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"&#128165; Buy tickets for Fun Fearless Life 2015 here. &#128165; 5 p.m. Maybe I should skip it \u2026 Why rally to work-related cocktail parties, networking events, and luncheons? Because you&amp;#039;re going to make them work for you. And it&amp;#039;s fun! If your work connects you with people you enjoy and respect, your career will be better for it. So don&amp;#039;t go in thinking, I have to be the life of the party, because if people like me, they&amp;#039;ll hire me. Think, Connecting with people I share interests with is fun. I recently met Sallie Krawcheck, whose Pax Ellevate Global Women&amp;#039;s Index Fund invests in companies that advance women. We&amp;#039;re both so passionate about this issue that I predict we&amp;#039;ll be good friends. If you like how someone works, you&amp;#039;ll like them too. 7 p.m. Hmm, what to say next \u2026 When you are chatting with someone, ask a question and let her talk. Shut up and listen. Don&amp;#039;t be afraid of a moment of silence \u2014 it&amp;#039;s worse if you say something dumb because you&amp;#039;re so eager to be entertaining. When you feel like you&amp;#039;ve gotten everything you can out of the encounter, look the person in the eye, shake her hand, and say it was great to meet her. If you must, say you need to find the host to thank her, but as long as you&amp;#039;re polite, don&amp;#039;t worry about escaping \u2014 it&amp;#039;s always a good idea to leave them wanting more. 6 p.m. Ugh, I don&amp;#039;t know a soul. You make more connections when you go it alone, because you&amp;#039;re forced to be social. Find out the purpose of the event, who&amp;#039;s running it, and the name of someone you want to meet there. Once there, introduce yourself to the host and chat about the event&amp;#039;s mission. Then mention anyone you want to meet, and say you&amp;#039;re a big admirer and want to say it in person. Making intros helps people feel important, so they&amp;#039;re usually happy to do it when they can. (I&amp;#039;ve even seen a few marriages happen this way!) 8 p.m. That was actually fun. What now? If there&amp;#039;s someone you want to know better, email her on the night of the event, while you&amp;#039;re still fresh in her mind. But make it count. ... Don&amp;#039;t just do a &amp;quot;nice to meet you.&amp;quot; Move the engagement forward \u2014 whether it&amp;#039;s business or personal that you have in mind, you should give her a genuine compliment or set up another meeting. My business partnership with Arianna Huffington happened because she emailed and asked me to breakfast after we chatted at a party. Nobody is better at follow-up than she is, and our breakfast conversation turned into our Thrive conference series! Other Tips: The Footwear: Remember to wear amazing shoes \u2014 they start conversations. Forget any shoes you can&amp;#039;t walk in. Wobbling does not look powerful. The Phone: Remember your phone, for taking down people&amp;#039;s info ... or selfies with new friends. Forget standing alone, hunched and texting. That says &amp;quot;Please don&amp;#039;t talk to me.&amp;quot; Staying in Touch: Remember to take people&amp;#039;s business card or contact info. Forget waiting for them to email you. Work it! This article was originally published as &amp;quot;Party! It&amp;#039;s Good For Your Career&amp;quot; in the September 2014 issue of Cosmopolitan. Click here to subscribe to the digital edition! Want a crash course in living fun and fearlessly? Then join us for Cosmo&amp;#039;s Fun Fearless Life weekend&amp;amp;nbsp;this fall \u2014 a&amp;amp;nbsp;day&amp;amp;nbsp;packed with inspiring speakers, incredible networking opportunities, tips from celebrities, plus meet &amp;amp;amp; greets with Cosmo editors. Get your tickets before they sell out at here. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/career/advice/a29961/work-party-tips/>