Clifford Chance

Life at Clifford Chance

My journey at Clifford Chance started in 2018 when I joined the Prague office as Business Development, Marketing and Communications Manager. After having led the Prague department for almost 3 and a half years, I was promoted to a regional role covering Continental Europe. With that switch I was able to focus more on events, digital marketing and innovation while leveraging my business development and communications background at every touchpoint. The Continental European team is spread over the entire region and thus I still physically sit in the same Prague office, which was very important to me.

The work

My current job is widely varied and consists of 2 main components, the first is the planning and delivery of regional events, which is a combination of strategic and operational work. To give an example, we run a European Perspectives series, which is a series of pan-European client webinars on topics such as the upcoming EU legislation. We provide a business view and establish how the new legislation sits within the current legal framework – whether within the EU, the UK or even beyond the European continent. These sessions can be watched by over 600 professionals from leading organisations all around the world. I'm in charge of organising and delivering the event and making sure everything runs smoothly, of course in cooperation with several colleagues and the speakers.

On the other hand, the digital marketing projects I'm involved in are very much about identifying opportunities for improvement and prioritising them, creative problem-solving and innovation. It involves cooperation with different colleagues from the global network and can vary from a search for a specific tool we need to finding a way how to make most out of the data we already have. What is quite specific about the role overall is that 100% of my work is in English.

My motivation

For me it is very simple. I want to do what I love and enjoy, and I want to be proud of what I produce. Besides that, my biggest motivation has always been kids and family. And if you do what you love, sooner or later success will come with it. It doesn't mean you don't have to give it a nudge at times, though.

My advice

To be successful at one place in the long term you need to not only demonstrate your proficiency and added value in your subject matter but, in my opinion, also treat everybody with respect. Personally, I'd say with the same respect no matter whether it's a cleaning lady or a partner. We are all people and if we are trying to do our jobs the best we can, that's what matters. And trust me, words fly. I have to say that this quality is something the most inspirational leaders I've met have in common.

Mastering an international language, in our case English, is a prerequisite and you must also be aware of the professional terms concerning your subject matter. Unfortunately, as good as you may be in your professional area, if you are not able to express your opinions and ideas when it matters, you will be creating roadblocks for yourself. If you have a great basis in general English, I suggest watching and reading international resources focused on your subject matter.

If you would like to move to a regional role it is important to let people around you (your local manager but also people in regional/global roles) know that it is something you are interested in. There might be opportunities but if you don't voice your preference, you might not get considered. In corporations these changes can unfortunately take quite a bit of time, so I'd tend to say it's almost never too early to start the conversation. Take charge. If you don't make it happen, it might not happen at all.

For anyone who is still studying, I can't stress enough the importance of relevant working experience while at university. Even if it is an unpaid internship, it will be well worth it. I'm talking from personal experience as I'm strongly convinced this is one of the puzzle pieces to have kickstarted my career.