Early talent, future leader
What marks out an early career professional in business development and marketing as a potential future leader? Totum consultant Lara Mitchard explores the skills needed to become a rising star.
Early talent, future leader
What marks out an early career professional in business development and marketing as a potential future leader? Totum consultant Lara Mitchard explores the skills needed to become a rising star.
The legal industry has undergone huge transformation in recent years, with technological advancements, increased competition and changing client expectations all driving firms to adapt and change.
This rapid transformation means business development (BD) and marketing teams have had to change too, becoming an increasingly important cog in helping law firms seize new opportunities in the post-pandemic legal environment.
However, with traditional BD and marketing routes such as in-person events becoming less popular, many firms have experimented with new types of digital outreach and social media - and with this comes a need for new skills and abilities in a team.
Often, it’s some of the more junior members of the team that can provide this expertise. With that in mind, our third annual Totum Rising Star Awards sought to recognise the impact of BD and marketing professionals in the early stages of their careers.
So, what skills made applicants stand out?
For our esteemed judges - Rajmeena Aujla, head of communications at Charles Russell Speechlys; Manjit Sanghera, global head of BD and marketing operations at Linklaters, and Gemma Vaites, director of BD and marketing at Capsticks - the most pressing requirement was for junior employees to demonstrate a vice-like grasp on the basics of the role.
“These are the jobs that keep the lights on - in areas like pitches, events, directory submissions. It’s incredibly important for firms to know that these things are in hand. To progress in the function, you need first and foremost to do the fundamentals well,” says Sanghera.
Taking opportunities
After that, future talent needs to show how they can add value beyond their own remit. This means getting involved in other business areas and being creative when it comes to solving strategic challenges facing the firm.
“Someone may be really excellent at their job, but the people that stand out are those that are curious, who take the time to really understand their firm and the challenges facing the wider business, as well as the marketing and BD function,” agrees Vaites.
“I’m looking for someone who can show the curiosity to help the business succeed, who wants to get under the skin of their firm, who builds those internal networks, who puts in the effort and commitment to get to know other people’s drivers and objectives and then helps them to succeed,” she adds.
These are some of the traits exemplified by the winner of our BD and marketing Rising Star award, Natasha Carmichael. As a marketing executive at global law firm Kennedys, Carmichael was nominated by her team for her delivery of the fourth edition of the firm’s Global Legal Handbook, alongside other successful campaigns.
However, it was her decisiveness in taking new opportunities and growing the firm’s global reach that set her apart from other nominees, with Carmichael spending three months on secondment in Australia supporting Kennedys’ APAC team.
“Building a career means successes and promotions, but also missteps and mistakes. Recognising the bravery, value and input of those at the early stage of their careers is vital - and that’s why we believe the Rising Star Awards are so important.”
“Building a career means successes and promotions, but also missteps and mistakes. Recognising the bravery, value and input of those at the early stage of their careers is vital - and that’s why we believe the Rising Star Awards are so important.”
“Since I’ve been at Kennedys, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to try new things. I hadn’t really operated in a global setting before, so learning how to work with international colleagues on global campaigns has been interesting.
“This played into my secondment to Australia. I went out there between September and December last year and got involved in a full range of projects and campaigns. I helped to run events, delivered our Claims Inflation report and put some of the processes we refined in the UK into APAC,” adds Carmichael.
The experience - a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ as Carmichael calls it - allowed her to build global contacts and develop new relationships. Subsequently winning Totum’s BD and marketing Rising Star award boosted her personal brand and raised her profile within the firm, winning praise from both APAC and the UK.
Being fearless in grabbing opportunities to build your career and skills is something our judges all agreed on. Aujla shares how she contacted every major PR company in London when seeking a first role after graduating from university, before landing a role at FleishmanHillard. Years later, when COVID hit and a contract at Eversheds ended, she proactively contacted numerous law firms to secure a new role.
“You have to be relentless and have the hunger for it. You can’t sit back and wait for opportunities to find you,” says Aujla.
Supporting the next generation
Those in the early years of their careers may find such expectations daunting. Be good at the basics, build networks, understand wider business strategy, take the right opportunities - it’s a lot to take in. That’s why it’s vital for law firms to support future talent in the workplace by creating an environment where they can experiment, make mistakes and be open about their future aims.
It’s also about ensuring all employees have access to learning and development opportunities that allow them to build new skills. With the World Economic Forum reporting that 44% of all employees skills will be disrupted in the next five years and that 60% of workers require retraining by 2027, it's imperative we continue to develop the next generation of marketing and BD professionals.
Finally, it’s about recognition. Building a career means successes and promotions, but also missteps and mistakes. Recognising the bravery, value and input of those at the early stage of their careers is vital - and that’s why we believe the Rising Star Awards are so important.
Lara is a recruitment consultant in Totum’s specialist marketing and BD team. She is a highly experienced marketing and BD recruiter with more than 18 years of experience recruiting into professional services, across law, accountancy, real estate and management consultancy sectors.