NETWORKING: A HOW-TO GUIDE
name is....” The person will usually be glad of the effort. Equally important to entrance strategies is to have some exit strategies. There is nothing worse than being stuck with someone and having no idea how to disentangle yourself. For example, you may say something like, “Please do excuse me, I must attend to my hosting duties” or “Please will you excuse me, there is someone that I have to catch before he leaves.” An awkward situation can arise if you have confidently gone to join two people who are talking and been flatly ignored by them. At this point you need to decide whether to slink away embarrassed or barge into the conversation. Don’t be too embarrassed; the other people are being rude, not you. A nice exit strategy is to say something like, “I can see that you two are enjoying your conversation, so allow me to excuse myself and I will catch up with you later.” This enables you to leave with your dignity intact and join someone else. Make sure that you don’t do this to anyone yourself in a networking situation. Places to practise Firm open days and university talks Students often mistakenly think that there is little to be gained from attending such blatantly publicity- heavy and time-consuming events as firm presentations, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Events such as these are prime opportunities to speak to representatives from your dream firms. Try to treat your networking opportunities as fact-finding missions. Don’t just go along and listen to the communicated and think how these apply to you. Speak to the presenter at the end of the session and try to make a positive impression. If trainees are present, make a beeline for them as they are likely to remember what they highlighted in their own applications presentation; take careful notes, absorb what messages are being
time. You have now made the first step to establishing a new contact. However, it’s no good boasting to your friends about how many names you have on your phone if you don’t do anything with them. Online/social media Not all networking opportunities have to happen face to face. You may have already heard about the importance of keeping up to date with the legal press, but giving LCN’s news section or Lawyer2B a cursory scan when you’re in the library is not going to cut it. If you are going to stay open to as many opportunities as possible, an excellent way to get yourself noticed is to comment on articles or to contact the authors directly. For example, if a recent article or news item has particularly impressed you, write to the author to express your appreciation for their useful clarification. Taking the initiative for this first contact could lead to a series of opportunities. The legal profession also boasts a prolific group of high-profile Twitter users, and joining in with their interactions (even if it is just retweeting a particularly useful link, for example) is a good way to start getting involved in these influential circles and keep yourself informed of the most current issues in the legal world. Mentoring schemes Some legal education providers offer mentoring schemes which set you up with a solicitor mentor. If you can’t get onto one of these schemes, you can still find your own mentor with some hard work and research. Using some of the methods outlined above, try to make contact with someone who works in a similar firm to that which you aspire to join. Don’t jump in and ask for work experience straight away – first, work on building a relationship with your contact. A final word of caution: don’t expect results immediately. Good networking takes time!
A great networker is always more interested in giving something to the other person than in getting something for themselves
and they might be able to provide you with insight into what working at the firm is like. Once you have demonstrated your interest in the firm, try to make a note of the name of the person you were speaking to or, even better, get a business card. Make sure to follow up this initial contact – perhaps by first emailing to thank the person for their
75
LawCareers.Net
Best in Law 2017
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker