Networking has always been an important part of every person’s social and professional life. With the help of networking, we make new acquaintances, discover career opportunities, make partnerships, and achieve a whole range of other goals.
Networking is an important element of success, so the earlier you start practising it, the more benefits you can eventually get, and your years in law school are the perfect timing for it. If you are a legal student, read on to learn more about the available networking opportunities and the best way to use them.
Getting Started
Before we move on to actionable networking tips, let us tell you a few words about how to get started and where to look for the right opportunities. First and foremost, it is worth noting that networking is surely a time- and energy-consuming process. Effective networking is never as simple as just starting a random conversation with a stranger. It takes time and, thus, busy law school students may find it rather hard to carve out enough time for it.
If that’s your case, a good solution would be to enlist the help of a professional paper writing service. As you should know, academic writing and homework take the largest part of a student’s time. Thus, if you need more free time to seek and use the right networking opportunities while still in school, you might want to have someone who can help you take care of your assignments.
After you find yourself a good essay writing service that you can rely on to cope with your academic tasks, the next thing to take care of before you start networking is finding the right opportunities. And that’s where it can get tricky. The issue is that most students simply don’t recognise the right opportunities, so let us give you a few ideas here.
While studying in a law school, you can find the following networking opportunities:
- Alumni - The most obvious way to make new meaningful connections while being a student is to network with your school’s alumni.
- Past employers - If you happen to have one or a few jobs or internships while studying in a law school, remember that keeping in touch with your past employers is always a good way to find more networking opportunities.
- Volunteering - If you are a volunteer, that’s one more option for making new connections. Don’t hesitate to network with both fellow volunteers and organisations or other entities that you volunteer for.
- Continuing legal education (CLE) - As you may know, legal specialists are typically required to get additional CLE credits at different stages of their careers. The chances are that some people are continuing their legal education in your law school too. If so, don’t miss a chance to network with them.
- Bar associations - Bar or Legal associations typically represent a community of attorneys that are organised to bring legal specialists together and help them deal with various issues and questions related to their profession. There are local, national, and international organisations like this. And, as you can guess, joining one can help you make lots of important connections.
- LinkedIn - Lastly, one more place where you can connect and network with others while being in a law school is LinkedIn. This social network was designed for professional networking, so be sure not to miss out on this opportunity.
These are just a few of the many networking opportunities that can be found in a law school. So, be sure to use them all. And now, let’s move on to the tips for making the most of these opportunities.
4 Tips For Law Students To Start Networking Like Pros
1. Have A Plan
The first rule of effective networking is to always have a plan. Of course, you can easily make new connections without any plan, but if you actually want those connections to benefit you or your future career, you should at least have a clearly defined purpose. Otherwise, all your attempts will go in vain.
So, how to develop a plan? To get started, outline your expectations and goals. Think about what you are looking to achieve with your networking. Maybe you are planning a startup and want to find future potential clients for it, or maybe you are hoping to get a summer associate’s job.
At this stage, try to define a clear and measurable goal. Once you have it, write it down and break it into smaller steps that will take you towards that goal. This will be the strategy of your networking.
2. Always Do Research
The second rule of effective networking is to always do some research to know who you are trying to connect with. If you research your potential acquaintances well, this will give you a solid grounding for finding the best points of contact with them. As a result, it will be easier and faster to make those connections.
The easiest way to research your potential colleagues, employers, or clients is to go online. Use social media, and especially professional networks like LinkedIn, to learn more about them. Focus on their interests, experience, values, and latest news.
3. Make A Killer Elevator Pitch
Regardless of the goal or networking opportunity you are going to use, you will only have one shot for introducing yourself and making a good impression on your new acquaintances. Thus, if you want to make the most of networking, you have to prepare a killer elevator pitch.
The elevator pitch can be a short message or a concise speech that will introduce yourself and explain your value. It is exactly what it sounds like - people typically think of it as if they get in an elevator with another person and have to tell who they are until they reach the needed floor.
Your pitch should be short, clear, straight to the point, and, at the same time, engaging to let you make the best first impression possible. So, take your time to prepare your pitch before you get out there and start networking. And, be sure to stay away from cliches or a simple “I’m a lawyer.”
4. Network Like It’s Your Job
Finally, one last tip we have for law students is to start networking like it’s your job. Networking opportunities are everywhere, and you don’t want to miss a single one. After all, the more you try, the more connections you can make, and the better you get at it.
Conclusion
With these tips, each of you can start networking like a pro while still being in law school. So, don’t hesitate to start using them right now, and you will see how many doors networking can open for you.
