Her Next Chapters

61. This Holiday Secret Can Open Career Doors

• Christina Kohl

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Can holiday gatherings be the key to your career comeback? Join me as I share how the festive season can be a golden opportunity for networking, especially for moms eyeing a return to the professional world. Networking doesn't have to be awkward or icky. Through personal stories and practical insights, I'll share how to weave your job search into casual holiday conversations in a natural, easy way without feeling pushy or desperate. Learn how to confidently talk about your career goals, even if they're still evolving, and learn strategies to turn every festive chat into a stepping stone for your professional journey.


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Christina Kohl:

Hi and welcome to Her Next Chapter's podcast. I'm your host, hristina Cole. I'm a mom of three and soon to be an empty nester. I'm also a certified HR pro who restarted my career after being a stay-at-home mom for over a decade. I created this podcast to connect with moms who have an empty nest on the horizon and are wanting to redefine their identity outside of motherhood, which might include a job search. On this show, we'll have raw conversations about our ever-changing roles as moms. We'll hear from women who restarted their careers and share tips for a job search after a career break. So if that's you, you're in the right place. Friend, let's get started.

Christina Kohl:

Hi everyone, and happy December. I can't believe it is already the 11th of December. Where has time gone? And if you are like me and like a lot of people, I know there's a lot of busyness during this time of the year, right, there's holiday parties at school, there's holiday parties through work if you're working, or maybe your spouse and all kinds of different activities and social activities, and I got to say, job searching, if you're in the market might be the last thing on your mind in the midst of this season, and I get it. However, this is a beautiful opportunity when you're around so many different people and so many different social activities. It is a beautiful opportunity to be networking and talking to people about your job search and your plans for a new job in 2025. So if that feels kind of icky and awkward, listen up, because I'm going to give you some tips and tricks to help it be not awkward, not icky, but instead very natural and comfortable, and help you go into those conversations with confidence. Does this sound like you? Raise your hand. I know we can't see each other, but if this sounds like you, this is going to be a good episode for you. You know that you need to be networking, but it feels so unnatural to talk about yourself and ask for help. And at these holiday events, you don't want to spoil the festive atmosphere by talking about your job search, right, and you also don't want to bother anyone or make it seem like you're only there to ask for favors, and maybe you just don't know what to even say or how to bring up your job search without sounding desperate or awkward. Well, we're going to hopefully solve some of that during our time together today. So we're going to talk about why the holiday season is actually perfect time for networking and how to bring up your job search in a natural way, and how to talk about your career, even if you yourself don't have clear goals right now. For those of you that are new listeners to the podcast, welcome, I figured.

Christina Kohl:

Before we dig in any deeper, just a quick introduction like who I am and why I'm talking about this stuff. So my name is Christina Kohl and I'm certified as a senior professional in human resources, and I'm also a certified professional coach, and I landed my dream job after being a stay-at-home mom mom for 13 years. These days, I teach job seekers with a career break how to land jobs they love, and as an HR pro, I've kept the inside scoop on exactly what works and what doesn't. So in my career comeback framework, there are a whole bunch of different components, and strategy and networking are one of them. Of course, then we everything is built around clarity and we have our branding with resumes, cover letters, linkedin and then, of course, the interview and salary negotiation, and we build confidence throughout every step of this process, and one of the early things we do and do throughout the process is networking, and, again, the holidays are a perfect time to be doing this in a casual environment.

Christina Kohl:

There are so many social events during the holidays, just even gathering with your family. So maybe you're with extended family, your cousins, your in-laws and their in-laws, like it just depends on how big of a group you get together, but there's a lot of times that there's at least in my life, where we're gathering with a lot of different people and you don't know if Aunt Linda or Uncle Joe is going to be the one that's going to introduce you to your next opportunity. So, as people are gathering, it's a great opportunity to have these conversations. Other places, your kids' school parties. So end of school year, end of maybe not the school year, but end of the year for December. A lot of times there's holiday parties, if you are able to join in and then be talking to other parents there. And, of course, the kids' athletic parties too. A lot of times there's end of season with athletics and you're going to be sitting at the adult table while the kids are at the kid table, so you're going to be having an opportunity to talk to adults there. If your spouse has a work party, a work holiday party, it is a beautiful opportunity to be networking with people and there's going to be a lot of other spouses there too, so there'll be a whole diverse set of people as to what their careers are and where they work.

Christina Kohl:

And, of course, you can have dinner party with friends, and for us, we usually do that between Christmas and New Year's, when it's kind of a I was going to say a dead time. Dead seems like the wrong word, but there's just not a lot of activity going on. We try to take time off of work. During that time the kids are out of school, it's more relaxed. The big holiday is over, but there's still. We want to get together with people, and so, having friends over or maybe you've been invited to a friend's house it's a great opportunity, and actually this one I want to pause for a moment.

Christina Kohl:

Back in 2015, the end in December, we did exactly this. We had a dinner party with friends, and it was a few days before the new year. So of course, the conversation came up what are your plans for the new year? Do you have any new year's resolutions? And at that dinner party, I said yeah, I'm going back to work next year. That sparked a whole conversation. Turns out, the person who's hosting the dinner party, their next door neighbor is the recruiting vice president at the local hospital system and she followed up and gave me an introduction a couple of days later and that led to three rounds of interviews. I was a finalist and it was an amazing experience. I didn't land the job, but man did that boost my confidence and got me back into the interviewing mode and talking about my experience, and it really helped me when I landed my job just a month later because I had already practiced all of that through that interview process. So, anyway, this works just by talking about your goals.

Christina Kohl:

And of course, there's other festivities too, around New Year's Eve, and if these things aren't really happening, if you're like, well, I don't have these things and I live in an area where my family's not around and I don't know people yet, well then maybe it's on you. You can plan something and have an open house for your neighbors. In fact, I just got a text a couple of days ago from my neighbor that lives behind me and she is the only phone number I recognize. She texted nine people on this text chain and to me they're just a bunch of random phone numbers, but she's inviting a bunch of neighbors over for a little open house. Just drop by, if you can, from nine to noon, and I'm clearing my calendar so that I can drop in, because I want to be networking, meeting new people too, and these are my neighbors that I don't know. So I'm excited for that opportunity and these are my neighbors that I don't know, so I'm excited for that opportunity.

Christina Kohl:

But if Jan wasn't doing that, that's something that I could do and it's something that maybe you could do and something I've done in the past that made it really easy. Because it can be like oh my gosh, I can't invite a lot of people over, I don't have the budget to like have an event, people just want to get together, they just want to socialize and again, if you catch them between the Christmas week and the New Year's week, that's kind of a more relaxed time, as I said, and just have like a dessert and drinks time for people to come after dinner, so they're not expecting a meal. Have everybody bring a dessert to share and a drink to share or their own drink, and then it's really all you're doing is providing one dessert and one set of drinks and you have to clean your house, which is kind of good to do anyway, because I know that's when my house gets the cleanest is when I have people over. So don't wait for an invitation, is my point. You can create these opportunities.

Christina Kohl:

And then a couple other things to think of obviously, your house of worship. There's going to be gatherings and celebrations there. If you are plugged into a community, then those are going to be opportunities to meet and connect with people. And then, finally, your professional association. So if you are, you know whether you're involved in it right now or you wanted to get back into work or you wanted to pivot to something else. Almost every profession has a professional association and if they're busy and active, they're going to be having a holiday gathering. I think for the HR local. One already happened a week or so ago and I missed it, so I'll have to catch it next year, but it's a great opportunity to be meeting people in your profession and talking to people who are doing the work that you want to be doing. And another quick little note on that as far as networking opportunity, most professional associations will have either a free or reduced membership fees for people who aren't working and if you get plugged in, you can volunteer and have a role, whether that's checking people in or passing things out or whatever it is, but by volunteering you're going to meet so many people and whether that's at a holiday event or something else for next year, but that'd be a little side note or a great goal for 2025 to plug in there, all right. So those are all the busyness, and I know it's a busy, busy time. Enjoy the season.

Christina Kohl:

And while you're there, you might as well drop some hints about your job search, which comes up to the big question how do I bring up my job search without being awkward, because you don't want to feel like you're imposing on people. Here's a really simple way to do it Focus on the other person first and ask any of these conversation openers Because it's the end of the year you can be asking if they have any new year's resolutions and if they're like, yeah, no, I don't do that, and then you can just say, well, what about plans for the new year, or what are your biggest goals for next year? And you want to get them talking about what they're doing and be interested and learn from them and pick up on things that might connect to what you want to do. And then the other thing if they're just like yeah, I got nothing, I don't make goals, I don't make plans, I don't know what I'm doing next year. You could also be asking someone about how are things at work, and this is someone who you know, like you already know what they do, right? So if you know that they're a teacher, or you know that they're in investment banking, just hey, how are things going at work, what have been some of your biggest projects and things you've been working on this year? And just have that conversation around work If it's someone you don't know. So you're in a situation where you're meeting new people. You can just simply ask what do you do for work and then see where that conversation goes.

Christina Kohl:

Whichever of these questions and strategy you use, you are focusing on the other person first and getting them to talk about themselves, and then, most likely, the question is going to come back to you. So if you've asked about New Year's resolutions, they're going to share and then they're going to turn around and ask you what are your New Year's resolutions? If you've asked them about work, they're going to turn around and ask you about your work and your answer is going to be your opportunity, right In saying that my biggest goal for 2025 is to get a new job, right. So that's what you're going to say when it's your turn. It doesn't have to be an entirely prepared elevator pitch, but you do want to have kind of some basics in mind to have to continue the conversation. Because if you just say my biggest goal is getting a new job, there's going to be questions, right, like oh really. Well, like, what type of job are you looking for? What have you done before? So when it's conversational, it's going to go something like this they're going to ask after you've had the conversation about them, they're going to ask so what are you up to these days? Or what are your plans for the new year?

