Managing Monday: The Thanksgiving Networking Opportunity

The turkey is in the refrigerator, the pumpkin pie is on the counter and my family is on their way over!  Can you believe that it is already Thanksgiving?!  I have no idea where this year went.

Thanksgiving presents a wonderful opportunity for each of us to review the things in our live for which we are grateful.  However, it also presents a wonderful networking opportunity.

One of the most crucial components of successful networking, is keeping in touch with your industry contacts.  Generally, many industry contacts are those individuals for whom you previously worked or who were your professors.  Given the busy nature of many of our lives, it is very easy to fall out of touch with these individuals, and subsequently, miss out on networking with them.

Enter Thanksgiving.

The holiday season presents a wonderfully organic opportunity to reconnect with former employers and professors.  All you need to do is shoot these people a quick email with a subject line like, “Thanks.”  In the email, express what gratitude you have for this person.  Did a project you worked on for them come in handy later in your career?  Is a tool you gained from their class something that you rely on heavily day-to-day?  Then, update the individual upon what you are doing currently.  Afterward, ask how they’ve been and wish them a happy holiday season.  Quick.  Simple.  Effective.

Everyone expects to receive correspondence during the holiday season, so your message will be met with gratitude.  It will not come off as you are trying to gain something by reaching out.  Rather, it will show that you remember what this person has done for you and hope to stay in touch.  Give it a try and let me know how it goes!