How to network in the firm when working from home?

Hi there,

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

• Regarding the networking part of your question, I feel that it is equally easy to build up a network swiftly. For instance, please feel free to propose meeting for a quick lunch to a colleague (since everybody would otherwise eat indoors on their own at the moment), take on opportunities for firm building (there seem to be even more during COVID-19 times) or simply ask colleagues outside of your project team for a quick 10-15 minute coffee chat.
• Regarding the visibility part of your question, I would advise you to think about situations where leadership (at best those colleagues you want to be visible to) is present and how you can take a proactive role in those situations. For instance, during practice/ firm calls, please feel free to speak up if you have something meaningful to say or take an active part in practice building.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your career entry for swift progression, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

You have to take the opportunities to speak up. There are a handful of internal meetings, and some consultants speak when offered the opportunity to do so, and others don't. If you have something meaningful to say, don't be shy.

While it is quite hard to use the “small talk” to start creating a connection, it is much easier now to ask for 5 minutes of someone to discuss something that matters to you. Once again, don't be shy, if there's a topic where you see an opportunity to have a quick chat. (quick is of the essence here!)

Hi there,

To be honest, it's incredibly hard, and this is why there are certain to be future ramifications to WFH in regards to upskilling/rising up the ranks.

Ultimately the best you can do is be pro-active in asking for a call/chat (like you would do for coffee). Try to reach out for a particular reason as well (learning about x practice, x project, etc. etc) and try to gauge when it's “too much” and you're bothering.

Unfortunately it's more of an art than a science but if you attend the social events they host, reach out to people, and are pro-active, you'll mitigate the WFH impact.

Hello!

Without any doubts, it´s more difficult. 

I would take advantage of all the internal events as much as possible. Furthermore, if you have targeted a group of people or a practice that you are particularly interested in, look for ways to help them do things they need (there is always hands needed for events and stuff like that, and that generates a lot of quality interaction). 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara