Module 2 · Chapter 5

Peers, Not Decision-Makers

The people who will hire you in ten years are at your stage now. This chapter shows how to keep in touch with them, one message at a time, without asking for anything.

≈ 11 min read 8-question test

In this chapter

  • Why the people at your stage are your network
  • The message that asks for nothing, and the rule of one ask
  • How to write to a decision-maker, and when to stop

5.1Networking in one paragraph

Networking means keeping in touch with people on purpose. Most juniors aim it upward, at decision-makers: the people who can hire you or send you work. In a law firm, those are the partners. But the people with the power are the people without the time. Your peers (lawyers at roughly your stage) have the time. In ten years some of them will be the decision-makers.

Key point

Your cohort is your network. The partner is a colleague with a longer title. Keep in touch with the people at your stage, and ask them for nothing.

Also in this chapter

  1. Why your peers matter more than partners
  2. A message that asks for nothing
  3. Forty minutes at the event you almost skip
  4. One ask per message
  5. Thanking someone after a no
  6. Writing to a decision-maker
  7. Your job

Preview

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