thinking, many of the job search tactics are like those faced by entrepreneurs, such as networking and the ability to think on your feet (in particular during job interviews). After a quick search of Google, I discovered a series of articles that provided suggestions on how to overcome the burdens of being an introvert. Not only did I find the articles condescending – but also in my opinion to suggest that somehow you are severally disadvantaged being in introvert, is just plain wrong.

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If you are an executive, senior manager or a well-paid professional, you should consider delegating all the key job search tasks out that you can.

Depending on your background, the job search process can take anything from 1 month to 8 months or more. Generally, the higher-level positions such as a C-level job takes longer than job seekers looking for a gig in retail or hospitality.

The reality of a modern job search is that it is time-consuming and often a very frustrating experience.  You need to search across a multitude of job boards, repetitively upload resumes; complete online applications; dig up networking contracts and manage comprehensive research. It can be quite a burden if you are doing all of this and working 40 – 80 hours a week as an executive. 

Job-hunting is currently so time consuming, that it is estimated that a job seeker can average 40 hours per month searching for a new job. So, if you are a busy executive or professional, it makes sense to delegate out what you can. 

The benefits of delegating could be significant to your overall job search success.

Now, when I say delegate, I’m not saying you should delegate tasks such as networking or nurturing and building contacts. What I am suggesting is the following:

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In the PwC The Future of Work A Journey to 2022, 46% of HR professionals expect at least 20% of their workforce to be made up of contractors or temporary workers and 2 out of 5 people around the world believe that traditional employment won’t be around in the future. Instead, people will have their own ‘brands’ and sell their skills to those who need them.

Welcome to a small glimpse of the potential future of work, which will be based on personal brands and HR professionals building their talent strategies around the rise of the individual, not long-term employees. 

Yet in spite of the rising awareness of the importance of the personal brand for the skilled workforce, those same highly educated people are not taking the time to establish an online image or using social media correctly. Instead, many are falling foul, by behaving online in a way that does not promote their reputation but hinder it.

To ensure you safeguard your online personal brand, make sure you stick with key social media etiquette guidelines. Your future could depend on it.

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I’ve worked with jobseekers over 17 years and contrary to what you hear in the press, the bulk of people grossly underestimate what they offer, and their skills set when trying to sell themselves through their resume / CV, LinkedIn profile or government job application. You see, they just ‘do the job’.

Now you might be thinking that this does not apply to highly skilled job seekers – but it does.

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