274: Three Networking Tips for the Holidays

The Holiday season brings a lot of parties and gatherings—and pressure. If you don't enjoy the Holiday work party, I hope you'll listen to this episode as I share three tips to help you network during this season. 

Networking can be particularly frustrating for introverts but these three tips will help anyone build a networking strategy that is genuine and authentic. 

From setting clear goals to conquering the socializing jitters and stepping out of comfort zones, this episode is packed with actionable advice to ensure you leave each event with connections that hold real potential. Whether you're striking up a conversation at a holiday party or reaching out to new connections online, this episode is your roadmap to mid-career success. 

Chapters

• 0:00 Navigating Work Functions and Networking
• 15:50 Optimizing LinkedIn and Networking Tips
• 21:53 Strategizing Mid-Career Success

Transcript

John Neral: 0:00

Ah, the holidays. Here we are. It is December 10th. Parties, gatherings, having to deal with people you work with and bring that holiday cheer may be absolutely exhausting. Look, I love a good party, but I have to admit that sometimes attending work functions were absolutely draining. But they are great opportunities to network and build relationships that can increase your visibility and elevate your career into 2025 and beyond. So in this episode, I will share with you three helpful tips for networking during the holidays as you build your mid-career GPS to whatever is next and save a little energy in that tank for whatever else you got going on.

John Neral: 0:54

Let's get started. Hello, my friends, this is the Mid-Career GPS Podcast and I'm your host, J Nerrell. I help mid-career professionals like you find a job they love, or love the job they have, using my proven four-step formula. I want to welcome you back to the podcast. If you enjoy this podcast, I would truly appreciate if you would help me with these three things. Number one if you haven't had an opportunity to rate the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, please do. I'm not going to ask you to leave a five-star rating, but that would be really nice. Now. If you haven't left a review on Apple Podcasts, please consider leaving one and sharing what you enjoy about the podcast and why you encourage others to listen In this very crowded podcast market. Ratings and reviews go a long way. They certainly help feed the algorithm, but here's something even more. If you enjoy this podcast, or you enjoy and get something from this particular episode, would you do me a favor and please share it with someone in your network? All you need to do is go to your podcast player, click on the copy link and text it to somebody. Okay, by doing that, you're going to share with somebody this podcast that they may not be familiar with, and you will help me expand my reach and grow the audience here. So I'd really appreciate that Rate review. Share the link with somebody. Thank you so very much. This podcast continues to grow because of listeners like you, and as I get ready to wrap up year four of this podcast and get ready to head into year five next month, please know how much I genuinely appreciate your help and support. So, thank you.

John Neral: 3:00

All right, you've got these holiday parties, you've got these work functions and everybody is expecting you to attend and show up and be present and joyful. And if you're not an outward-going personality, if you're not a super extrovert, you may find these events to be particularly draining and taxing. So I crafted this episode for you, because these three tips, I truly believe will help you get through the holiday party but really focus on what the overall goal is. So tip number one is to remember that it is better to be seen than not. Yes, that means you have to attend. Now, I'm not saying you need to attend for the whole thing, and certainly you have to take in mind what family responsibilities and obligations and things of that nature you have going on. But if you can, attending is absolutely to your advantage. Now, that being said, throughout my career, both in places I've worked and through all of my experiences, I feel the need to make this disclaimer Going to an office work function means you need to behave like an adult.

John Neral: 4:32

I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have had conversations with colleagues and friends who have been excessive in their behavior at holiday parties, and by that I mean they drink a lot. Okay, it can easily be something you may get caught up with and being like oh, I'll just have another drink, I'm going to take an Uber home and it doesn't matter, and blah, blah, blah, blah blah. Here's what we know. Okay, holiday parties sometimes people let down their defenses. When you throw alcohol into the mix, defenses will lessen even more. And there are people whom you work with that may look at that situation and take advantage of it. They may pump you for information. They may ask you questions you really wouldn't necessarily answer if you weren't enjoying the holiday party. In that regard, I can't tell you how many times I have had people come back to me and say, oh my gosh, I can't believe I said that to my boss. I can't believe I threw that colleague under the bus. I can't believe I said that to my boss. I can't believe I threw that colleague under the bus. I can't believe I behave that way.

John Neral: 5:49

So if you're going to attend, show up and set some ground rules for how you're going to behave. Okay, I'm not. I'm not trying to come across here as somebody who was like telling you not to have fun or, you know, trying to assume you don't know how to behave at a party, but it's one of those things that I can share with you. This could be a big organizational or career derailer if you go to a party like this and, all of a sudden, people don't forget those kind of things. Okay, party like this and all of a sudden, people don't forget those kind of things. Okay, so when you go to these holiday parties, have a goal. Have a goal about what you want to achieve. Okay, who do you want to talk to, who are the people you'd love to get introduced to, and what next steps could you agree upon at that party for following up when you're either back in the office or you're on a call to move that relationship forward?

