Networking Skills
DEFINITION
Being actively involved in the community
WHAT IS IT?
Networking is the practice of making connections through active involvement in the community and frequent interactions with others, especially those within your profession. Networking involves reaching out to others, forming new partnerships, cultivating older connections, and building mutually beneficial relationships.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Effective networking skills enable you to build long-lasting and credible relationships with potential clients for your law firm. Networking well can also be a platform to make symbiotic professional connections. Senior law associates can use their networking skills to turn present connections into future clients. Your networking skills can have a big impact on the success of your law firm.
Suggestions for Improvement
- Capitalize on Social Networking Tools
First, in today’s society, a quick way to improve your networking skills is to build a better personal brand on social networks. Social media offers a platform not only for you to reach out to potential customers and colleagues, but also for people to connect with you. Build your profile, especially your LinkedIn profile, to reflect your experiences, areas of expertise and interests: a digital representation of your unique and personal brand. - Follow Up
Second, regularly follow up with the connections that you make. It is not enough to go through introductions and then fail to speak again until you see a potential benefit involved. After initial introductions, make an effort to reach out to the connection and build a relationship. If you can, be useful to them in some way. Stay in-touch and up to date with the individual so that they become a reliable connection for both you and your firm. - Make a Plan
Finally, networking doesn’t always happen by chance. Sometimes it takes intentional actions and well-organized plans. Find and take advantage of different platforms for staying involved in the community. This could mean researching networking events or identifying the groups of people you want to get involved with. Think through the types of connections you are trying to make, and set goals for the number of contacts you want to acquire each month. Having goals and a plan will hold you accountable and keep you on track for improving your networking skills.
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