Do you know what networking is? A network of professional contacts is a great support for development in any area. Building it requires certain skills and, above all, time. The faster you start working on it, the better the results will be. That is why it is important to design it since college, in the first approaches to the profession from the classrooms.
Networking is a strategy used to expand, enhance and make more efficient professional relationships with colleagues and institutions related to your area of work. It is an opportunity to build a network of contacts and allies that can be very useful in present and future work situations.
What is networking for?
- Strengthens labor relations.
- It is a window to offer your services and show, in an honest way, your professional capabilities.
- Obtain updated information on the labor market.
- Find new clients or collaboration possibilities.
- Provide opportunities for other trusted colleagues to enter the job market.
Although at first it may seem that you are floating in a vast sea, not knowing where to take the first stroke, it turns out that achieving it is not an impossible task. On the university campus, professors are the main allies. Many of them work in law firms, have contacts with various colleagues or are aware of job openings. It is even very likely that many of them require the service of an assistant willing to do internships.
Start weaving
The college experience is the first gateway to building your professional network. To succeed in the endeavor and ensure that networking is efficient and connects you with quality contacts, follow the recommendations below:
- Maintain good grades in all subjects. In addition to improving your academic performance and deepening your knowledge, good performance is attractive to professors and they may recommend you or consider you as a potential candidate for future jobs. Likewise, it reinforces your class participation and polishes your verbal skills. These tools are very useful to demonstrate your capabilities.
- Attends academic and professional events related to law.. These activities allow you to network with colleagues and keep you informed of employment opportunities. Remember to ask for contact cards from firms or partners who are interested in hiring staff or interns.
- Activate the social networks that best suit your style and preferences to enhance your networking.. Find in digital channels the contacts of colleagues or law firms that match your professional interests. Share valuable content and offer your services. Here are some considerations to take into account to manage your social networks.
Digital world: The ideal scenario
The rise of digital technologies has favored interaction through these channels. The new reality has changed labor and professional relationships in all areas. Thus, lawyers have also been forced to use these platforms to offer their services and capabilities, through new business skills.
A fundamental part of the aforementioned business skills is built on the development of trusting professional relationships with colleagues and potential customers. Trust plays a vital role. If we take into account that it is one of the primary values to which a client appeals before hiring a legal representative.
In addition to a lawyer's technical knowledge, ethics and experience, a large part of success in this profession can also be guaranteed by the quality of your network of contacts with key people. As you become better known, your chances of being hired to handle legal cases increase.
Likewise, networking allows you to improve the service you provide to the client. Being in permanent contact with colleagues, learning about their work experiences and interacting with your potential clients provides you with accurate information about their needs.
Connecting to the network
Can you keep the conversation simple? Can you share relevant or interesting content with others? Are you willing to listen to others' experiences? Affirming these three questions is the first step in building your professional network, whether you are a student or have already earned your law degree.
When starting out, you must remember two golden principles:
1- Social networks are only a tool to expand and strengthen your networks.. The result you get will be related to the content you generate and the way you relate to them.
2- Not all interactions with colleagues or potential clients necessarily result in a working relationship. Networking to work should not be understood only as a technique, but as a way of living the reality of work and that involves cultivating relationships. So show yourself as you are, generate empathy with those you network with and wait for the connections to ignite.
Sources consulted
