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Last year, we had a post about surviving the year-end holiday office party without embarrassing yourself too much or putting your career in jeopardy.

Ah… the good old days!

Now I guess you’re just lucky if you’ve survived to witness the year end party with your job intact!

And that leaves aside the fact that a lot of places are cancelling the holiday office party to save money!

It’s been a crazy year.

But if you are lucky enough to have an office party, by golly this is the year to attend and make the most of it. By that I don’t mean double down on your alcohol intake. I mean, take advantage of what the holiday party really is: one of the best networking opportunities of the year!

When I write posts about networking, often times people will say, “Networking sounds useful, but how do I do it?”

Well, as I’ve said before, networking is simply about getting out there and mixing with folks. And what better opportunity will you have than the office party?

You can trade gossip about whose job is save and whose is not. You can exchange leads and ideas and get some idea of how other people are planning to survive.

But most importantly, you can get the skinny on getting a new job. Find out where your co-workers are jumping ship to. Find out what opportunities might be out there for you. What better place to get job search tips, personal referrals or just some advice than a room full of dozens of professionals in your industry?

If you’re work is having a year-end party, take full advantage to it. If you don’t have access to an office party, see if you can go with someone who does. Attend your spouse’s work party or go as someone’s date.

Bottom line: walk, don’t run, to the nearest office party and this year, try networking instead of flirting. You won’t have a better venue this calendar year.

Related posts:

1. How To Survive The Office Holiday Party
2. Office Halloween Party Costume Hacks
3. Weekly The Office- Dinner Party
4. Microsoft’s (Unintentionally) Funny Holiday Gift Guide
5. Office Gift Giving Strategies
6. Avoiding Office Politics