Networking: a how-to guide

Making contacts and forming strategic relationships is helpful to your career at any stage, from student to partner level. Nevertheless, networking can be a daunting prospect for the novice. Read on to find out how to hone your skills and make the most of these opportunities. Go forth and network!

Most people hate the idea of networking, as it seems so crass and inelegant, but it is an essential skill for a successful legal career. Networking actually covers a huge number of interactive situations that you will find yourself in as a student (eg, law firm presentations, law fairs, open days and vacation scheme/pre-training contract socials) and in your legal career (eg, lunches with clients, contacts or colleagues, black-tie events, drinks after work and conferences). Networking is about gaining something useful, whether that is the name of a new contact, general information, advice or interview tips. In order to be a good networker, you need to listen attentively and demonstrate that you are interested in the other person.

Generally, the best networkers are those who listen well. Try to put the other person at ease by being relaxed and comfortable yourself, rather than cocky: smile, listen and ask interesting questions. An excellent networker is able to strike up a good rapport with another person or group quickly and naturally. When you have that rapport, the other person or people respond to you intuitively and feel like they click with you. You do not necessarily have to like someone in order to have rapport with him or her; you just need to be on the same page. This means letting go of your own agenda for a few minutes and concentrating on the point of view of the person you are talking to.  A problem that many people have when they are in a social networking situation is that they are chattering away in their own head and so cannot take in or remember what other people are saying. This is a natural reaction to being nervous and uncomfortable, but it is important to just focus on what the other person is saying and let the conversation flow naturally. A great networker is always more interested in giving something to the other person than in getting something for themselves.

Never be blatant about deciding if someone can be useful to you - it creates a really bad impression that is likely to be passed on to others. The real goal is to expand your network with information and further avenues to explore, not necessarily to get a job - although if you do, that's an added bonus. The most important thing about being a really good networker is to stop selling and to concentrate on forming relationships.

Building a network

First, you need to identify your own network. Who do you already know? If you are interested in commercial law, for example, who do you know who works in a business environment? Do they know any lawyers?

Think about the type of law firm or set that you really want to work for and consider who you will need to target. You could use the Law Society's Directory of Solicitors or the Bar Council's Directory of Barristers (or LawCareers.Net's training contract and pupillage search functions) to work out which firms/sets match your areas of interest. Sources such as Chambers & Partners will give you an idea of leading lawyers in specific areas.  

At this stage you will need to rely heavily on research to work out who you need to be making contact with and to find professional groups or sources of news and updates. Consider joining groups such as the Chamber of Commerce or the Law Society Private Client Section, where you are likely to have contact with lawyers working in your field of interest.

It is then a case of biting the bullet and making contact with your chosen few. It is worth giving some thought to how you might go about this. Are you confident on the phone? Make a few calls. Are you someone who is able to eloquently express their thoughts and views on paper? Try commenting on an article or writing directly to an individual. At this stage in the process you need to be creative - this means staying alert to potential new opportunities and thinking how best to approach different situations. The important thing to remember is that the worst that can happen is that you don’t benefit from the connection; there's nothing too scary about that, so you really have nothing to lose.

Initial strategies

Having made contact, the next crucial step is showing up and putting yourself out there. It is useful to have a few entrance strategies prepared in advance so that you can be confident that you will not end up stranded on your own in the middle of the room, looking lost. For example, if you are involved in hosting the event, a good entrance strategy is to pick up a wine bottle (even if there are waiters) and go round topping up people's glasses. It is an excellent way to butt in to any conversation with a cheery smile and a promise to return in a few minutes when you have fulfilled your wine duties. And a person with a bottle of wine is always popular, and looks extremely relaxed in their environment. A simple variation if you cannot get hold of a bottle of wine is to offer to get the people you want to talk to a drink. You have broken the initial conversation barrier and you can confidently and legitimately return with their drinks or with your own if they refused. The more traditional "May I join you?" is still very effective when delivered with an expectant smile. Or if you see someone else standing on his or her own, it is quite acceptable to simply walk over and say, "Hi, I don't think we have met, my name is....".  The person is usually 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 practice

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 presentation; take careful notes, absorb what messages are being 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 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 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 LawCareers.Net'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 re-tweeting 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 barrister/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 or set 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!