Am I the only one who thinks the Washington DC party-crashers who crashed the White House state dinner last week made a smart career move?
They’re trying to get a spot on a reality TV show and what better way than getting national, even international, media attention.
All you brand-thirsty, corporate-climbing wannabes, and career resurrectors can learn something from them.
Why do you think Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana, and GE’s struggling CEO Jeff Immelt were there?
This from the New York Daily News: 
The White House party crashers got face time with President Obama - deepening the shame of the Secret Service, it was revealed yesterday.
A stunning photo captures the moment when Obama gripped and grinned with socialite Michaele Salahi and beaming hubby, Tareq, on a receiving line at his first state dinner.
Don’t get all upset with me yet. Party crashing is not against the law as far as I can tell; and I have to be honest, I’ve crashed a party or two in my day.
If you have the balls to crash a party you never know who you might meet; or the free food and booze you may be able to enjoy. And, if you’re strategic about your party crashing you can potentially end up making contacts with people who can help you land a job, or enhance your career.
That is, if you don’t get thrown out in disgrace and have it taint your reputation for years to come.
Take a page from Melanie Griffith in the movie “Working Girl.” She crashed a wedding, ended up landing a major deal, even though she was a secretary, and landed herself a big gig.
So, how do you do it right?
The key is to pick a party where you can get the most bang for your buck, and this is the best time of year to try out party-crashing networking because lots of companies are celebrating holiday parties.
* If the soiree is at a restaurant it’s easy to crash because you can just make a reservation on that same night and find a way to sidle over to the party goers during the evening, preferably well into the night when people have consumed some booze.
* Catered events at halls, or office parties are harder to crash. But those will just take a bit more ingenuity. I used to crash big Greek weddings in Astoria, Queens, by dressing up and walking in with large groups as they entered the building. I typically just stayed for the cocktail hour, but on occasion I even sat down during the reception if it seemed the crowd was too thin to fill all the seats.
* You want to be strategic about the parties you crash. If you’re looking just to eat some good food it doesn’t matter who’s hosting, but if you want to connect with a manager from company X then you’ll have to do lots of pre-planning. Lots of companies talk about their holiday parties on their Facebook pages, or provide details to reporters like me who have to write holiday party stories every year. Just Google the companies name and “holiday party.”
* If it’s a big corporation in a big city it will be easier to crash because you can get lost in a crowd. I wouldn’t suggest crashing a party held by a company with 10 employees. That’s just insane.
* If someone asks you if you work at the company I would never lie, unless you feel someone is about to call the cops. It’s best to say you were invited by a friend but can’t find that friend, or some such.
* And dress the part people! If it’s blacktie get out your fanciest duds. The DC crashers donned the perfect outfits for the state dinner.
I figured I’d also get some advice from Larry Chiang, a well-seasoned party crasher and author of “What They DON’T Teach you at Stanford Business School”.
He offers some interesting tips on getting an invite by actually offering something in exchange, which I suppose isn’t technically crashing but just as good:
* Crash a work conference by guest blogging it. If you’re job prospecting or just job networking, do so at an industry conference by guest blogging. Your cost of entry is to write a blog post for a blog you read.
* Crash a party but seek to add value. Crash with the goal of helping a couple people before you get help yourself. There is karma to crashing.
* Crash a party, but host their after party. No conference planner ever schedules an after party. Host one very close to the cocktail networking party and read this on techCrunch.
Chiang also believes you shouldn’t eat or drink since networking should be the utmost thing in your mind. But he thinks you should get your Chris Rock on:
Party humor is always welcome. In Wedding Crashers, before they took home hot ass, they added value by doing balloon animals, telling funny groom stories or mingling with the older relatives.
Oh yeah, remember Wedding Crashers? The two crashers in that movie didn’t end up advancing their careers but they did end up with “hot ass.”
November 30th, 2009 at 9:33 am
I met a fellow who seemed a pro at this. His office was filled with photos of him and various celebreties (political and media). All in all, he had far more moxie than I, or perhaps than anyone who tends toward following the rules.
December 1st, 2009 at 1:40 pm
I was once asked to help my sister in law before she was married to make the rounds of three weddings here in Wilmington she had the intention of hearing the bands play and seeing what the caterers were serving up. We did not dress as guests but we did dress up for the tour-de-reception starting in Greenville, Delaware where our vice president has his home. We were asked to leave the first location but after we decided the band was not so hot anyway. The second was where we got a taste of the food and a drink from the bar and then were asked to leave. At the swanky Green Room of the Hotel DuPont though we hit pay dirt. Not only did we get escorted around by one of the groom’s family but were invited to taste the food and enjoy a few drinks. The night was fun and the experience a great one.
I think crashing parties is not really illegal but if you have a job to prevent party crashing and to check folks off of a guest list then just like anyone else who cannot do a good job, you lose it!
Jindle should have been on another list. I think you should write about. LOSERS!!!
December 1st, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Eve, I must know…why did you crash weddings?? That was quite a chuckle, but in all seriousness, this is the single most useful piece I have read on the White House crashers. I would not have previously admitted that crashing had any place in proper business conduct, but following Larry’s advice would indicate that there is something to be said for strolling in like you belong somewhere.
December 1st, 2009 at 2:39 pm
OK, in all honesty, my crashing days occurred when I was making about $15,000 a year, living in New York city, and writing about underwear. I wasn’t hungry, but I have to admit, it was nice to be wined and dined for free. I just did it once or twice I think. My memory fails me now. But I do remember meeting some interesting, well-connected people, and if I were smarter then I probably could have parlayed the experience into some traction for a better job. Who knows.
December 1st, 2009 at 6:54 pm
I attend 14 - 15 industry conferences per year (as a vendor). It is well known among vendors that some companies do not pay the exhorbitant registration fees for these events and simple “hang out” at the hotel and conference center. Some of best of these “crashers” find out where the golf tournament will be played and hang out at the bar in the golf club to buy drinks and offer dinner invitations to the returning prospects.
The “identification” for these conferences and events are simply computer printed name badges on lanyards, pretty simple to duplicate if one wanted to gain entry to the sacred trade show area.
I bet this is common in many industries, not just mine. I’ve always thought it to be clever, as most of the meaningful networking is done socially, at dinner or drinks away from the crowds. That can be accomplished by crashing the event, just being at the right hotel lobby when the attendees start filing in.
On another note - I hosted (forked over thousands) for my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding reception at a hotel. The bar was set up in a lobby area just outside of the actual room where the dinner and dancing was held. There was some rule about alcohol not being “allowed” in that room. We noticed many “stragglers” just walking up to our bar helping themselves to free alcohol. As the hostess and financier of said bar, I was not happy and complained to the hotel. Of course they did nothing about it, but if I have input into a future event like that reception, I will do something different to avoid paying for freeloaders’ beer.