5 Tips For Legal Career Development

Everyone knows someone who has a successful law career.  These people handle the most interesting tasks at their job, are given more power and will be the first to be promoted.  Being in these positions is not an accident and readiness helps them take advantage of the opportunities they are presented with.  

People who have enviable legal careers are generally working hard to move in the right direction.  If you want to be one of these people, you need to know what you should do to push your career in the right direction. Read here for tips for improving your legal resume.

Have A Mentor

If you want a qualitative rise in your career, you need to have a mentor.  This could be your boss, the head of a different department or a friend.  You need to learn from this person, ask them to show you any mistakes you make and discuss what you can do with them.  You need to ask them questions about relevant technology and the industry because they have more experience than you.

A lot of people assume that others will not want to share information, but this is incorrect.  A lot of people are willing to mentor others and will happily tell you about their work and how they came to do it.

Have A Network Of Contacts

Networking is important and you have to actively build your contact list by getting to know people who you can discuss professional topics with.  To create this network, you should be active in professional communities, attend conferences and seminars.  There are also commercial projects that you can help with where you can network.

It is not only other people that you need to network with as your colleagues are also important.  People you currently work with need to be part of your network and you need to have as large a network as possible.

Get Self-Development Help

A leader is the best among equals and someone who is open to listening to others.  They will also understand where other people come from and have the ability to multitask.  They are also able to find their way out of bad situations and will know when to say no.  Learning these skills is easier when you get some help with self-development.

This help can come from development books written by industry leaders.  Reading a lot of these books will give you the information you need to develop into the professional you want to be.  There are many leaders who read these books throughout the year to keep their skills sharp.

If you do not want to do this on your own, you can join a self-development program with a trainer who helps you develop leadership skills.  These programs are good as you get feedback on what you do.  It is best to actively seek these programs and not wait until someone offers them to you.

Be Useful But Replaceable

While you need to do your job well, you should not be the only person who can.  If you are the only one able to do a job, you are less likely to be promoted as you are too hard to replace.  For good career progression, you need to be useful but the company should still be able to replace you when you are promoted.

f your job can be passed on to someone without issues, you are more likely to be promoted.  When considering this, you should put yourself in your boss’s place.  Would you promote and replace someone who is indispensable within their current role or would you look elsewhere?

There is another advantage to doing this and that is the idea that you can always go to another company.  If you are able to leave when a more profitable option comes along, your bosses are more likely to consider how they can hold onto you.  This will often result in a promotion if you are good at your job.

Change Where You Work

For good career development, it is good to change where you work, but you should not change too often.  If you work in one role for 3 months before moving on and repeat, your resume will not look very good.  However, if you join a company for a project, complete it successfully and then move on, your resume will shine.  

Employers know that people want change in their life and you need to be ready for change at any time.  Promotions are a change that you want, but if you cannot show you can handle this, you are less likely to get them.  If you have career opportunities at your current company, you can stay otherwise you need to look elsewhere.

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