Using Networking to Further your Career Plan
Notes taken by Elora Schatzker, Freelance Law Firm Marketer
The conference wrapped up with a wide-ranging yet practical session on the components of a successful career plan and the important role that networking can play in personal advancement. The presentation was lead by Kelly Hoey, a business network strategist and Jennifer Johnson, a placement and career strategist .
Kelly and Jennifer began their presentation by explaining that career movement is based on three elements: your skills, your contacts, and your understanding of your value and worth in your chosen role. They then proceeded to explain the various ways that a strong network can help to support and improve all three of these areas.
Cautioning the audience against “911 networking” Jennifer and Kelly shared a number of tips for building networking into your regular activities, keeping your LinkedIn profile up to date, and gaining access to the pool of opportunities that are never advertised.
Kelly and Jennifer also lead attendees through a number of exercises to get us thinking about our career goals and how well they matched our current networks. Although the session was brief, it appeared to give all of the attendees quite a bit of food for thought.
Sprinkled with entertaining stories of real people, the presentation was particularly engaging because it spoke specifically to the legal marketing industry.