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Career Pointers Archives
Career marketing during the Holiday season
Most people believe that the weeks from early December to mid January are ‘lost’ when it comes to career marketing. While it may be true for many that the focus is on all things outside of work during this festive season, it is also true that there is hardly a better time to reconnect with old business contacts, or to reach out to former co-workers in the context of a meaningful job search. Here are some ideas on how to make use of the general goodwill during the Holiday season:
Cards
Invest in tasteful cards that you can send to business contacts you may not have spoken with for a while. Write a personal note inside each card - or better yet - hand-write a personal note on a separate sheet of fine paper (rice paper is always elegant) and slip it inside the card. In the note, express your wish that the coming year be a successful one, and that you would like to meet in the New Year to catch up, and get some help and advice around making the coming year a successful one for you, too. Let the recipient know when you will be calling to set up the appointment, and follow through!
Ex-colleagues Reunion
If you have a group of former co-workers that you may have stayed in touch with, the Holiday season is often a great opportunity to organize a small ‘after-work’ party. Call and invite them to a get-together. Think broader than ‘let’s meet at a bar’. Why not arrange to meet at the Art Gallery or another museum, to take in the exhibit on a Friday lunch hour, and then have coffee and a sandwich after? Or suggest everyone get together for breakfast, and ask each participant to come prepared to recommend a local resource (a person, an agency, a financial planner, a knowledgeable contact). Once you’ve reconnected with your old work-mates in this way, it’s so much more natural to follow up and set up one-on-one conversations after the New Year.
Professional Association ‘Winter’ social events
If you belong to a professional association, invite a handful of your business contacts, who may not be members, to your association’s ‘Winter’ or ‘Holiday’ social. Usually the program is a little lighter than regular member events, and of general interest to a broader audience. Make a point of introducing your guests to the chapter officials, and make sure that they feel welcomed. By presenting yourself as a pro-active member of a professional community, you’re also sending out a powerful message that you belong in this professional community. Following up a few weeks afterwards, and referring to the program of that evening is also a low-intensity segue into a personal meeting with each guest in January, to talk and get advice and feedback about your career goals.
New Year’s Resolutions
The hardest thing about New Year’s resolutions, is sticking to them beyond January 5th or 6th ... So make a plan. During December, before the festivities break loose, put in the effort to set up as many one-on-one networking meetings with people for the month of January. Confirm each meeting one week before it is scheduled to take place, and work hard to get at least one referral from everyone you talk to, so you can sustain the campaign well into February and March.
Alternate Holiday Gift-giving
And if all this seems a little too overwhelming, and you don’t know quite where or how to start, getting the funds together to retain a personal career coach is another good way to kick-start your career search. Instead of the traditional socks and sweaters, coasters and toasters, iPods and other electronic gadgets, ask your family and friends to contribute the dollars they would otherwise have spent on a gift to your New Career Search Fund. Then spend the money wisely on a career coach with a track record of success: do your research, and interview more than one coach.
Happy Holidays, and may you all have career success in 2008!
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