Crafting Your “Why” for the General Counsel Role

The General Counsel (GC) job market is competitive. A strong resume and LinkedIn profile can help you get noticed, but it’s not enough. At some point, you’ll be asked, directly or indirectly, a question that sounds simple and is anything but: Why you? 

If you’ve never held the GC role before, you’re asking someone to take a chance. That might be internal (a CEO promoting you into the seat) or external (a CEO, board, or search firm choosing you over candidates who have already done the job). Either way, being smart and being a great lawyer won’t close the deal. 

Legal excellence is merely table stakes. Your “why” is what differentiates you. 

When we say “why,” we don’t mean “I’ve always wanted to be a GC” or “I’m passionate about leadership.” Everyone looking for their first GC role can say that. And a CEO who needs a leader isn’t persuaded by a dream, they’re convinced by a compelling case. 

A credible “why you” answers three questions. When you can connect them to a coherent narrative, you give a CEO, the leadership and legal teams, and the board, a reason to feel comfortable taking a chance on you, even if you haven’t held the title yet. 

1) Why you and why you are ready to lead now? 

This question comes first, whether it’s asked out loud or not. Before anyone cares about fit with a particular company, they need to believe you are ready to lead at the enterprise level. 

This requires real internal work. Not a list of accomplishments, but clarity about what distinguishes you from the next strong candidate. 

Why are you ready to step into this role? What has prepared you — not just legally, but as a leader? Where have you already been operating beyond your title? What experiences have shaped your judgment, your confidence, and your ability to make decisions when the answers aren’t clear?  

This is also where motivation matters — but not in a generic way. Some candidates have a genuine connection to an industry, a product, or a mission. Others are drawn to a particular kind of business challenge or operating environment. That connection doesn’t replace competence, but it does add credibility. It helps answer the unspoken question: Why does this role matter to you beyond status or progression? 

Each role may call for a slightly different version of your “why,” but it always needs to be more than ambition” You’re trying to show that you’re stepping toward something — not just away from your current role. 

2) Why this role, in this business, at this moment? 

Once you’ve made the case that you are ready, the next question is whether you understand them. 

The strongest candidates don’t treat the GC role as a generic rung on a career ladder. They recognize that not all GC jobs are the same. Different industries, organizational structures, team sizes, risk profiles, and leadership styles create very different versions of the role. 

This is where doing your homework matters and it goes well beyond reading the website. Strive to understand the company's past, current, and future state. Are they growing quickly? Cleaning something up? Entering new markets? Under scrutiny? Rebuilding trust? Preparing for fundraising, an acquisition, or a public moment? 

Once you understand where the company is, you can connect your leadership experience to what it needs. That’s the difference between “I want to be your GC” and “I understand what this company is navigating, and I know how I can help.” 

For external candidates, this shows business judgment and preparation. For internal candidates, it shows you’ve been paying attention, not just to legal issues, but to the CEO’s agenda and the organization’s pressure points. 

This is also where specificity matters. A candidate who might be ideal for a high-growth business may not be right for a regulated, crisis-prone environment, and vice versa. The goal isn’t to sound flexible. The goal is to sound intentional. This is where a self-assessment of your skills and your experience should align with a particular opportunity.  

3) Why the organization can trust you in this role? 

This is the question underneath all the others. 

The GC role isn’t a collection of tidy legal questions. It’s messy. It involves incomplete information, people dynamics, judgment calls with imperfect options, and moments where calm matters more than certainty. It requires someone who can translate complexity into clarity, turn risk into options, provide calm in the midst of chaos, and be prepared to support whatever path the organization decides to go down. 

When someone is deciding whether to put you in the seat, they’re not just asking if you can handle contracts or litigation. They’re asking whether they can trust you when it’s uncomfortable, when the board is anxious, when a leader is defensive, when there’s a crisis, when it’s politically complicated, and when a fast decision still needs to be a good one. 

This is also where you address gaps. Every first-time GC has them. Pretending otherwise doesn’t read as confidence; it reads as lack of self-awareness. 

The strongest candidates lean into their strengths and relevant experience, name what they haven’t owned directly, explain how they’ve been adjacent to it or observed it, and describe how they’ll cover those gaps responsibly. That might mean leveraging a strong internal team, drawing on outside counsel relationships they’ve already built, or being the kind of leader who asks smart questions early rather than trying to fake it. 

The leaders who earn trust aren’t the ones who claim to know everything. They’re the ones who learn quickly, build the right support around them, and handle uncertainty with maturity. 

That combination, humility plus execution, is what makes people comfortable handing you the keys. 

Pulling it together 

If you want to pressure-test your “why,” try this simple exercise. 

Write your pitch in three sentences: 

• I’m ready to be a GC because… 

• The proof is… (not a list of duties — proof of leadership and judgment) 

• What you’ll get from me is… (how you show up when it matters) 

Then say it out loud until it sounds like you. Not rehearsed. Not corporate. Just clear. 

Because in a competitive market, the candidates who stand out aren’t always the ones with the most polished resumes. They’re the ones who can make the case calmly, credibly, and with specifics that it should be them. 

Taking the Next Step 

If you’re actively thinking about how—and when—you want to step into a GC role, consider joining us at our Ascend program. In 2026, we’ll be offering Ascend cohorts in New York and Chicago, designed for senior in-house women preparing for their first GC seat. Through a guided self-assessment, reflection, and a personal action plan, we help participants clarify what they’re aiming for, what stands between them and the role, and how to position themselves thoughtfully for the opportunity. If you’d like to receive more information as details are finalized, you can sign up [here]. 

Deborah Solmor

Founder, Ready Set GC

Julie Kinch

Co-Chair, Advisory Board, Ready Set GC