Christmas Networking

The Christmas season is upon us!

Well, it seems the Christmas season began the day after Halloween this year.

It’s a time for getting together with family and friends, parties and of course, networking?

The Christmas season is a great time for networking.  There are office parties, Christmas parties, and dinners where you can get together with family and friends that you may only see a few times a year. 

How can you make networking work for you during the holidays?

Office Parties

If you work part-time or full-time, you will probably be invited to your office’s holiday party.  This is a fabulous opportunity to network with other people at your company, who you may not otherwise have an opportunity to speak to on a daily basis.  This is a great time to get face time with decision makers at your company.  Your part-time position just may turn into a full-time job offer at the end of the year.

Christmas Parties

Parties are a fun way to get everyone together during the holidays.  During the course of Christmas season, you may go to two or ten Christmas parties thrown by friends or family or your significant other’s friends or family.  After being introduced to someone new, strike up a conversation.  Be certain to exchange business cards.  You may just be able to exchange some business advice in the new year.

Christmas Dinner

If your family is anything like the Griswold’s, you will have a lot of family to visit with at Christmas.   Christmas dinner is an opportunity to really spend time with your family.  You are getting ready to start your career or perhaps you have already begun.  Your family will have a lot of questions about this new step in your life. 

Of course, like any family, some questions will be more tactful than others. 

This is not the time to be bashful about your career goals. 

Tell your family where you would like to work and the type of work you would like to do.  Out of your entire family, there will likely be someone who knows someone that could help you on your career path.  You just have to ask.

A Word of Caution

While the holidays can be a great time for networking, don’t get too caught up with networking and forget the true meaning of the season. 

Recommend Me?

When you applied to college, you needed to ask your favorite teachers, advisors and coaches for letters of recommendation. 

Letters of recommendation are important for college admissions.  Now that you have graduated, letters of recommendation continue to be important.

For some positions, employers request 1 or even 2 letters of recommendation.

As you know, when you request a letter of recommendation, you need to give your recommender a 3-4 week time period to write your letter. 

Job openings don’t last that long.

Ask for letters of recommendations now, before you need the letters.

When soliciting letters of recommendation, make a point to request a well-rounded stack of letters that showcase your academic and professional background.  Ask your favorite professors or advisor to reflect your academic achievements.  Ask each of your previous employers to reflect your professional skills.  If you are an athlete, ask your coach.  If you volunteer regularly, ask your supervisor. 

By gathering your letters of recommendation before you need them, you have a better chance of getting called for an interview.

A Little Something

If you ever been to an event with networking in the title, you have probably been asked to share a little something.

Are you breaking out in a sweat yet?

Many networking events begin with an icebreaker.  The most common icebreaker is to go around the room and have everyone stand up, give an introduction and say a little something about themselves.

What should you say?  How much should you share?

Be prepared before you go to your next networking event by creating a standard little something about yourself using this easy to use formula.

Your name, educational background, what you’re looking for and some way that you spend your time, such as a hobby or volunteer work.

For example: My name is Caroline Jones.  I recently graduated from State University with a degree in business.  I would really like to find a position in the financial services industry.  In my spare time, I love to play soccer.

Practice your little something and you’ll be calm, cool and collected at your next networking event. 

Be a Mentor!

You have a lot to offer someone as a mentor.

Not 10 years from now when you have an established career, but right now.

You have navigated your way through high school.  You have taken the SAT and SAT II.  You have navigated college admissions.  You have applied for scholarships.  You have chosen between colleges.  

In college, you chose a major, learned to balance your time, completed difficult coursework and written a thesis.  You have applied for internships, interviewed and developed a resume. 

You have even learned the ins and outs of networking.

Find Opportunities to Mentor

Contact the head of your major department or a favorite professor at your alma mater and offer yourself as a mentor. 

Sign up with your college’s career services to mentor undergraduates.

Contact your high school and offer to serve as a mentor for college seniors

How to be a great mentor

Being a great mentor means offering your experience and advice.  But don’t try to force your ideas on someone else.  Your mentee needs to make his or her own decision. 

Be available for your mentee.  Respond to emails in a timely manner. 

Above all, be supportive.  

The All-Important Email Update

Remember those networking contacts you have that gave you some great advice?  

Perhaps, they introduced you to someone in their network.  Or maybe they suggested that you attend a particular meeting. 

Send your contacts an email updating him or her on your progress since you last spoke.  Did you get that interview?  Did you meet with that client? Did you email the contact they suggested?  

If they extended advice or a contact to you, they certainly would like to know the steps that you have taken since you last spoke.  If you take their advice and follow up, they will continue to offer you advice and introductions.

When following up with your networking contacts, be open to their suggestions.  You never know what will get your foot in the door or your resume on a desk.   

Inc.com: 10 Secrets of a Master Networker

Inc.com has a great article about Keith Ferrazzi, a master networker who offers 10 secrets for networking success.  Ferazzi's secrets to networking success are easily applicable to new graduates and young alumni.  Of all his secrets, I think the most important advice he offers is to network with a purpose, don't just network to network.


Check out the article here.  

Wagner College Student-Alumni Networking Event

About a month ago, I had the opportunity to return to Wagner College to attend a networking event.  Returning to campus as a professional was a new experience.  I didn’t quite know what to expect. 

I was blown away by the students and alumni that I met.

The students I met were accomplished and eager to take on new challenges.  They were inquisitive about what they could do to build their network and forge their career path.  here were students from arts and science backgrounds. There were students who worked on political campaigns and interned with television networks.  There were students from Staten Island and around the world.   

It was quite a dynamic group!  With my background as an attorney, I was uncertain if the science majors would be interested in speaking to me about networking, or if they would avert their eyes.

My science background is limited. At best.

But they were very welcoming and had interesting questions.  I was struck by the question one group of students from different science majors asked me:

“We’re starting to realize that we need to look outside the box, where do you think we should we be looking for jobs?”

My science background may be limited, but my networking, job search, and creative career formulation background is ever expanding.

In a tight job market where there is often talk of a surplus or saturation of a particular group of professions, there is great opportunity for employment within the services that meet the demands of this saturated group.

For example, there has been much in the news about the surplus of attorneys throughout the United States.  

While this news might be troubling to the new law graduate, there is great opportunity to work for a company or industry that supports attorneys.  Attorneys require malpractice insurance, continuing education, paralegals, banking and marketing professionals. 

This is a great opportunity to get your foot in the door with a company who works in insurance, education, banking and marketing.  It is also an opportunity to pursue a career as a paralegal or legal assistant. 

But the science majors I met weren’t interested in the attorney surplus.  

For the science majors I spoke to, I suggested looking to companies that work with scientists such as the companies that create the products and lab equipment scientists need. 

Of course, I didn’t stop there.

There may be opportunities within companies that publish science books, magazines and periodicals. 

Lobbying and advocacy groups may be looking for researchers with a science background. 

There may be opportunities to work with lobbying or advocacy groups. 

Universities with large science programs are often looking for program coordinators and grants managers with science backgrounds to support their work. 

Of course, like many majors, you are only qualified for so many positions with a Bachelors degree.  You may need to further your education to be a candidate for the type of position you really want.  Taking some time to work within your field before graduate school will give you time to get a better of idea of what that position might be. 

It will also give you a great network of colleagues you can reach out to when you graduate. 

Many thanks to Wagner College's Career Services Office for putting together such a great event! 

Networking with HR

Amy Gallo, a Harvard Business Review Blogger, has written an excellent article about how to get HR on your side during the application and interview process. By keeping in touch with HR, asking for feedback and following up throughout the job application process, you will stay on HR's radar as a potential job candidate, not only for the position you are currently applying for, but also for positions that may become available in the future.

Check out Amy Gallo's article here to learn more about how you can network with HR and increase your chances for a job offer.

Are You Linked? Beginning to Use LinkedIn Successfully (Part IV)

Continuing with our series on LinkedIn...

Now, it is time to expand your network and add more connections.

Begin by looking to your connections’ connections. Are there people that you know that you have not linked with yet?

Have you updated your LinkedIn contacts lately?  There are people that you meet at networking events, colleagues that you reconnect with, and classmates that may have just joined that you should add as a connection on LinkedIn. 

Make it your goal to update your LinkedIn contacts weekly.

Look to your connections’ connections again.  Are there people that you would like to be introduced to?  

Send an email to your connection asking for an introduction.

Continue to grow your LinkedIn network and you will continue to grow your network and networking skills as well.