Success in any industry doesn’t just happen. Generally, success comes to people who work hard and have a clear career trajectory and target. Even for the most motivated people, it can be easy to lose sight of our goals and become comfortable and complacent in our jobs and everyday lives. To avoid this complacency, think about how you can continually propel your legal career. Consider these tips on how to give yourself the best chance of continuing your career success.
- Continue your wider education. Lawyers must undertake continual study and obtain accreditation points throughout their legal careers. But study doesn’t have to be restricted to the legal world. Learning technical or computing skills, for example, could increase your employability and attractiveness to legal firms interested in expanding their online presence.
There are also ways of continuing your wider education outside of study. Attending conferences and lectures, and consistently reading legal journals and the news will help keep you abreast of all that is going on in the industry.
- Make the most of your legal association memberships. Almost all lawyers are members of their local or national law society and alumni. Make sure you make the most of these groups and organisations to network, meet other lawyers, and be involved in activities and conferences that will expand your knowledge and skill base.
- Mentor/Career advice. In any career, having a mentor or advisor can help you stay on track of your goals and learn more about where you are trying to get to. Whether you talk to legal career consultants or have a close relationship with one of your superiors, a mentor or career advisor can be a useful tool for keeping you on track, revisiting your goals, and helping you to achieve them.
- Know what’s out there. To improve your long term career prospects, keep track of what job positions are being offered at any time. Not only will this allow you to apply for any positions that interest you, but by reading job descriptions you’ll know what skills employers are looking for. If you’re in IP law, for example, using job specs to learn what skills are being required and demanded from employers will make you the best possible candidate when IP law jobs that you are interested in arise.
Actively pursuing your long term career is about doing the best in your current position while constantly looking forward to see what may be coming up, or what credentials will be needed should that dream job come along.