The holidays are approaching and believe it or not, this is a great time to reach out to your network. The holiday season and an upcoming new year are the perfect excuse to reach out and extend greetings and updates. One of the most common questions about networking is “How can I effectively maintain a connection?” Most people know the importance of keeping the lines of communication open and warm; however, many lament the fact that it can feel awkward, and they don’t know exactly what to say.
Reaching out during the holidays is the perfect excuse! It can help keep you at the top of mind and sometimes it can help to reignite a previously dormant line of communication. Don’t’ talk yourself out of reaching out to even long-lost colleagues.
Try not to use this as a veiled attempt to ask a favor. This networking interaction is not the time for a hard sell. Simply frame it in your mind as a chance to reconnect. You can use this outreach to comment on updates you’ve heard via LinkedIn about their work, share an article of interest, and even give an update about you. Keep it short but genuine for the relationship. Here are some examples to get started:
It’s been awhile since I’ve been in touch and I wanted to see how you have been doing and give you some updates since we last spoke…
Happy Holidays! I saw that you changed companies on LinkedIn. Congrats on the new role! Would love to hear about your new position.
Happy New Year! Would be great to reconnect this year whether it is an in-person or Zoom coffee chat.
Networking remains the single most important thing you can do to support your career development, and the holidays were made for networking. Strategize accordingly and take advantage of this holiday season to expand your network and reconnect with contacts.
