Football, Turkey & Networking "Time for a SALE"

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and people are travelling all around America to celebrate the holiday with friends and family. This year the Thanksgiving NFL game with the Lions promises to be enjoyable even for Detroit fans. But for job seekers, large get-togethers are often dreaded. “What do I say to people when they ask me, ‘What’s up, or how’s work?’” runs through many job seekers’ minds.

Yet the coach says, “What a great opportunity to network with people on your list. What a great time to add people to your contact list.” Let’s face it, to career coaches, Thanksgiving (in fact all holidays) are a fantastic opportunity to network. Just remember to 

S-A-L-E (Smile, Ask, Listen, & Eat).

Smile, be warm, welcoming and friendly. Even if you’re visiting and not the host take on the attitude of a gracious host. Greet people upon arrival, the host and hostess are probably busy with everyone so help them out. Smiling will help you to feel good and makes those around you want to smile too.

Ask questions upon your arrival and the arrival of the other guests; engage with everyone at the gathering. Trust in the fact that people like to talk about themselves and will tell you more than you want to know. But they will also tell you things that could help your job search. Remember to ask them about work and things in their community. Trust that they will appreciate someone actually asking about them. When you’re asked about yourself, everything is great!!! The job search is running smoothly and you have some great opportunities... only now isn’t the best time to talk about it, Detroit just scored.

Listen to what everyone says. Listen to responses and look for things that are of interest to your job search. But!!! don’t jump in with a pitch for why you’d be a great candidate to solve the problems they have at work. Mostly they’re trying to forget about work for a couple days. Be supportive and make mental notes. Then ask more questions looking for common interests and listen some more.

Eat your dinner in small bites so that when someone asks you questions about your situation, you don’t choke. Or you don’t have to chew for another 30 seconds and swallow and miss the opportunity to share an interesting insight, story or anecdote. Relax over dinner, you’re not there to give your elevator speech or hand out your resume or handbill. You’re there to celebrate and express thanks for all your blessings.

Then after Thanksgiving, follow up and call the friends and family you saw; use LinkedIn to connect or reconnect. Ask the local folks for some time to meet and discuss what’s going on in your job search; ask for some help and advice. You can utilize the three networking questions then... not over Thanksgiving dinner.

Hopefully during and after dinner you’ll realize all the blessings you have in your life. Maybe things aren’t 100% wonderful... but you’re alive, you’re loved and you probably had some good food, drink and conversation. And who knows maybe the Lions will win a Thanksgiving game this year.