4 Tips on Building Relationships (Key to More Opportunities)

For those who missed the October 10 ACC career panel at Facebook, leading lawyers stressed the importance of building relationships, the key to getting more career opportunities. Four tips from panelists: 

1. Build relationships early, and be kind to everyone. You never know who will be important later. People’s jobs have been saved by junior colleagues who backed them up.
2. Understand your clients’ needs, and help them. Clients are key to advancing internally and externally — they can champion you for a promotion or refer you for an opening elsewhere.
3. Make sure that in all relationships you are giving and not just taking. You are being too aggressive about your career if you are doing more taking than giving.
4. To build relationships with the exec team or board, appreciate their roles and the pressures they face. Raise upcoming problems, and provide solutions. Be authentic, concise, and time-sensitive.