After graduation, the legal market was in the toilet, so Jane did what she could; she hit the legal pavement and began networking. However, Jane made many mistakes while she was “networking”. The biggest mistake - she did not research networking techniques. At LawCrossing, we DO NOT want you to make the same mistakes that Jane made. Networking is crucial to a legal career or any career, but enough networking follies will quickly add a recent grad’s name to the legal hiring black list.

Rule No. 1

NEVER ASK FOR THE JOB. Regardless of whether you want to land that new associate position or wash windows, the same rule applies. Networking is about collecting valuable data and ideas with movers and shakers; it is not about having someone wave a magic wand and do your work to make your law job dreams come true.

Rule No. 2

Think of how you can help others in your networking circle. Often people need to know that the circle of networking is reciprocal; everyone is networking for a purpose. Find out what the leaders in the industry are looking for and think creatively about how you can meet their needs.

Rule No. 3

Avoid asking your networking circle whether they “know someone.” We all know a lot of people, but when we are asked if we know “someone,” a majority of people will draw a blank.

Rule No. 4

Craft an approach to networking where your underlying purpose is to build long lasting relationships. You are networking with people so ask questions, take an interest, and dedicate yourself to keeping positive professional relationships.

Rule No. 5

Prepare your elevator pitch. Every good salesman or saleswoman has an elevator pitch prepared and ready to go at any moment, and nobody knows how to network like a good sales person. Every quality elevator pitch answers the following questions: a) Who are you?, b) What do you do?, c) How can you benefit the other party?, and d) What may the other party do next?

Example: Hi, my name is Jane Smith. I am a contract attorney that
specializes in meeting the overflow discovery demands for large to mid-sized law firms. I am always looking to meet attorneys because fellow attorneys never know when they will need extra legal assistance until an office needs extra legal assistance. We should add one another on Linkedin. Do you have a business card?

Rule No. 6

DO NOT MENTION THAT YOU ARE UNEMPLOYED. There is nothing to be ashamed of if you are unemployed, but people want to know how they can help and how you can help. The fact you are unemployed or you were laid off is a pity fact not a helpful fact.

Rule No. 7

Visibility is crucial. It is important to ensure that you are easily found. Do you have a LinkedIn account, a company listing, twitter account, or a Facebook account?

Rule No. 8

Reach beyond you current circle of friends and co-workers. With the tools we are provided today, it is important to reach beyond your current network and connect with leaders you want to know.

Learn from Jane, she broke all the rules, and still she remains unemployed. Follow these seven rules and your life of networking will be off to a great start.