How to Prioritize Your Holiday Check-in List

The holidays are a great time to reconnect with your contacts, because they offer an opportunity for you to check in and maintain your relationships without a ton of effort (meaning: not every check in needs to result in a face to face meeting). A quick holiday note is a nice way to remind people you are thinking of them (and that you exist!) without asking for a favor. But who do you reach out to? If your list of industry contacts is super long, do you need to send a holiday note to every single one? Of course not. Here’s how we recommend prioritizing your holiday outreach.

First, think about who you actually need to reconnect with for an in-person meeting in the new year. These could be people who might be able to point you toward a new job opportunity or business lead, closer work contacts who you try to catch up with on at least a yearly basis, or simply friends you haven’t seen in a few months. Make a list of these people, and split the list between December and January outreach. Closer friends and contacts will respond well to a December email and get you on the books for January, but for those who are more distant, you’re likely to have more luck getting a response in January.

The next group are the people you don’t need to meet in person right now, but who would appreciate a nice note. For example, fellow crew members on a show you worked on recently or your company’s external vendors. Even if your company sends a note or gift basket, personalized outreach from you can be a nice gesture and solidify the relationship as one that can exist when either party lands somewhere else. If you’re on the job hunt, think about those who have been helping you out along the way and giving you referrals – the holidays are a great time to reach out to thank them for all the help they’ve given you this year. If you've cultivated new relationships this year, now's a natural time to check in, even if there hasn't been much reason to follow up throughout the year. Anyone you met with in the past year is likely to still remember you, but they might not remember you if you push off these follow ups to a later time. Go through your calendar and make a list of anyone you met with who was impactful -- those lunches, coffees, and Zooms. The week in December before break is a good time to conduct this outreach.

We understand that this might seem like a lot of work, and it isn’t a small task to send a personalized note to everyone you want to maintain contact with. But don't overthink the note -- a few sentences is all you're really going for, and it's okay to group some people (like an external team you work with all together) into one email.You can take a day to get through all of it or divide it into manageable batches, and if your contact list is really extensive, you can separate it into tiers so you make sure you connect with the most important people (to you and your career; not necessarily in terms of their power!) now. You can always connect with the second tier contacts in the new year, and at least now, you'll have an organized way to track your network!