Your career questions answered

Q: I work in employment law and have recently been promoted to associate level. As part of my new role, I need to begin building my own contacts and reputation, eventually getting to the point where I start to bring in some business to the firm. How do I grow my own network and build a profile for myself?

Briony: As you look to build your personal profile, networking will be pivotal. Where possible, attend anything and everything where you could meet other lawyers, existing clients or potential clients. This could include things you do in your personal life as well as professional career. It is important to remember that building your own contacts and reputation applies both within your firm and externally with clients or potential clients.

Try and attend practice area-specific events or conferences and engage with people at all levels. That means attending early, approaching new people and helping introduce people you know to others. Listen as well as speak and give out cards, following up afterwards.

Take the opportunity to socialise with colleagues – they are a valuable source of internal cross-referrals – and always use the phone rather than email where you can to help build relationships.

You could also join a local CILEX group and any other professional networking groups in your area or arrange events with other law firms or relevant professionals.

Social media will also play a key part in building your brand, so create a strong profile on LinkedIn, posting and commenting on a regular basis.

Louise: It can be hard to build your own personal brand and increase your network when you’re busy with the day job – it takes time.

A powerful personal brand should be an authentic reflection of who you are and what you stand for, the goals you’re trying to reach, and the skills and experience you offer. Get it right and it will enable you to build meaningful connections and make a positive impression on those you meet.

Define your goals. Ask yourself what you want to achieve and be known for. You can then consider who your audience is and how to connect with them. This might be by joining industry-specific groups or attending local networking events.

Identify what makes you stand out from the crowd. Your skills, experience, personal attributes and values will all form part of that, so think about who you are and what you offer. 

Assemble your toolkit. One of the easiest and most impactful ways to build your personal brand is online. A complete and up-to-date LinkedIn page is essential but you might also consider building a personal website, developing a blog or using other social media platforms. Be sure to engage with others, posting and commenting regularly. Consider an elevator pitch that succinctly gets across what you are about.

Always remember to reflect on your interactions. As you build your network and engage with different people, think about how you come across.

Although it will take some work, successful personal branding isn’t difficult. Just remember, it’s about highlighting the best parts of you, rather than developing a new persona.

You’ll find lots of help and ideas on this and the supporting work you can do to develop your personal brand on CILEX’s career development platform, myCareer, which you can access through your myCILEX portal.

Q: I’ve always been interested in becoming a judge and, with further judicial roles now open to CILEX Lawyers, it’s definitely something I would like to do in the future. I’m currently a practising personal injury lawyer with around 15 years of experience but do not attend court myself. This is a long-term career plan but is there anything I can do now to put me in a good position when I eventually apply?

Louise: It's great you are considering judicial appointment and we are pleased that there are now more options for members interested in making it to senior levels in the judiciary. I can reassure you that the fact you don’t attend court is not a barrier and that there is a lot you can do to help prepare for an application in the future.

The Judicial Appointment Commission (JAC) provides some useful information and chair, Helen Pitcher, has an article in this issue of the Journal providing useful guidance. The JAC website explains different types of judicial roles, and has information on eligibility as well as the ability to test your readiness to apply.

The selection process for most roles is competency-based, and whilst the detail will be different, the main competencies are exercising judgement, assimilating and clarifying information, managing work efficiently, possessing and building knowledge, and working and communicating with others. You’ll need to develop and demonstrate skills in these areas.

It might be a long way off, but it’s worth starting to collect examples of your work early and continue to update them while it’s fresh in your mind. Consider your strengths and transferable skills. Think about how you can develop some of those skills if you don’t have the opportunity within your professional life. Can you take on additional responsibilities at work? Can you join the board of a charity or become a school governor?

One of the other options is to participate in the pre-application judicial education programme (PAJE). PAJE gives you the opportunity to develop your understanding of the role and skills required to be a judge.

Another way to get insight into the role is to go to a court and/or tribunal. You can sit in the public gallery or even ask to speak to the judge about how they work. You can look to shadow a judge, so tap into your network - does anybody know one you can speak to? Another recommended site is the judicial careers portal, which includes lots more information, but also the chance to join the shadowing or mentoring schemes, both of which will give further insight.