Eight Ways to Network Over the Holidays

The Holiday Season can be brutal if you are out of work or desperately searching for a better job. Nobody could blame you for not being in much of a mood to make merry at seasonal parties when you’re scrambling to pay for presents, or even necessities. But where you see only pain, Maribeth Kuzmeski sees opportunity. The author of The Connectors: How the World's Most Successful Businesspeople Build Relationships and Win Clients for Life, Kuzmeski says parties are prime time for networking. "There's no other time of the year when you'll have so many events to attend that also translate into more opportunities to network. If you go into them armed and ready to make the most of your time with every holiday well-wisher you encounter, you just might walk away with a ton of new job contacts and maybe even an interview." Accept those invitations and “resolve that you won't leave any event without having made a couple of great new job connections.” Here are Kuzmeski’s eight tips for turning holiday hell into something positive for 2011.