Most law students dream of the day they will graduate with their LLB, go to Kenya School of Law and finally get admitted. But for many, the reality of what to do with their legal career dawns on them upon admission. They are plagued with questions like: What should I specialize in? Where should I apply for a job? How do I grow in this profession? This can be daunting especially when your reality is not matching up to your expectations.
Here are some of the pointers to help you navigate the profession as a newly admitted advocate or an advocate transitioning from one career to another:
- Set your career goals and work backwards
The decision on which career path to take is never an easy one. But one thing that can guide you is setting goals on the career milestones you want to achieve throughout your lifetime, and working backwards by taking tiny steps that lead you to your ultimate goal. This involves taking courses, pursuing studies, exploring legal disciplines, working and building networks that will make your vision a reality.
- Avoid comparing
It is no secret that the legal market is filled with highly qualified advocates. Sometimes this can be a little unnerving especially when one’s career trajectory is not going as expected. As tempting as it may be, avoid comparing yourself with other professionals, especially your peers. Trust the process and be confident in your skills and expertise. If you do the things that need to be done to propel you to the next step, then your day will come. “Comparison is a killer of joy”.
- Be open minded
Don’t specialize at first, no matter how good you think you are or how tempting delving into certain disciplines may be. Experience the diversity of the legal profession before settling on an area of practice. You might realize that you prefer something different that you want to pursue instead.
- Invest in yourself
Getting admitted is not the destination, it’s part of the journey. Education and self-improvement don’t stop there. You must constantly reinvent yourself to keep up with the changing legal trends and market needs. Take professional courses, perfect your skills, research on areas you want to venture into and enhance your education. In doing this, you increase your value while ensuring that the next opportunity finds you ready.
- Be in tune with current legal trends
The legal practice is rapidly evolving with new areas emerging every now and then. To stay relevant and on top of your game, you need to know what trends to embrace and which ones to replace. It also goes without saying that emerging areas carry with them innovation that may earn you more money than the orthodox areas of practice.
- Read
Reading is one of the ways to experience the world. It improves your focus and memory since it strengthens your brain activity. You also learn new vocabulary thereby improving your communication skills, which increases your confidence. It is time well invested as it allows you to learn new things that help you succeed in your career and professional life.
- Be open to learning
It is often said that no one is a monopoly of knowledge. Learning is a continuous process. Therefore, embrace learning new things from different people. When you are open minded, the opportunities to learn and better yourself are endless. It also creates an atmosphere for people to give you feedback on areas you need to improve on.
- Be kind to yourself
Acknowledge that you are a human being who is affected by the motions of life. Celebrating the highs of your career is important. However, remember to give yourself grace when things aren’t going according to plan. Speak positive things to yourself because negative self-talk ultimately damages your self-esteem.
- Build your social capital
Social capital is a crucial resource that facilitates goal attainment. Leveraging on your social capital increases the flow of information across your social connections and opens doors for you. Nevertheless, don’t be a constant taker. Find a way of giving value to your social networks in order to create genuine connections with people that go beyond achieving goals.
You can never be prepared for what’s ahead of you because no one knows how their destiny looks like. You can only give it your best shot and embrace the milestones and challenges as they come. As you prepare to be your best self, think through this:
“What we are waiting for is not as important as what happens to us while we are waiting. Trust the process.”
-Mandy Hale
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