Description
Key Insight: Uncover potential obstacles gracefully by framing questions positively.
Importance of Early Impressions: First 30, 60, 90 days crucial; impressions formed affect workload and opportunities.
Proactive Mindset: Express eagerness to excel from the start, seeking advice on doing the best job possible.
Strategic Questioning: Ask about challenges, impressing from day one. Demonstrates motivation and problem-solving skills.
Establishing Momentum: Critical in various career stages, from summer associate to experienced attorney or partner.
Navigating Challenges: Understand and tackle obstacles to set a positive tone for career advancement.
Building Your Brand: Show readiness to avoid problems, receive valuable insights, and establish a strong professional brand early on.
Transcript:
Strategic Career Planning: Navigating Potential Challenges in the First 30, 60, 90 Days
I'm going to go to some of the early questions. And wow, these are great questions. Everyone asking these is fantastic because these are good and long questions, and this is a good time for people; you may have time to stay on this webinar because of the upcoming holiday.
So, I do appreciate everyone's questions. Okay. How can a candidate delicately inquire about potential obstacles or challenges when discussing goals for the first 30, 60, and 90 days? They might face the role as a way to frame this question positively to show problem-solving skills and a proactive mindset.
You can say something like, I realized it's essential to get off a good foot, and people will remember me based on how well I do. Early on, what do I need to do the best job possible in the first 30, 60, or 90 days? I want to talk about, by the way, why your first 30, 60, 90 days are so important.
They're important because you show people how enthusiastic you are; you get an immediate first impression of you, and people get an immediate first impression of you. And that first impression will make it so they either think positively, you want to give you more work, or it will give you a negative impression.
Suppose you give people a negative impression. People will stop giving you work during your first 30, 60, and 90 days. You will be in a position where you're not liked, where things just could be better for you. And you're thought of negatively and just, and you have that initial lousy taste. So it would help if you did very well with anybody, by the way.
Suppose you go into a firm as a summer associate. If you're a law student, if you go into a firm as a new associate, that has been a summer there, if you go into a firm as an experienced attorney, if you go into a firm as a partner and partner, the first 36 days are critical because you will either establish momentum.
Or you will not establish momentum, and that's essential to remember. And so, doing the best you can during the first 30 to 60 days is an incredible burden, with potential obstacles and challenges. I don't know if you want to go too much into that, but you can say that. What are the biggest challenges to doing well?
And that is, it's okay. What do I, what would I need to do to impress you my first right out of the gate? And that is an excellent question. People like that. It shows a lot of motivation and then an understanding of the problems, and so forth. That is a fundamental question.
The only way to do that well is to ask it in a way that shows you're ready to avoid problems, and you will get good answers. You will, the people that answer that will tell you precisely what you need to do. And that will be helpful for you to establish your brand early on.
