Youre pretty comfortable using the phone. Its something you do every day in your working routine; so why is it that as soon as you need to use it for career change or job-search it becomes too difficult?

Your reluctance to use the phone in your career change or job-search probably stems from anxieties about what might happen. A certain amount of nervousness is quite natural when you call an employer or a network contact and even more so if its done on a speculative basis. But dont let that stop you.

Lets examine your reluctance to use the telephone

I want to telephone this employer as Im pretty sure theyll have an opening for me

They probably wont want to speak to me, or theyll be too busy

Im worried about what to say I might make a mess of it ... they could say no ... Ill end up feeling stupid ... and rejected

That makes me feel even worse and I dont want to make the call now, think Ill leave it for the moment

Ill write a letter instead

Of course letters are much safer because they make rejection feel much less personal. They didnt reject me, they rejected my letter is how you can justify that one. But, for exactly the same reasons, it is much harder for an employer to say no to you on the telephone than it is to throw your letter into the bin. Most people are too polite to be rude to you on the phone and with a deep breath and some practice you can make it work really well for you.

So lets take another look at that:

1. You want to phone an employer about possible jobs.

2. You need to find the right person to speak to.

3. The secretary might ask too many questions.

4. You worry that it might be unpleasant, or that something bad will happen.

5. It will be so AWFUL that you worry about it even more.

6. Youre so worried and anxious about what might happen that you decide to avoid it altogether.

Where did that get you? Nowhere!

Result? Youre missing out on one of the best ways of finding jobs.

Lets now try and think about this a little more rationally - OK when you first make a call to an employer it wont always be successful, but try to remain in a positive frame of mind. What does a salesman do when someone says no? He simply moves on to the next one - this is what you must do.

You might perhaps get tongue-tied the first few times, or the employer might not be available when you call.

But that isnt a disaster. Dont be a catastrophist it isnt the end of the world. The worst that can happen is that you wont get an interview this time - but you can always try again. You cant predict what will happen so dont try - you could just as easily worry about falling under a bus but worrying about it wont prevent it happening.

Telephone phobia is very common even amongst the most experienced and outgoing people. What you need to ensure is that your anxiety and imagination does not get the better of you.

If you let it get the better of you, you stand to miss out on all sorts of opportunities by putting off making the call. Admittedly, if you feel really down it may be better left a while until your spirits have picked up, because the telephone has a knack of amplifying the mood youre in.

What should you do when youve made a good phone call? make another one while your confidence is high. You will sound more engaging and interesting and you should find that your telephone phobia is soon a thing of the past.