How to use your extrovert personality for success at work

Do you always seem to be the loudest person in the room? Happy to be a chatty Cathy and feel cool, calm, and collected in front of others? If so, it’s likely that you’re an extrovert! Extroverted people can sometimes be envied for their super social skills and ability to put themselves out there. But channeling all of that confidence and energy can sometimes be challenging. To help you, here are tips to stay in check, while also harnessing all of your extrovert superpowers to climb the career ladder. Use this guide to gear up your extrovert personality for success in whatever industry you choose to work in.

Get yourself a mentor

One of the best bits of extroversion is social confidence. You may not have all of the tools to succeed in your current role, but you do have the ability to ask someone else who does.

Reaching out to a high-powered manager, CEO, or someone you’d really like to emulate is often one of the best things to do inside or outside the workplace. Learning from your mentor will mean that you can level up the necessary skills to reach your next rung on the career ladder, whether that is selling, negotiating, or people management.

Your idols are in a great career position because they know what it takes to get to the top, and they can share those inside secrets with you! ENFP personality types will especially benefit from having a mentor as you might sometimes veer off track from plans to reach your goals. Just ensure you listen to your Sensei with an open mind and trust their process.

Learn how to negotiate properly

Negotiation is a skill, and lucky for you extroverts are usually pretty good at it. Use your powers of persuasion to source better deals for your company, sell at higher prices, and impress your bosses with your money-saving moves.

There are some awesome self-development books out there to help you hone your skills. Or, watch a TED talk on YouTube if that’s more your thing.

Extrovert personality: For success, keep your focus

One downside to being a social butterfly can mean being partial to the odd bit of workplace chatter or gossip. While that is no negative thing per se, the more time you’re spending with colleagues at the water cooler, the less time you have to actually get your head down and your work done by 5 pm.

Don’t stop yourself from having friends in the office just be strict on yourself and earmark time for fun, then time for work. Make it your goal to only have a chit-chat during coffee breaks and lunch hours, then keep yourself to yourself when you’re sitting at your desk and focus on your tasks ahead. That way you’ll always be out the door on time and can carry on your office relationships somewhere else more fun.

Network, network, network!

Good things don’t always come to those who wait, they come to those who ask for them! Making strong connections in your industry will mean that you have people around you who may be in a position to offer you new opportunities and advice.

Head to conference events, make connections on LinkedIn, and spend time with like-minded businesspeople. The more people you know who like and respect you, the more likely you are to gain new knowledge, level up your skills, or even be headhunted.

Help your colleagues

It’s all well and good racing up the ladder thanks to your extroverted qualities but offering a helping hand to those around you will also display your great leadership qualities and ensure that you come across as helpful and kind. While you may want to reach the top, you’ll also need a great team around you, so being respected by co-workers is important.

Take the time to see how you can help others in your department not only with their work and check in with them to see that they’re doing okay during the working day. Listen to their opinions and take their ideas on board.

Sometimes extroverts tend to accidentally steamroller over others, so try and refrain from making anyone else feel uncomfortable. It is likely they’ll also be willing to return the favor when you need a little assistance or a friendly face across the office. The more support you have, the better you will be able to succeed in your role.

Using your extrovert personality for success

Are you an extrovert? If so, do you have other tips to create waves at work and achieve career success? Let me know in the comment section below.