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How to prevent ‘career pot holes’ by building your career capital
How to prevent ‘career pot holes’ by building your career capital
This article is about how you can prevent ‘career pot holes’ by building your career capital.
What is a ‘career pot hole’?
A career ‘pot hole’ is an unwanted and unexpected problem in your career.
If you don’t invest in and maintain your career capital – things that make you marketable, career ‘pot holes’ may appear, catching you unawares. These are expensive and stressful to resolve, and easily preventable.
Examples of career ‘pot holes’
• Disappointed: Another candidate beats you to your dream
job, they have better qualifications, and more relevant
experience because they made it a priority goal to develop it.
• No interview: You don’t get shortlisted for a non-executive
director role because you lack Board level experience.
• Ignored: Recruiters aren’t that interested in what you offer,
because you have been complacent about keeping your CV
up to date.
• Invisible: You don’t get approached by potential employers
because you haven’t made time to update and key word your
LinkedIn profile.
• Redundant: Your employer makes you redundant and it
‘knocks you sideways’ because you didn’t see it coming
• Silence: You apply for jobs and hear nothing, not realising that
your CV isn’t ATS (Applicant Tracking System) compliant, so it
gets screened out and you don’t reach the candidate shortlist.
What other ‘career potholes’ would you add to this list?
Surprising then, isn’t it, that few lawyers allocate each year, time or money to focus on investing in their career. It is wise to be strategic and proactive with your career strategy, so that you are on the ‘front foot’ not the ‘back foot’.
Preventing ‘career pot holes’
So, how do you prevent ‘career pot holes’?
The answer is by prioritising your career capital.
The definition of capital is “wealth in the form of money or other assets owned by a person or organisation or available for a purpose such as starting a company or investing."
Building career capital is an asset for maximising and protecting your future career prospects.
What is career capital?
It accrues over time, just as making deposits into a pension or savings account does.
“Career capital refers to the valuable resources and assets an individual accumulates throughout their professional life that enhance their future career prospects and impact. It consists of several key components.”
Career capital is like ‘bait’ to attract the ‘fish’ (employer or ideal clients) that you want to catch.
Skills and expertise
Career capital includes the knowledge, abilities, and competencies developed over time that are valuable in the job market.
This encompasses both technical skills specific to an industry, as well as transferable skills like communication and leadership. For example, Christina Blacklaws has strong career capital in legal tech, and Ed (Edmund) Parker, global head of derivatives and structured products at Mayer Brown has strong career capital including YouTube videos and books, with over 27,000 followers on LinkedIn.
Connections and networks
The professional relationships and social networks built throughout one's career form an important part of career capital. Networks such as law school alumni and local Law Society groups are beneficial.
These connections can provide opportunities, insights, and support.
Credentials and reputation
Formal qualifications, work experience, and a track record of achievements contribute to career capital by enhancing credibility and marketability.
Chambers, Legal 500 and other awards e.g. FT Innovation lawyer awards are important.
Psychological attributes
Traits like resilience, adaptability, and self-efficacy enable individuals to navigate career challenges effectively and are
considered part of career capital. In a V.U.C.A. world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) – these are vital.
Why is building career capital important?
Building career capital is crucial for long-term career success and impact for several reasons:
• It provides a competitive edge in the job market.
• It offers career security and flexibility by making skills and
experience transferable across roles and industries.
• It enables individuals to pursue more impactful and fulfilling
work as their career progresses.
Developing career capital
To build career capital, lawyers should:
1. Adopt a "craftsman mindset" focused on developing rare
and valuable skills.
2. Continuously learn and improve through formal education,
on-the-job training, and self-directed learning.
3. Network strategically and cultivate meaningful professional
relationships.
4. Seek out challenging experiences that provide opportunities
for growth.
5. Focus on delivering high-quality work and building a strong
reputation.
By investing in career capital, lawyers can position themselves for long-term success and increase their ability to make a positive impact in their chosen field.
Tips to build your career capital and prevent ‘career pot holes’
To build career capital, lawyers should:
1. LinkedIn: Optimise your LinkedIn profile – add up to 100 skills, utilise the Featured section and gain Recommendations.
2. Invest: Allocate a budget annually for career capital.
3. Time to think: Diarise career planning away days.
4. Trend watch: Monitor future emerging in-demand skills to ensure that you stay ahead.
5. Personal brand: Define this in no more than 3 words.
Self-reflective questions to make sure you invest wisely in your career
5 self-reflective questions to make sure you invest wisely in your career
1. What are the emerging trends in my profession?
2. How can I make myself more marketable?
3. What does my activity and network on LinkedIn say about me?
4. How could I improve my LinkedIn profile?
5. What are my career capital S.M.A.R.T. goals?
Summary and Conclusion
Block out time in your diary to build your career capital and prevent ‘career pot holes’. Every year, set S.M.A.R.T. career capital goals to build your marketability. You can monitor your career capital over time by using AI e.g. put a prompt into Perplexity AI asking it what you specialise in. This will help you to see if you are positioning yourself in the market in the way that you want to be perceived, and adjust your career capital plan accordingly.
What next?
Contact me at rachel@energiselegal.com for a free career capital self-completion questionnaire, and please send me an invitation to connect on LinkedIn.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/energiseliberateyourtalent/
Rachel Brushfield is an experienced career strategist and coach and founder of EnergiseLegal, established 1996. Her job is to help her clients have an uplifting breakthrough at major career crossroads.
Rachel Brushfield
Career Strategist & Coach
and Founder of EnergiseLegalRachel Brushfield
