And please do add your tips to the comments to benefit all!
Holiday Party What to Wear Tips
- Wear clothes that showcase your personality not your assets – you got it what I meant!
- Wearing comfortable clothes and shoes helps you feel more at ease when meeting strangers, look yourself up in the mirror before leaving and feel good about what you wear.
- These tips on Forbes.com would help – What Not To Wear To The Office Party.
Holiday Party Small Talk Tips
- Avoid work topics at holiday parties unless it is your boss who insists on some updates.
- Your Office party is not the usual “party” where you drink as you like and chat as you wish- keep a tab on your behavior – use proper poise, tact & caution!
- You must be cautious during holiday parties – No backbiting/complaining about work or boss here.
- If you are as shy person and don’t enjoy mingling with strangers in a party it is best to be prepared before the party with some questions or a short elevator pitch that could act as an ice-breaker. Story-telling can also be a part of an ice-breaker.
Networking, Job Search or Searching Opportunities during Office Parties
- Is holiday time or holiday parties the right time to network and job search? @talentculture says: When the rest of the competition is on holiday, now’s time to step up take the initiative in your job search!
- It is good to have a ‘personal’ and a professional business card, your official business card is where you are, your personal business card talks about where you want to be. A personal business card with your picture is the best to have – people recall face and relate to the discussion especially if they had met you at a party.
- Don’t have networking on your mind all the time during such parties and gatherings, @EmilieMeck says: There is a fine line between being present and job seeking and coming off desperate. You want people to help you, not avoid you. (Great point!)
Holiday Party Eating Etiquette
Have it on the back of your mind always that the office holiday party is NOT your usual party. You are not there to drink and eat as much as you like – emphasis on drink. There have been stories from around the world where many have made bad decisions and bad mouthed when inebriated.
Some no-brainers:
- If alcohol is served, practice restraint and drink only as much as you can enjoy and can retain complete senses and awareness of the situation.
- Don’t talk with food in your mouth and follow general table etiquette.
Follow Up after the Holiday Party
- Follow up use greeting cards and also add your business card as a reminder, also great idea to have a business card with your picture on it – makes reminding easier.
- If you had taken on a person’s business card with whom you want to network probably for a job change or a career move, it is advised to send a LinkedIn request no later than a couple of days from the party to include this person in your network and also add a gentle reminder that you would like to pursue further on the discussion you had at the party. Small move – long-term help.
Had a great discussion on #careerchat (weekly Twitter chat sessions) today and some of the tips are inspired right from there. Thanks #careerchat team!
Another important question regarding office parties that I come across is when parties clash what should I do or if I am an introvert person I would rather stay away from office party/bashes, I just don’t fit in. Please don’t do that! Even if you have to juggle your time along- make sure you can be at the office party even if for a couple of hours and leave before others do – it is an essential networking and your presence reminder and you might miss out on networking and some important company news which might be kept for such gatherings. Just consider it important – attend it even though for a short time.
And, a few more ‘important’ tips in this video:
