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Building your professional network can seem intimidating at first, but if you think of this as a natural way to engage in the world that you have chosen for your career, you will find it to become a pleasant - and productive - activity.

Basic advice:

• Choose activities that you already enjoy, where you may also meet those in your field of interest;
• Educate yourself as thoroughly as possible in advance, in order to generate interesting conversation;
• Do not be shy about letting people know your career dreams and interests;
• Never underestimate the help that non-lawyers can provide - everyone will be contacting lawyers, if you contact others they will be able to generate creative and useful contacts;
• Focus any discussion on positive topics - think long term and ask for things that can be delivered (advice, information, referrals) not awkward items that cannot be instantly produced (job);
• Show enthusiasm!

Expert advice:

• Guerrilla Tactics for Getting the Legal Job of Your Dreams, 2nd Edition by Kimm Walton
• Networking without Treating People as a Means to an End:  Six Tips for Students by Anna Marshall
• Using Informational Interviews to Build Your Network by Stephanie Mitchell
• Informational Interviewing:  Both an Educational and Networking Tool by Jeanine Dames
• Mastering the Three Dreaded Networking Moments by Steven J. Shaer
• Fearless Networking by Miriam Krasno
• Leveraging your Network:  What to do with All those Business Cards by Mary-Christine (M.C.) Sungaila
• How I Learned to Network with Other Attorneys by Todd M. Morgan
• Networking:  You as Your Best Business Card by Lilly Ghahremani
• Networking Advice for Second Career Lawyers by Steven C. Bennett
• Networking to Get (or Create) a Public Interest Job by Tracy J. Simmons

Social media is an integral part of the networking landscape.  Use it wisely!

• The 6 Ps of the Big 3 (+ blog) by Amanda Ellis
• Reinventing Professional Services:  Building your Business in the Digital Marketplace (+ blog) by Ari Kaplan
• Moving from Social Networking to Handshakes by Thomas C. Ksobiech
• Building a Brand with Social Media:  The New Normal in a Job Search by Allison Hembd, Vic Massaglia and Diane Quick
• Social Networking for Lawyers:  The Lawyer's Guide to Making Friends by Susi Schuele
• The Professional's Social Network:  LinkedIn by Allison C. Shields
• Seven Tips for Building Up your LinkedIn Network by Bob Ambrogi
• Social Media Networking for Lawyers:  A Practical Guide to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Blogging by Simon Chester and Daniel Del Gobbo

Get started by exploring the wealth of professional organizations:

• Practice specialty organizations
• Bar Associations