It’s leadership Tuesday and I’ve mentioned one feature making a regular appearance will be Total Leadership Makeovers (with your help!). In Learning to Lead, I applied the “experts” advice to real life career challenges and tried to explore a way out of the rut or past the roadblock. Here’s a question I received after a speaking engagement (feel free to email me yours):
Currently, I’m working in the litigation health arena, but I’m determined to cross over into oil and gas work. In particular, I’d like to work in-house for an upstream oil and gas company involved in horizontal drilling. It’s an exciting time for the industry, and oil and gas is the perfect combination of contract and property law, my favorite subjects from law school. Additionally, I’ve seen first hand the business side from family in the fracking business which furthered my interest.
Well, first of all, congratulations on thinking outside the box and not letting your current field deter you from pursuing interests in an entirely different field that you believe will suit your interest and talent better. I made a similar switch and found incredible career satisfaction with the change. Similarly, it’s smart that you are focused on what your long-term goal is (keeping in mind there may need to be an interim step to get you there, e.g., private practice with energy experience) and have aligned it with your talents and interests from your studies. Finally, knowing the business is a critical step so having someone in your family in the business will go a long way in helping you identify the best opportunities.
Here were my five “makeover” tips for this curious attorney:
1. Consider attending Women’s Energy Network events – you have to be in the energy industry to join as a member, but WEN lunches are open to non members as well and you would make contacts within the industry and hear more energy topics.
(Now granted I have to press out the organization that I am President of, but this truly is a critical element to moving into an entirely new field! Find an industry organization so you can begin to develop your contacts. Your network is KEY!) {===>Click to Tweet}
2. Consider joining the Oil & Gas bar association – there you would hear more about ways to engage with industry and discover emerging developments as well as hiring opportunities. (Even if your field isn’t legal, building contacts in specialty organizations will keep you up to date on what’s happening in the field – everyone from marketers to accountants have subspecialty groups.)
3. Find out if your company or firm does, or would be willing to do, pro bono partnerships with energy companies. I have worked in pro bono clinics for women and children on both sides of my practice (when in private practice and now in-house) with people on the other side because they developed a partnership pro bono program. Everyone wins – you do good for the community and build your network.
4. Attend some energy CLEs – energy attorneys are there so you win with knowledge and contacts.
5. Work with legal recruiters who have an energy focus – honestly, contacting recruiters in the area of your interest if you are in the job market in the short-term really is a necessary step. However, you may want to build your muscles in the above areas before deciding to move; build your resume and your knowledge base while you have the comfort of a steady paycheck. And be willing to pay for it – you shouldn’t make an employer pay for things in areas that won’t benefit your current practice.
So what’s your best advice? And what’s your current predicament? Email me your suggestions for the next makeover.
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