How to Move to Silicon Valley from Abroad

I recently spoke with a fantastic lawyer who spent the last 20 years in Paris but is now at a leading Silicon Valley company in a different space. How did she pull off this feat? Her top 3 tips:

1. Indirect connections can help! An old co-worker recommended her for a GC job at a San Francisco-based startup. Even though it was a in a different space from her specialty, she took it to move to the Bay Area.
2. Network with alums. Although she spent the last 2 decades abroad, once she was in the Bay Area, she attended local career and networking events. She ended up clicking with alums from her US law school. One walked her resume into the hiring manager’s office, where she is now.
3. Remember your passion. When her first US company started struggling, she thought about what areas of law interested her. Privacy made up a large part of her EU job, and she was able to parlay that expertise into her current role.

Keep in mind: Career progression is rarely direct. It may zigzag, but you can make the most of each situation to get to your end goal.