Ack! Another holiday party, another night of networking when you are so not in the mood. I know, you’d rather go home and drink your egg nog in front of your DVR, but the holidays are the perfect time to get connected with new people.
I recently was asked to write an article for the American Bar Association about your brand and networking (“You As Your Best Business Card” — click here to read it in full). Although it was written for lawyers, the tips I mentioned apply to any person or profession.
What do you really need to know going into holiday parties? You need to know that your brand is operating 24 hours a day. You represent your professional life and your company with every step you take (if that step is stumbling across the bar, completely wasted and sweaty, we have a problem). While it would be convenient to only have your brand represented the hours you are “on the job”, this isn’t the reality we live in. You’re representing your brand just as much when you are in line at a coffee shop, when you are talking in public on your cell phone, and when you are posting on social media (yes, even your personal pages). While you want to have fun at networking or holiday mixers, remember that you still owe it to yourself and all the hard work of the year to keep it together and represent yourself well.
If I could give you my #1 piece of advice going into the holiday party season, I would warn you against a horrible habit too many people have: don’t be someone who goes to social events but glazes over as soon as you realize the person you’re talking to can’t do something for you. This is a huge mistake.
Let me say it again: this is a huge mistake.
This actually happened to me recently – I was at a TechCrunch cocktail party downtown San Diego and my friend and I struck up a conversation with a man whose nametag indicated that he had a startup venture. Interesting, right? So we asked him about it, and first of all, he couldn’t have been less motivated to tell us about it. He was there trawling for developers to hire, and as a result, he was so focused on that mission that he didn’t realize he could be spreading the word about his business.
We introduced ourselves and I don’t think we’d even finished our sentences before he was glazed over, looking around the room, ready to escape. It was incredibly rude and also pretty funny. Even funnier because only I knew that I had contacts I could have sent his way to fill his classrooms (part of his business). But he didn’t take more than a minute with me and he showed no interest in what I was doing, so my first thought was why bother? He’s now out there somewhere, trying to build a social networking business and my association of his brand is “antisocial” (and I’m being polite with that one). Probably not his intention, wouldn’t you agree?
The point of networking is that you don’t know exactly where it might lead you; while you and someone you meet may not have a direct connection or mutual business interest, you don’t know who they know or how it will pan out. They’re at an event to meet people and to see where it takes them and what doors it opens, and so are you. Unless you are engaged and attentive and interested, the opportunities will pass you right by. Not interested? Learn to fake it well. It could be the best business skill you hone.
So cheers to the holiday season. Go forth, drink (but just enough), and be mixy!