The One Big Way to Leverage Your network
The ABA recently published an article, As Law Schools Admit More Students, Will There Be Enough Jobs? which pointed to the effect that a 13% increase in law school admissions will have on employment opportunities for law school graduates.
If you are interested in how you can set yourself up for a successful 1L or 2L summer, check out our post 10 Steps Law Students Can Take Now for a Successful Summer.
If you are a law student concerned about your job opportunities post-graduation, there is one big step you can take today to leverage your professional network and increase your chances of landing your first attorney job.
A professional network is not solely composed of people who can hire you. A professional network is composed of people that may connect you with other people. They will feel confident in doing so because you already have a relationship with them based on authenticity, commonality and consistency.
In practice, this may look like people who will refer clients to you. As a student, this may look like people that can make introductions for you to connect with other legal professionals who are hiring.
Your network wants to help you, but if you have not shared exactly what you need, you are not utilizing your network in the best way.
Leveraging your network starts by reaching out to your network with a specific ask.
Here are five “asks” to get you started:
Ask for an introduction to someone in the field of law you want to pursue.
Ask for an introduction to someone working at the firm where you want to submit your resume.
Ask if they can forward any opportunities they may come across in the field of law you are interested in entering.
Ask for a letter of recommendation to submit with your resume.
Ask for an introduction to a specific person within their network.
You can’t leverage your network until you have a network. If you are interested in a strategic plan to build your network, our book and course guides law students step-by-step to create, develop, and implement a practical plan for networking. Law students that follow the guide are more polished and prepared and as a result, more successful when networking.
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Please keep in mind that your jurisdiction will have rules of professional conduct that you must follow. This discussion does not focus on the any such rules, including the rules from the jurisdiction where we practice. Rather this is a discussion of tips we have found helpful in managing client expectations in our own experiences. This should not be taken as legal advice.
We make absolutely no guarantee, expressed or implied, that by following the advice you will make any money or improve current profit, as there are several factors and variables that come into play regarding any given business or career. Primarily, results will depend on the business model, the conditions of the marketplace, the experience of the individual, and situations and elements that are beyond your control. As with any business endeavor, you assume all risk related to investment and money based on your own discretion and at your own potential expense.
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