An invite to the holiday staff party usually brings groans from office workers who would rather do a million other things than mingle with the same people they see day-in and day-out. But if you start thinking of your office party as a chance to promote yourself, you may be able to ignite the holiday spirit after all!
Besides watching Linda in Accounting throw back one too many eggnogs, these yearly parties are a great way to schmooze with people you don’t always get to see, like bosses. And while this is not the appropriate time to bend their ear about a promotion or how you think 30 hours a week is sufficient, it is an opportunity to talk with them and get to know them on a personal level.
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“These parties are permission to network and talk to people you don’t know,” Gayle Hallgren-Rezac, co-author of “Work the Pond! Use the Power of Positive Networking to Leap Forward in Work and Life” told CNN.
In other words, don’t skip it. Why? Two words: job security.
Matt Youngquist, founder of career coaching firm Career Horizons, told CNN:
A lot of corporate and promotional decisions, like when layoffs are happening, is as much about cultural fit as it is skills.
When you’re bosses see you at a holiday party, they’re going to recognize that you’re a “team player” (gag, right?), but outside of that, they’ll get to know you outside of the office (even if, heaven forbid, your office party doesn’t leave the office walls), which could lead to a promotion.
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Said Hallgren-Rezac, “You build trust with these people, they can give you access to information you couldn’t get any other way, people who could become your champion.”
Hey, if nothing else, you probably got some good social media blackmail fodder of that eggnog incident.
