Networking before Christmas: This is the right thing to do and will help your career

There are many celebrations and events coming up before Christmas. This may be stressful and annoying for some, but it is also a good opportunity to make new contacts and rekindle old ones – especially for anyone who has neglected their network over the year.

In the long term, even loosely established contacts often prove to be valuable, for example if you want to change your job or are looking for partners for a project. In the short term, new perspectives can be gained through the exchange and one’s own horizons are broadened.

But what is the best way to approach networking at a Christmas party or fundraising gala? How do you maintain existing contacts? Four things you can do before Christmas:

Many people would prefer to avoid the internal Christmas party in order to avoid possible unpleasant situations or even to avoid the risk of revealing something too private. However, communication trainer and career coach Johanna Emmerich sees company parties as a valuable opportunity to show a different side of yourself than in everyday working life.

The unofficial conversations that can arise in a relaxed and Christmassy atmosphere are often underestimated. “No one gets promoted if they don’t like you or find them unpleasant,” says Emmerich Capital. That’s why you can use the Christmas party strategically. “If you know each other, even on a human level, you make your career a little easier.”

Communication channels with colleagues who are further away would also become easier or could be shortened in the future because you can simply call after a short conversation. “A Christmas party is not a place to discuss really serious and difficult topics,” says Emmerich. “But I can think beforehand about the person I would like to talk to because they interest me and can open doors for me in the company.”

Overall, she advises showing yourself to be “selectively authentic.” “This means that everything you say should be real. But not everything that is real needs to be said.” The most important thing is to go to the Christmas party at all.

The successes of your own company can be well showcased at external events. Above all, they are an opportunity to expand your network with new contacts. But how do you start a conversation with complete strangers? From career advisor Sabine Votteler’s point of view, the easiest way to do this is to establish an uncomplicated common connection. For example: What brings the other person to this event? What does it have to do with the host or organizer? “This takes you straight into a little story,” says Votteler. “It’s much more personal than the classic ‘What do you do for a living?'”

In order to be able to fall back on such a newly made contact later, you don’t need a deep conversation. The main thing is to create a common basis that people can relate to. “If it was a pleasant conversation, you can get in touch again at any time,” says Votteler, no matter how fleeting the encounter was. “Even if the other person doesn’t remember, you have a reason to reach out.”

You should especially imagine managers who always receive a lot of messages. “The Christmas party is a wonderful starting point to write about again afterwards along the lines of: I really enjoyed our conversation at the Christmas party and would like to suggest that we can continue this over lunch in January,” says Emmerich. “Then it is no longer an anonymous request and the chances of an answer are much higher.”

It is therefore advisable to exchange contact details or network on career networks such as Linkedin.

As we all know, Christmas is also the time of year when old friends meet again at home. Often we haven’t seen each other all year round. Nevertheless, there is already a valuable basis of trust and there are many common points of contact that make it easy to start a conversation: the time spent studying together, common roots or common acquaintances. “Old acquaintances are often fruitful contacts,” says Votteler. “They have often developed completely differently than you and lead completely different lives. This offers many options and opportunities to expand your horizons.”

From Votteler’s point of view, this “revival” of contacts is primarily about seeing new perspectives and getting new impulses that help you find your way – regardless of whether you are currently looking for a job or not.

In addition to the many events, there are also numerous opportunities in the run-up to Christmas to get in touch with contacts, for example to wish them a happy first Advent, a happy St. Nicholas Day or a peaceful Advent season. Especially when it comes to valuable contacts, you should take the opportunity to nurture them and recall them.

This can be done with a simple message via Linkedin. “You can then establish a common connection and bring a big topic to a personal level, for example that the year-end rally has now started for both of them and you wish them every success,” says career advisor Votteler. She recommends even giving out gift-like tips this way. “It can be a podcast or book recommendation where you send the link or maybe a quote – things that helped you in a stressful situation. People are actually always positively surprised by that.”