Tips to Networking with Success

Angela Giang 
Graduate Fellow 
Law Career Development 

If you’re in law school, you’ll know that networking is just as important as grades. Although it’s essential to look good on paper, building connections is vital. As a recent graduate of Golden Gate University School of Law, I’ve had my fair share of trial and errors with networking. Networking is a hard skill to master, especially if you’re someone like me and are NOT a social butterfly. Although I’ve never liked networking, I quickly learned that it’s an essential skill. Who you know in the community is just as important as what you know. Here are a few pointers that I’d like to share.

1. Set a goal. 

Networking is a daunting task but, trust me, it gets easier with each event. The way that I’ve forced myself to go to networking events was to set a goal for myself each semester. Whether it is one event or five events each semester, setting a goal pushed me to attend events that I was interested in. You can look for networking events by reading Law School News each week or This Month at LCD. If you need some prompting, a good event to attend would be the Legal Employer Networking Reception on November 2, 2016 from 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm in room 6208-6211. The Externship Program is hosting a networking reception with Legal Employers, where various legal employers will be available to discuss their work with interested students.

2. Dress appropriately. 

It goes without saying to dress professionally. This means wearing a suit to every networking event. You can get a whole suit at H&M or Nordstrom Rack for less than $100 and no one will ever know what brand you’re wearing. Dressing professionally allows you to fit in with “the crowd” and will help boost your confidence. It also gives you one less thing to worry about. You no longer have to worry about how you look because you’ll blend in with everyone else in the room.

3. Bring a friend. 

If you don’t like going to events solo, bring a friend. My friend, Isabelle, was always dragging me to networking events (whether I wanted to attend or not). Navigating a crowd with a friend not only gives you a sense of comfort but also makes approaching attorneys easier. Once you start talking to enough attorneys, you’ll find that they’re very approachable. Attorneys like to help “baby” lawyers. They, themselves, were once in your position, so they understand exactly what you’re going through.

4. Bring business cards. 

Always bring business cards with you because you never know when you’ll need them. You can get simple business cards with the SBA. It doesn’t matter whether attorneys actually keep your business cards; instead, what matters is that you look prepared and professional. If you don’t have one already, get a business card holder. Bring plenty of business cards with you and hand them out. I’m very goal oriented, so I like to set a number of how many attorneys I’ll talk to that night. When you’re chatting it up with an attorney, ask for their business card at the end of the conversation. If I had a nice conversation, I like to put the attorney’s business card at the front of my business card holder and tell them that I’ll follow up with them. This indicates to the attorney that you enjoyed their company, and they’ll remember you when you follow up.

Tip: Keeping track of who you meet and where you met them could be useful tool. I like to keep track by writing the date and event that I attended on the back of each attorney’s business card.

5. Follow up.

If you meet an attorney and tell them that you’re going to follow up, make sure that you actually do. If you have no intention of following up, don’t say that you will. You can follow up by email or LinkedIn, which opens up the opportunity for an informational interview.