Halfway through a BarkerGilmore panel on how to become a general counsel, after yet another slide listing the godlike character traits desired by some companies, panelist Laura Stevens deftly read the room.

"Don't be intimidated," said Stevens, who became a first-time general counsel with educational publisher Cengage Group in 2018. To have the requisite experience and qualities in some job listings, "you'd have to be 250 years old," she joked.

In that moment Stevens demonstrated several of the many skills (ability to anticipate, communicate and to inspire others) that, when coupled with deliberate and strategic career decisions, can make a first-time GC candidate stand out.