CIO — "We're coming up on the best five weeks of networking for the entire year, from Thanksgiving to New Year's," says Dave Sherman, an author, motivational speaker and master networker. "Everyone says there's never any business during the last five weeks of the year, but it's a gold mine for networking because you get invited to so many parties."

Parties are perfect venues for networking because networking is all about making connections with people, sharing interests and finding common ground, says Sherman. The inherently social and relaxed atmosphere of a party facilitates this.

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If the importance of networking in your job search still eludes you, consider this fact: An astounding 70 percent of U.S. jobs are never publicly advertised, according to Sherman. "The only way to find those jobs is by meeting people who know people who know about those jobs," he says.

That hidden job market—the market for jobs that companies would like to fill but haven't advertised—has ballooned during the recession. "There are companies that need to hire people right now," Sherman says, "but they're not willing to post the jobs online because they do not want to be inundated with resumes, knowing that 85 percent of the people who apply are unqualified."

What's more, HR professionals polled by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas say networking and social networking are the best job search methods.

As your social calendar swells this holiday season, make the most of your networking opportunities by heeding Sherman's seven networking do's and don'ts.

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1. DO arrive on time. Showing up fashionably late is a networking faux pas. To get the most out of networking opportunities, arrive on time for parties or 15 to 30 minutes early if the event is a conference, lecture or trade show where your early presence won't impose on a host.

"If you show up early, you'll meet the movers and shakers at the event—the chair, the speakers," says Sherman. "Plus, you never have to worry about having to break into other people's conversations. If you're one of the first people in the room, others will begin to congregate around you."

2. DON'T approach networking events as sales opportunities. Trade shows, conferences and parties are opportunities to meet people, "to create likability and commonality," says Sherman, the two cornerstones of networking. No one at a networking event is going to buy your product right then and there, he says, even if the product is yourself. So don't try so hard to sell yourself. Instead, find common ground with the people you meet. Break the ice by asking people about their interests outside of work.

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