Richa shares her experience attending a Law networking event.
Let’s be honest, when you think about a Law degree, you think about thick textbooks and long lectures. But there’s another word that comes up constantly: networking.
For many, that word is exhausting. The idea of walking into a room of professionals and “making small talk” can feel terrifying. How do you start a conversation with a successful solicitor? What do you even talk about? At Birmingham Law School (BLS), we're told that networking is a skill you have to learn, but we're also given support to learn it.
The Law Alumni Mixers are designed to be the perfect, low-pressure starting point for this. Recently I had the opportunity to attend an alumni and student networking event at The Exchange, the University’s stunning city-centre hub. The venue was in a converted bank, and it was filled with alumni, final year students, and law faculty excitedly talking together.
It was eye-opening to talk to different graduates about their experience at BLS and where they are now. The secret to getting over my networking nerves seems to be being in a room with people who were once in the exact same position as me! The graduates offered us honest and valuable advice, and said they remember exactly what it felt like to be starting out.
Events like this link my degree to a future career. Luckily, they are all made possible by CEPLER (the Centre for Employability, Professional Legal Education and Research).
CEPLER is a dedicated resource for navigating the legal job market. They coordinate a massive range of speaker series and skills sessions designed to help us make informed choices about our career path. They offer so many opportunities and events in advocacy, pro bono work, and more - I definitely recommend staying connected with them throughout your Law degree (and afterward!)
Hello, my name is Richa! I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada but my family moved there from Vadodara, India.
