Director of Communications, Jordan Cook in conversation with Industry Careers Officer, Ava Conway
Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Ava Conway, an officer from the Industry Careers Portfolio, to discuss the role of the portfolio within the Deakin Law Students’ Society and why it is an incredible portfolio for us to be involved in as students.
Tell me about the Industry Careers Portfolio, what drew you to join and your role as an officer?
Our role as a portfolio is to inform students on different areas of law and various opportunities that are available to them outside of the commercial corporate space.
I was originally drawn to the portfolio because I am someone who doesn't see themselves going down that commercial route, and am more interested in the family/criminal law sector. I also attended a lot of industry events in my first year, like the Family and Criminal law panel and then an Evening with the Industry Professionals. I felt like these events sparked my interest in those different areas of law, but also within the Industry Careers Portfolio.
In my role as an officer, I assist in organising events, hosting and organising our podcast, Before the Court, and communicating with legal professionals. We additionally ensure that the student body receives information about different opportunities within the legal profession.
What are some of the events you’ve held so far this year and will be holding in the future?
Earlier in the year, we hosted the solicitor shadowing program, which gave students the opportunity to have one on one practical experience with different solicitors throughout different practice areas. We then had our Family and Criminal law panel, which involved different leading practitioners in the family and criminal law sectors. It was beneficial because it provided students with advice on entering those practice areas, sharing their own experiences and stories of how they ended up in the industry.
Recently, we had our People's Choice panel, where we provided the student body with the ability to select the area of law which interested them the most and then hosted a panel on the selected area. This year was entertainment law, which is very interesting.
We have also released one of our Before the Court podcast series, titled ‘beyond being a lawyer’. We're currently working on our second and third at the moment, with our second series to be released around August on different areas of law. We have a few episodes on both Maritime and Space Law, which should be quite interesting.
Our final, upcoming event is an Evening with the Industry Professionals, which is on the 10th of September.
Can you tell me a little more about this event, Evening with the Industry Professionals?
Our Evening with the Industry Professionals is the annual flagship event of our portfolio. It is on the 10th of September this year at the Queen Victoria Women's Center. The event provides students with the opportunity to connect with leading firms in various areas in a vibrant social environment. Attendees will have the opportunity to speak with numerous firm representatives and ask their burning questions about legal roles and pathways, and develop their networking skills.
What are some of your tips for networking with professionals on the night?
I have four big tips. My first would be to come in with an open mind. Don't limit yourself to a particular firm, go in with the goal of speaking to a firm that you don't know anything about, because that's what the space is for. It's for learning about a variety of practice areas. So don't go in with a tailored mindset of what you're going to specifically get out of it.
Putting yourself out there is a big thing, and I understand that networking is a really daunting thing. If you’re not comfortable walking up to a firm representative and starting a conversation, join an existing conversation respectfully and listen to what they're saying, get a feel for the environment, and then when it's appropriate, ask a question and join in. In saying that, be respectful of others as well. So if you're joining an existing conversation, don't take over the conversation. I think that's a really big part of networking.
Another one of my tips is to be prepared. You don’t need to come in with a big list of everything you're going to ask, but just maybe three broad general questions you can ask to firm representatives. For example, what does a typical day in your life look like? Or, how did you get into this role? And on top of that as well, I think it's important to consider that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask the ‘silly’ questions. These representatives are here to speak to students about their practice area and roles within the firm. They don't expect you to be an expert when you come in and to know everything about the industry. So trust yourself to ask these questions, any advice you're going to get from firm representatives about their practice area is going to be so much more beneficial than a simple Google search to pretend you know what you're talking about.
Can you tell me about the Industry Careers Guide and how that can be beneficial to students?
The Industry Careers Guide is your one stop shop for students to sort of get an array of information on different practice areas and firms. Within the guide itself, there's a lot of different key parts. There's your advice from industry professionals in a question and answer format, as well as practice area overviews on multiple areas such as; family, migration, employment and environmental law. We also have pathway and volunteering options that are available within different sectors, as well as corresponding electives that students can take that align with the different practice areas that they might be interested in.
For students who would like to enter into an ‘industry career’, what do you recommend they should do whilst in university?
I can acknowledge that we're often provided with a lot of information about clerkships and the commercial pathway into the legal sector, so it can sometimes be difficult to understand what other careers may be available. So during university, it's really important to attend these events, go to networking evenings, all different things, and be exposed to these firms and different things that they do.
If it's a practice area you haven't considered before, maybe going to one of these events will spark your interest. And on top of that, there's definitely opportunities out there, but it's on you to search for them. You need to explore these areas to find something that sparks your interest. So listening to podcasts, reading cases, reading blogs written by firms - there are so many resources out there from successful and enthusiastic professionals who can help you through navigating what kind of area of law is the best for you. Make sure you’re reading widely and connecting with these industry professionals, whether it's at a networking event or it's just on LinkedIn - there's so many different steps you can take just to get your foot in the door to these different areas.
