Christmas Season Networking Guide 🎄

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Contrary to popular belief, Christmas season (beyond gatherings & gifts) is one of the best times to nurture & expand your network. Most people are in a cheerful mood, as they completely disconnect from work and spend time with loved ones — a great occasion to reach out!

Since none of us want to sacrifice our precious holidays, we put together this short guide to help you get the most out of this once-a-year networking opportunity.

Step 1: Your Career Story

The first thing you should do is reflect on your career journey this year, and where you want to steer things in the upcoming year. This will be super-helpful when talking to others, as you have a story to tell and potentially, make them a part of. 📖

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1. Here are some guiding questions to determine your path forward:
2. What parts of your job did you like & dislike?
3. Do you love your job?
   If you enjoy 80–100% of your day-to-day, you’re probably on the right track. Otherwise, it’s time to pivot.
4. How should you adjust your career?
   Depending on your conclusion in #2, this may be a full-on pivot or minor tweaks to your current job.

Don’t spend too much time trying to find the “perfect” answer, as it’s a life-long, iterative process. A strong hypothesis is good enough!

Decided to pivot? Check out PathBase Explore to figure out how!

Step 2: Network

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Now that you know what your career story kind of looks like, time to network! Holidays are busy times for everyone, so it’s crucial to keep messages short & concise. The goal is to start (or rekindle) a relationship that grows over time, not one that lasts a single conversation.

All your messages should contain some form of holiday greeting, and an offer to help (very important!). The specific message depends on the type of connection:

RECENT

Your most recent connections (often times the closest) are those you’ve engaged with in some way in the last year. Use this opportunity to keep the fire strong with your closest friends and those you feel are most relevant to your newly found career path! 🔥

Tips:

• Give thanks for any help you received this year (and share how it helped)
• Ask about their top-of-mind things (projects they’re working on, their job search)
• Jokes are always appreciated 😉

OLD

These are folks you haven’t engaged with recently but are looking to reconnect. You foresee them being relevant in your newly found path — or maybe you in their careers.

Tips:

• Use your history/commonality (however brief it may be) to break the ice, within the first 1–2 sentences.
• Ask them about their lives (i.e. what they’re up to). If possible, get specific by researching — life events, published works, current projects.
• Refrain from blabbering about yourself too much. The goal is to make them feel important.

NEW

You should always try to meet new people, as they can result in powerful relationships (e.g. new job opportunity, co-founder of your future startup). Target people relevant to your career goals — either via a mutual connection, or simply cold-emailing/LinkedIn messaging.

Tips:

• Genuine connector. Common examples are mutual connections, recently published work, their company, similar backgrounds, etc.
• Short self-intro pitch (1–2 sentences). The goal is to provide context for the connection (and hopefully, get them curious about the “rest of the book”).
• Clear, small ask. These can be requests to schedule a “short 15-min call”, ask for feedback on published work/project, or a specific advice/challenge.
• Stalk (not in a creepy way!). Try to get as much info as you can to establish commonalities and further personalize your message.

Closing Thoughts

• The key to networking is relevance & conciseness, and getting clarity on your own goals makes that 10x easier.
• Focus on expanding your network (i.e. reviving old connections & making new ones) if you’re doing a career pivot.

Regardless of where you’re at with your career, remember that your network is like a plant that needs nurturing to thrive and grow. December just happens to be a great season to water it. 🌱

Looking to improve or pivot your career? Check out PathBase, an AI career advisor that helps you better understand your skillsets and recommend best ways to improve towards your dream career.