5 Ways to Position Yourself to Rise In-House

Because senior in-house roles are so scarce, you need to give your career serious thought to climb the ranks. Here are 5 ways to position yourself:

1. Target industries/companies needing your skill set. Cultivate relationships so you learn when jobs open up because many senior ones are not posted.
2. Fill any holes in your resume required by the next job. You can find common requirements for that next level up from job descriptions, e.g., posted on www.indeed.com.
3. Deepen your skill set. Get recognized as a subject matter expert in areas that target industries/companies want. Speak on panels, and go to round tables. Let your external law firm (or your old one) know that you want to be invited to industry events and to serve as a panelist.
4. Broaden your skill set. Pick up substantive areas adjacent to yours. For example, if you do outbound commercial, you could volunteer to do inbound licensing, R&D, antitrust, standards bodies, patent/copyright/trademark programs, etc. Also, growing companies look for attorneys who have set up systems and templates to enable scaling.
5. Advise senior management and cross-functional teams (Sales, Marketing, Finance, Engineering, etc.) because counseling important clients shows you have good judgment, an essential skill for senior lawyers. If you impress these clients, they will remember you and refer you.