Recently, I have been struggling with the dueling needs to begin networking and to spend more time with my son. On the one hand, I am well aware of the fact that if I intend to stay in private practice at my firm (or elsewhere) I must begin making contacts that will build my book of business. On the other hand, networking events eat into my free time and into the time I would otherwise use to meet my billable hour requirements.
As a mid-level associate, I do not feel overwhelming pressure to begin networking just yet. However, I think it is a mistake to ignore this aspect of the practice until year 7 or 8, only to find that I have no idea what I am doing and a very small amount of time to learn.
So, maybe for now I will set a goal of attending two or three networking events of some sort, even if they are just lunches, per quarter. I will see how that goes. I wish that I could ask for advice from a female partner with a book of business of her own but, alas, there are none at my firm. Maybe one day I can be that partner to rising female associates.
As a mid-level associate, I do not feel overwhelming pressure to begin networking just yet. However, I think it is a mistake to ignore this aspect of the practice until year 7 or 8, only to find that I have no idea what I am doing and a very small amount of time to learn.
So, maybe for now I will set a goal of attending two or three networking events of some sort, even if they are just lunches, per quarter. I will see how that goes. I wish that I could ask for advice from a female partner with a book of business of her own but, alas, there are none at my firm. Maybe one day I can be that partner to rising female associates.
No comments:
Post a Comment