While networking is important year-round, the holiday season provides the perfect opportunity to take your networking skills to the next level. With all of those festive events to attend, the ambiance that you’ll be networking in will be very different from the serious, high-pressure vibe that’s often rife at other times of the year. The holidays are when people tend to feel more social and generous than usual – knowing how to leverage this to build new connections can be a game-changer.
So, without further ado, read on as Circle Hub shares some top tips for making the most of networking events and coworking spaces during the holiday season.
Set Some Networking Goals
It’s easy to become distracted with festive happenings when networking during the holidays. This is why it can be helpful to set some networking goals before you get started. Make sure that these are achievable and relatively relaxed. Rather than aiming to speak to every single attendee at the event that you’ve been invited to, it would be much more worthwhile to focus on making just three or so meaningful connections.
This will help to keep you focused while you’re networking, enabling you to make the most of your time and to come away from that event with good value.
Break Out of Your Comfort Zone
When networking during the holidays, it’s easy to attend events that are being hosted by people who you already know well. It’s common to rely on existing connections when looking for ways to expand your network and progress your career.
However, breaking out of that bubble can really pay off. Research shows that reaching out to those beyond your regular networking circle – people who you only have a weak connection with – will enable you to make even more connections. Better yet, they’ll be more relevant and useful than the majority of those that you’d make from your close circle.
This is where networking at a coworking space can be extremely helpful. Coworking spaces tend to be filled with a diverse crowd, making it so easy to meet people who you wouldn’t usually interact with. Find yourself a coworking space that offers casual events for members to attend, like Circle Hub, and life becomes so easy!
Practice Some Active Listening Techniques
Whether you’re chatting to people at a coworking space or you’re attending a networking event, active listening techniques can help you to form connections that are even more meaningful. It shows that you’re fully attentive and engaged. This builds rapport and trust in such a significant way.
Here are a few active listening techniques to try:
- Give the speaker your full and undivided attention. Ignore any distractions and definitely don’t check your phone!
- Use your body language to show empathy, and gestures to show that you’re listening. Take note of the speaker’s non-verbal cues too.
- Don’t be judgemental in any way – your role is to listen.
- Respond with appropriate, open-ended questions.
- Never interrupt!
Do Some Research
If you want your networking efforts to be as effective as possible, prior research is vital. Hopefully, you’ll already have some idea as to who the other event attendees are, or even just their general background or the companies they work for. Use whatever information you have to dig a little deeper. Explore company websites, check out the LinkedIn profiles of potential guests, and soak up as many industry insights as you can.
This will enable you to show a sincere and knowledgable interest when speaking to new people at that event. You’ll be able to quickly come up with relevant topics of conversation and this will help you to seem genuine.
Create a Holiday-Related Elevator Pitch
An elevator pitch is a great conversation starter when networking – everyone should have one! However, during the holiday season, it would be worth making a few tweaks to yours to add a festive flair.
How? Keep it light and casual. You want it to sound like social chit-chat as opposed to a sales pitch. Don’t drone on for too long – aim for short and sweet with a touch of festive spirit! You can then break the ice with this when meeting new professionals, whether at a coworking space, a networking event, or anywhere else!
Refresh Your Resume
Some people find that their workload really piles up during the holiday season while others experience the opposite, finding themselves with some extra free time during normal working hours. This is a great chance to spend some time brushing up on your resume. Chances are that you’ve accomplished a few things over the year, so make sure that your resume is up to date.
While you’re at it, spend some time looking at your LinkedIn profile too. Make sure that it’s a true reflection of your skills and your value. Of course, it’s a great social platform for networking too. If you have some time to spare in between attending real-life networking events, try connecting online with people from the industries that you’re interested in.
Follow Up…But Don’t Expect a Quick Response
What should you do once you’ve made an initial connection with someone new? Always follow up promptly – ideally, in a memorable way. Make your message personal by relating it to something that the two of you discussed. If you were practicing active listening, you won’t have any problems remembering what this was!
With that said, don’t expect a quick response during the holiday season. So long as your follow-up was crafted in an engaging and memorable way, they will get back to you when they have some downtime from their festivities.
Strategize Where You Position Yourself
Whether you’re hanging out in a common area at your coworking space or you’re attending a festive networking event, your physical positioning can have a huge impact on who you meet. Start by arriving early so that you can meet other early birds, as well as the event organizers.
Then, make sure that you’re always positioned near the main gathering points. Refreshment tables, entrances, the bar…these are all places where people naturally congregate. You’ll be exposed to a greater flow of people to potentially speak to, increasing your odds of forming a good connection.
Reach Out to Quieter Individuals
While the main gathering points of a room are where you should spend the most amount of time if you want to optimize your networking events, don’t completely ignore the outskirts either. Many people struggle to integrate themselves into group conversations, yet those people are still well worth speaking to.
Every once in a while, scan the room to see if you spot anyone who happens to be looking lost or uncomfortable. Reach out to them by striking up a conversation or bringing them into one that you’re having with someone else. The holiday season is all about kindness – show this to others in a professional setting and people will undoubtedly remember you.
Resist the Urge to Keep Checking Your Phone
One of the biggest mistakes that people make when networking is constantly checking their phones. Sure, you may have messages constantly flying in but being glued to a screen isn’t going to endear you to others.
Instead, put your phone away whenever you’re networking. It will make you seem so much more approachable. The only reason to get your phone out would be if you’re exchanging details with someone. However, hopefully, you’ll have business cards that can do this for you!
Send Genuine Holiday Greetings to Your Network
Networking isn’t solely about making new connections – it’s also about building on those that you already have. Sending holiday greetings to your network is a great way to do that, so long as that greeting is a genuine one.
Holiday greetings should always be authentic, including those that you send to your professional network. A mass email isn’t going to cut it – go with a personal message, be it in a card, an email, or anything else. The aim here is to foster a positive connection with that person in a way that doesn’t make you seem as though you have an agenda.
Don’t Overwhelm Yourself
If you already have quite a thriving network, you’ll likely receive a number of holiday event invitations. While you may be tempted to say yes to every single one to really maximize how much networking you do, this will only end up overwhelming you.
The holiday season can be a stressful time. The last thing that you want to do is over-commit. This means that you’ll either have to cancel, which will make you appear unreliable to those who were hoping to see you, or you’ll end up burnt out, which isn’t a great way to start the new year!
Be realistic when it comes to your schedule and your time. Prioritize the most important events and don’t force yourself to go to others just because you’ve been invited.
Limit Your Alcohol Intake
This tip may be an obvious one but it’s still worth mentioning! While you won’t find any alcohol at a coworking space, it’s usually abound at festive events. There’s nothing wrong with having a drink or two while you’re mingling but, it goes without saying, don’t overdo it!
As much as you want to appear relaxed and social, you need to sport a professional vibe too. You don’t want to accidentally make the wrong impression when meeting someone important, which can easily happen when you’ve had one too many! Set yourself a limit beforehand and then stick to this. If you’re attending an event with someone else, hold each other accountable. Save the drinks for once you’re done!
Summary
The celebratory energy that’s usually found at holiday events, or even just a workplace or coworking space during the holiday season, provides the perfect backdrop for some casual networking. Follow the tips that we’ve shared above and you’ll be able to make the most of this, ensuring that you stat the new year with some meaningful connections that will help you to get ahead.
Click here to find out more about the coworking spaces available at Circle Hub.