Christina Kohl:

And if you're in a situation where maybe you've been a stay-at-home mom and you want to go back to work, you're going to say something like well, now that the kids are getting older, I'm thinking about going back to work. And then it kind of depends on how firm you are with your goals, right. So I've got a few different options here. If you know what you want to do, you would be saying you know, I love my career in human resources. You know, fill in the blank, and I look forward to using those skills in, you know, the nonprofit industry or in healthcare, whatever it is that you want to do. So maybe I love my career in accounting and I look forward to using those skills back in the corporate environment. Or maybe you don't quite know what you want to do, but you could say something like well, I'm exploring different career options, I'm interested in customer service roles and technology, and I also have a finance background, so that's something else I'm looking into technology and I also have a finance background, so that's something else I'm looking into. And then, finally, if you have no idea, you're like all I know is I am ready to go back to work. I'm excited to go back to work, but I really don't know Right. So now that the kids are getting older, I'm thinking about going back to work, but I'm really not sure what I want to do. So I'm taking this opportunity to explore different options. A couple of things I'm interested in are and then name those things.

Christina Kohl:

So this is conversational, and then, of course, the conversation will just continue, naturally, from here. If you've mentioned something that they are familiar with, then you're going to keep talking about it, or they might want to know more. So just be prepared for that. So you want to make sure that you have confidence when you are talking about your career break and talking about your job search. You want to watch out for words like just or only. If you're pivoting from one career to another, or maybe you've been at a lower level, a junior level, and you want to get to a more senior level, or you've been a stay-at-home mom or you were laid off, whatever it is, you want to own your break with confidence and you want to look for the unique experiences and skills that you've gained during the break and to acknowledge that you're coming back refreshed with renewed energy and excitement about your career. So confidence is key.

Christina Kohl:

And then here is the real, really, really important part Not only talking to people in these different social situations and making those connections, but make sure you follow up because, great, you have a wonderful conversation and maybe they told you about their friend Sarah, who might be able to introduce you to someone. You have to follow up. That's on you. So it's always good to ask them if they're on LinkedIn and ask if it's okay if you connect with them there, and then you take the initiative and connect by sending a personal note like, hey, it was great to meet you at the party yesterday, had a little, enjoyed our conversation, looking forward to connecting on this topic. If they're not on LinkedIn, if they're like yeah, I'm just not active, send me an email. Then do that. Follow up with an email thanking them for the offer of their help whether that's a coffee date to talk some more or an introduction or whatever it might be and send your resume if they asked for it, and just you know again, do you want to be nurturing that relationship and thanking them for their support.

Christina Kohl:

And, yeah, that follow-up is just really important. All right, my friend, that is everything that I have for you today about holiday networking, and I hope that you have some opportunities coming up over the next few weeks where you'll be able to put this into practice. And if not, then maybe something you can schedule, whether it's for your neighbors, your friend group, your kids, whatever it is. But be looking for opportunities to where you can gather around other people and then just ask the simple question of you know, be interested in someone else. Ask them questions first, what their goals are for the new year, what they're doing for work, and then, when that conversation comes back to you, you'll be prepared to tell them your exciting news about your next career move and what you're doing, and they're going to be just as interested in you like you were in them. So hopefully that feels more comfortable and natural and easy than maybe it did before you started listening at the beginning of the episode. All right, well, best of luck to you. I can't wait to hear Please let me know if you put this into practice and how it goes for you, and I'm excited to hear your success story of how this holiday networking opens up some doors for you.

Christina Kohl:

And don't forget, the doors are open for my career comeback accelerator. It's going to be a small group with only six people and we're going to be doing all the things. So this networking, job search strategy, getting really crystal clear on what your goals are, and then all of your branding, so your resume, your cover letter, your LinkedIn, and then, of course, being ready for interviews and how to shine in those interviews, and being prepared and practiced. And then, finally, salary negotiation. I'll be sharing HR insider tips on how to negotiate your best salary, which is a skill you will use the rest of your career. Anyway, if this is something that you want support with and you want it's called an accelerator for a reason. We're going to go fast and it's to accelerate your job search and get you into that job so much faster than going it alone.

Christina Kohl:

If this is something you're interested in, check the show notes. There'll be a link there where you can find out more information, or just send me an email. Happy to chat with you and see if it's a good fit. All right with that, my friends, have a wonderful week, enjoy the holiday season and I will talk to you next week. Bye for now. Thank you so much for listening today. I hope this episode hit home for you and, if you haven't already, be sure to connect with me on LinkedIn and say hello so I can personally thank you for you. And if you haven't already, be sure to connect with me on LinkedIn and say hello so I can personally thank you for listening. Until next time. Remember, your story is uniquely your own and your next chapters are ready to begin.