John Neral: 6:54

I often found that when I would attend these work functions, especially during the holidays, that I didn't want to be comfortable by always hanging around with my friends and my closest colleagues just to get through the evening. What I wanted to do is I wanted to at least meet somebody new, talk to somebody in a different department, a different division, at a different role, and find a way to move that relationship forward after the holiday party. And keep in mind here it does not need to be a lengthy conversation. It could be something as simple as hey, rich, I've seen you in several meetings and I know you and I haven't really had a chance to talk, but I'd love to take some time to get to know a little bit more about your work and how we might be able to align in some way After the holidays. Would you be open for us grabbing a cup of coffee or scheduling just a brief 15, 20-minute meeting for us to just to get to know each other a little bit more? See what he says. More than likely, he's not going to reject that meeting, especially if you have clearly stated a goal to help him or help a particular project, or things like that. Now, if he doesn't want to meet you can't control that okay, but use the holiday party as a way to meet new people, increase your visibility and, most importantly, move your work and people's awareness of you in a positive way forward.

John Neral: 8:37

Now tip number two, and I want to offer that this could be either internally or externally. So by internally, I mean we're talking at work. Externally may mean how you're engaging with people in professional associations or on LinkedIn, okay. So tip number two is this Ask who you should be speaking to and would they introduce you? Okay. So I want to offer you here that our networks can feel very limited. We know a certain number of people. We look at the hundreds or thousands of connections we have on LinkedIn and, admittedly, we only know a small portion of that and as we continually access our network, it can feel like we've exhausted our network. Access our network, it can feel like we've exhausted our network. So if we think of our network as an immediate or first-level connection, what I want you to consider here is that in networking, this is your opportunity to go further into somebody's network and by doing that, you are going to get introduced to people you don't know your common connection does Okay.

John Neral: 10:00

So when networks can feel limited, this is an opportunity for you to dig deeper into your network, to open up connections and potential partnerships, professional relationships and even a new job right, even a lead on a potential new job. So let's say, for example, you work in the project management space and you're talking with your colleagues and everything and you know they may know you're not happy or they may know that you're undervalued and underutilized at work, and you say to a colleague and say, look, who do you know, who do you know that I should be speaking to right now? I'm not saying I'm going to leave, but if I wanted to broaden my scope or increase my visibility and just talk to other people that are in this line of work. Who would you suggest I talk to? More than likely they're going to connect you to somebody they've previously worked with or they worked under or for and they're going to make that connection and now that's going to open up some conversations for you that you would not have had otherwise had you not asked. Okay, you would not have had otherwise had you not asked, okay.

John Neral: 11:16

So I got a really nice email earlier this week. So I'm on a colleague and friend, I'm on her newsletter and she emailed everybody this week to share her podcast guest. And when I saw the name of the podcast guest I thought, oh, I know her. And then I remembered I introduced them. Right, I introduced them because I reached out and I was like, who are you looking for for a guest? And I was like, oh my gosh, I know this person. So for reference, it's Niven Pasma. She came on the podcast a few months ago to talk about the whole benefit about playing office politics and why it is a game everybody should need to play. And I remember making connection between Niven and my friend, tammy Guler-Lobe, who hosts the Work From the Inside Out podcast, and Tammy just had Niven on her podcast this week. So if you're looking for another podcast to go check definitely check out Tammy's Work From the Inside Out.

John Neral: 12:24

But it's those kind of connections, right, it's where we get to deepen our network, okay. So now Niven and Tammy are connected, right, they're going to remember that I connected them, but, even more importantly, they're going to be able to dig more deeply into each other's network. And why am I sharing this with you? Because this is the theme that is going to be big in 2025. And I will be sharing more information about this in an upcoming episode. But 2025 is going to be the year for relationship building. If you have gotten tired of hearing the no like and trust factor and how you need to be building that, you're gonna have to listen even more in 2025, because 2025 is going to be this year where relationship building will expand to a completely different level than it has ever been, and the way to strategically build that, both for you as mid-career job seekers, but also as you're thinking about elevating your career, is going to be extremely important. So my final tip for you today.

John Neral: 13:39

Tip number three, is this it is time to up your LinkedIn game. Linkedin connections, as we know, can be exceptionally valuable to you and your network. But one of the things you can do with your LinkedIn is to focus on simply connecting with people rather than asking. Oftentimes, if you are unhappy in your job or you are actively job-seeking, the quick and easy belief is that you can go on LinkedIn, reach out to someone, ask if they're hiring and they're going to offer you a job. It certainly happened in a few cases, but the likelihood is that is not the norm.

John Neral: 14:23

Think about how many cold emails you get on a regular basis on LinkedIn, and I continually get one. I live in the Commonwealth of Virginia and I continually get one that addresses me as Dr Nero and says we'd like to honor you as one of the top 100 medical doctors in Virginia. And I laugh at that every single time because there is nothing in my LinkedIn profile that says I'm a medical professional. So that just kind of cracks me up and be like, why would I even bother with that? And usually it's an in-mail and I find them and I, you know, just block them because I'm like I just don't want you anywhere near me in my network. Okay, think about connecting, and what does that connection look like In 2025,?

