This is Find Your Dream Job, the podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life.

I'm your host, Mac Pritchard.

I'm also the founder of Max List. It's a job board

in the Pacific Northwest that helps you find a fulfilling career. Every Wednesday, I talk to a different

expert about the tools you need to get the work you want. You know you need to network when you do a job

search, but connecting with others may make you

feel awkward. Felicia A. Nuja is here to talk about how to overcome the discomfort of networking.

She's a career coach and the host of the Trill MBA show. Her podcast empowers black women

to thrive in corporate America. She joins us from Atlanta, Georgia.

Well, Felicia, let's start with a question about networking.

Why does it make people, so many people, feel uncomfortable?

Well, Max, simply because we're human.

I think we are in our heads a lot, and a lot of times people don't understand that everybody's

afraid of the unknown and uncertainty, and so when you're reaching out to somebody you don't know

and you haven't yet connected or established trust with, that can be scary.

Some people might say that you have to be an extrovert to network.

Has that been your experience, Felicia?

Actually, the best networkers are confident introverts because they're very observant. They pay attention and they're very thoughtful.

And so when they do speak, it has a greater impact. But the extroverts like myself, we are gregarious and

we love to take up space and we have to work to make room for our introverted

friends but extroverts and introverts are both subject to be afraid of networking.

What would you say to introverts who might be surprised to hear you make that point about the

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