I am a member of the Career Collective, a group of resume writers and career coaches. Each month, all members discuss a topic, and this month’s topic is holiday job search. Please follow our tweets on Twitter #careercollective and see the links to the other articles at the bottom of this post.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the holidays are attending holiday parties, catching up with people you know and meeting new people. Interestingly, catching up with people you know and meeting new people is a wonderful opportunity to NETWORK. Coincidentally, networking is the NUMBER ONE WAY TO FIND A JOB.
So, how do you party your way to a new job?
- Know what you want – job titles and target employers.
- Prepare and rehearse a short answer to the “What are you looking for?” question, when/if you are asked, but don’t make it the main topic of every conversation you have.
Note: “Anything!” is an absolutely useless response, and, also, wrong unless you could be a rocket scientist AND a brain surgeon, etc. “Customer service supervisor with a bank or financial services company like ABC, XYZ, or EFG” is a much more useful type of response, if appropriate, and much more likely to generate useful responses from others. - Bring “networking cards.”
Networking cards include your name, profession or target job, email, personal (or job search) cell phone number, LinkedIn profile URL, and Twitter account. - Renew some “old” friendships and working/student relationships, people who already know you and your work.
Contact former colleagues, co-workers, bosses, and subordinates. And/or contact former classmates. Suggest a “holiday alumni reunion” (see Job-Hunt’s directory of Corporate Alumni Groups or search LinkedIn Groups), and meet at an old hangout for your reunion get-together. Catch up with what’s going on with everyone else, and share what you’re doing (or contemplating doing). - To maximize meeting new people, attend at least one party you’ve never attended before.
Check with local professional, charity, or business groups (whatever is most appropriate and appealing) to see if they have a holiday event you can attend. - Be a good networker.
Connect, and catch up with others. Do more listening than talking (2 ears, 1 mouth – for a reason).
Learn what other people are doing before sharing information about your job search. That strategy is both polite and useful. Maybe they work at one of your target employers?
Try to think of some way you can help the people you have met – maybe a contact name for them, recommendation on a great gift for their kids, or something else useful to them. - Enjoy yourself, within reason.
Company holiday parties are infamous for the idiot who gets drunk and tells off the boss. This kind of situation is what’s known as a ‘career-limiting move” and you don’t want to do that, even if that former boss may deserve it.
Networking is a long-term activity where you help others as much as they help you, sharing information and leads, and the holidays provide a wonderful excuse and venue for expanding your network.
Since networking, like everything else, is VERY seldom a “quick fix” to anyone’s job search efforts, growing the size and strength of your network at holiday parties is a smart strategy.
Bottom Line
Any holiday gathering usually provides us with a wonderful opportunity to get back in touch with old friends, and to meet new friends. The opportunity to attend parties translates into an increase in networking opportunities which can provide you with some good job leads!
Get more holiday career tips from other Career Collective members:
- Martin Buckland: Season’s Greetings and Your Job Search
- Heather Mundell: Have a Holly Jolly Job Search
- Erin Kennedy: How to keep up the Job Hunt during the Holidays
- Hannah Morgan: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa Cheers
- Gayle Howard: It’s Christmas: And a ho-ho-ho-hum?
- Laurie Berenson: Three Resolutions to Take It Up a Notch
- Dawn Bugni: Could that sound really be opportunity? During the Holidays?
- GL Hoffman: Merry Christmas! Can I Buy You Coffee to Talk About Me?
- Barbara Safani: Holiday Networking Can Facilitate New Year Opportunities
- Heather R. Huhman: 4 Tips for Making the Most of Holiday Job Hunting
- Chandlee Bryan: Job Search Tips for the Holidays
- KCCareerCoach: The Gift Every Laid Off Job Seeker Needs
- resumeservice: Holiday Resume Sparkle: Outshine the New Year Job-Search Mob
- careerealism: Holiday Tip for Job Seekers: 4 Ways to Impress Others with Your Professionalism
- KatCareerGal: Avoiding the Holiday Blues in Your Job Search
- sweetcareers: Holiday Job Search Tips for College Students 2009
- WorkWithIllness: Avoid this Minefield: No Holiday Here!
- andyinnaples: Shift Your Focus to the Highest Impact Job Search Activities During the Holidays to Leverage Your Time
- keppie_careers: Four tips for effective networking follow-up for the holidays and the rest of the year
- expatcoachmegan: Holidays are a Great Time to Nurture and Grow your Network
- ValueIntoWords: Navigating the Mistle Toe of Job Search
About the author …
Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter @JobHuntOrg.
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Nice post, Susan. I love the idea of reheasing what to say. Why people, ie job seekers do not rehearse their answers more is beyond me. Maybe they don’t realize it is LEGAL?
The more we tell about this one tip, the more likely a successful candidate will get the job.
Great job as per your usual, Suan.
Susan,
Great post. I especially agree with your advice that saying you can do “anything” is a quick way to miss the boat on a job that takes advantage of your specific talents!
As always, sound advice from Susan P. Joyce.
All the Best,
Chandlee
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Hi Susan,
Enjoyed your post. Great advice. I especially agree with the network card idea. So many neglect creating this and it is such a handy and effective marketing tool.
Happy Holidays!
Great advice on how to incorporate networking into the holiday scene. I like the idea of organizing a holiday alumni reunion.
Happy holidays,
Laurie
Susan,
It is amazing the number of job hunters who cannot articulate their target position. There are so many ways to reinforce this message, including writing it down, practicing it out loud and perfecting it as one refines their target-market research (you have some great articles on company research, as I recall).
I especially like your suggestion to attend a party one has never attended before: professional association, charity, etc. People, as a whole, are ‘nice’ and will reach out and embrace someone new whose intentions are to offer value, listen and learn. Just be present, and the networking linkage will expand.
Thanks Susan. And, a merry happy holiday to you and yours,
Jacqui
Hi Jacqui! Thank you for the comment. Yes – it’s so important, but often not articulated well or at all. “Oh, I could do anything!” is a typical response, and it comes across as unfocused and desperate. A targeted job search is much shorter and more effective for the vast majority of people.
A merry happy holiday to your and yours as well!
Susan
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Love this post Susan. It’s like the boyscout mantra — “Always be prepared”!
Being prepared means that a jobseeker won’t get that deer-in-the-headlights look as if it has never occurred to him what sort of job he may be looking for or where or in what industry. If I was starting to click with a person and I asked him for his business card, imagine if he wrote his name on my arm because he wasn’t prepared? Would I be impressed as a decision-maker? A whole lot of preparation beforehand can make a person sound like a confident professional when it matters the most! Terrific work!
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