John Neral: 15:15

The goal here is going to be to take time to build a relationship. I have shared before on various networking topics and episodes on this podcast that your best move is to find a way to connect first. Ask how you can help them first, and then, once you've gotten to know each other a little bit, then have your ask. Then they'll more than likely say, hey, how can I help you and you can share. And if they don't, you can simply say, great, here's what you can do. Here's what I'm looking for right now.

John Neral: 15:50

If your LinkedIn profile is not optimized or is not formatted in a way that shares enough about you professionally to make people feel comfortable and confident in connecting with you, you may want some help with that. So one of the things that I offer my clients and I offer this as a standalone service as well is to audit your LinkedIn profile. So the way I do that is that we connect on LinkedIn and I will simply record a Zoom from top to bottom of your LinkedIn profile and offer you suggestions on how to optimize that, to increase your visibility, increase your narrative, optimize your professional brand and what you're putting out there, and give you some tips to help you make your LinkedIn profile more appealing to recruiters, hiring managers and other professional connections. So if you are interested in having me review your LinkedIn profile, all you need to do is go to my website, https://johnneral. com. Click on the Courses tab in the main menu bar of the website and you will see the LinkedIn profile audit and you just fill everything out there and I get a notification in the website and you will see the LinkedIn profile audit and you just fill everything out there and I get a notification in my inbox and I'll take it from there. But if that's something of help and you want some things to do, then by all means, let me help you. Let me review your LinkedIn profile for you.

John Neral: 17:19

But LinkedIn, even heading into 2025, linkedin's not going to go away. Linkedin's not going anywhere. In fact, it's only going to continue to get bigger. And if you are looking to build your network and do it in a way where you don't really have to do a whole lot once your profile is optimized, aside from coming onto the platform and looking at networking with people, the point I'm trying to make here is that your LinkedIn is on 24-7. When it's on 24-7, it can always be working for you, but wouldn't you rather have your LinkedIn profile work for you than work against you. That's why the LinkedIn profile audit can be super helpful. So, again, if you're interested, go to my website to learn more about that.

John Neral: 18:07

All right, so we've talked about three things today, right? So number one visibility. It is better to be seen than not. So if you're going to attend an office holiday party or function, find a way to network with someone you haven't had a chance to do so. Number two ask who you should be speaking to and would they be willing to introduce you, dig deeper into those second and third level connections and also take some time to up your LinkedIn game. But here's how I want to close today.

John Neral: 18:38

Networking can feel very intimidating and scary, especially to people who believe they're not good at it. They don't like doing it, anything like that. What I want to offer you in closing today is that network in a way that feels genuine and authentic to you. There is no. You know people say, oh, you shouldn't network this way, you shouldn't do that. Well, that might work for somebody, okay. So when you think about networking, I want you to build a networking is. You will be left out. So this isn't a pass on not doing it. I'm encouraging you to find a way to network and connect with people that feels right for you. Invite people into your circle in an intentional, professional, authentic way that people can learn to get to know you a little bit.

John Neral: 19:50

If you are back in the office and you're on the work site and you're networking with people internally, don't scare them off, right? I often found that in the office, the best networking conversations I would initially have would be at the coffee machine or be in the common area and just introduce myself and continue to do that. See them in the hallway, say hello. See them in meetings. Ask them hey, how have you been? What's been going on? See them in meetings. Ask them hey, how have you been? What's been going on? Let people take time to get to know you, rather than thinking that everything needs to be instant. Okay. Oh well, I'm just going to reach out. You'll be fine with that. They may not, okay? So I have a friend of mine who, like a couple times a month, we will commiserate about the most bizarre connection requests we get on LinkedIn. Got to find a way to play. That may be the way they feel comfortable playing. It doesn't work for me, right, my networking strategy is mine and it works for me. Okay, some people do it differently, some people are similar, but find a way to network that is most common and authentic to you, and if you're having trouble with that, that's one of the things you can do to ask people and get some ideas or even get some coaching on about what that networking strategy may look like.

John Neral: 21:18

All right, it is hard to believe. We are three weeks away from the end of the year. We are 15 days away from Christmas of the year. We are 15 days away from Christmas all the holiday stuff that's coming up. So please make sure you're taking time for yourself this holiday season. Be kind to yourself, and I'll be back with you next week for another episode and until next time, my friends, remember this you will build your mid-career GPS one mile or one step at a time, and how you show up matters. Make it a great rest of your day.

John Neral: 21:53

Thank you for listening to the Mid-Career GPS Podcast. Make sure to follow on your favorite listening platform and, if you have a moment, I'd love to hear your comments on Apple Podcasts. Visit johnnerrellcom for more information about how I can help you build your mid-career GPS or how I can help you and your organization with your next workshop or public speaking event. Don't forget to connect with me on LinkedIn and follow me on social at John Narrow Coaching. I look forward to being back with you next week. Until then, take care and remember how we show up matters. Thank you.