Holiday season is here! For those college students home for Thanksgiving, do not forget to network with your family members about your interest in becoming a sales person. If graduation is quickly approaching, time is of the essence to start planning your sales career.

As the turkey is hitting the table, the discussion will more than likely revolve around the economy and around how everyone’s 401K has been cut in half. It will be important for you to divert the discussion at some point with Uncle Charlie or Aunt Sue to start networking for internships and entry level sales positions.

Here is a short list of questions you can ask of your family and friends that might stimulate discussions for your benefit:

What industries do they see emerging during this soft economy? There are some industries that actually benefit from a soft economy (the bill collection business is an obvious one).
Do they know of any company that they view as a strong company (great leadership and proven results) that they would target if they were you?
Do they have any contacts that they would forward your resume to and make a recommendation for you?
Can they recommend a sales person to contact as a potential mentor?
Are there sales people they know that you could “shadow” for a day or two?

This is a starting point for you to get going. I am sure you can craft your own questions that are important to you. The main point is for you put down the game controller and ask your family the questions. If you don’t, you are missing a golden opportunity. Happy Thanksgiving!

Chris
Author of “Your Sales Career Strategy”
A guidebook for researching a successful career in outside sales