Over the past few weeks, I have gone through the ISM process of reaching out to professionals in order to gain insight into the field of civil law. Reflecting on my success in conducting many insightful interviews with professionals led me to understand a few keys to success: professionalism, taking initiative, and feedback. Although professionalism is something I was proficient in prior to my ISM experience, I learned the true power of carefully worded emails, LinkedIn messages, and phone calls in creating a strong first impression and making people more likely to take time out of their day to speak with you. Taking initiative is also a trait that I noticed was conducive to my success thus far. Once again taking initiative was a trait I was proficient at prior to my ISM experience, however, through this experience I truly learned how to most effectively take initiative (often paired with professionalism) and the sheer success it can amount to. Finally, asking for feedback was something that I saw as paramount for the development of my interpersonal skills, which I could apply as I progressed through more interviews. This, therefore, allowed me to exhibit more professionalism, truly showing how interrelated these keys to success are. Ultimately, I noticed that if these 3 skills are utilized well, success will naturally follow.
However, it's important to acknowledge that going through this experience was not without challenges. Some of the challenges I had to deal with through this experience were the general unpredictability of calling others and the fear of rejection. This is also paired with the overwhelming nature of conducting many interviews along with the stressors and courseload associated with junior year.
In the coming weeks, my goal is to work on these aforementioned obstacles by practicing things I am struggling with and to also work on maintaining a work-life balance. Furthermore, in the coming weeks, my goal is to dial back the initial interviewing process and focus more on following up and conducting second interviews with professionals who I have already interviewed.
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