It’s time to think about what you actually DO as an attorney

“I’m an attorney. More specifically, I’m a litigator. Even more specifically, I’m a products defense attorney.” Great – that’s the type of law that you practice, but what do you DO?

The general type of law that you practice is important to start a discussion about a new job, but it doesn’t answer the question of what you do – which is imperative to think about when contemplating a job change.

As a legal recruiter, we always ask exactly that – what do you do? It’s an insightful question that often goes overlooked by candidates.

Thinking about your job in terms of what you actually do is important because it forces you to evaluate your specific skillset when considering a new position. It can force you to see deficiencies in your resume and can get you out of a career rut.

We recently worked with an attorney at a big firm. She is a litigator at a large, national firm and for the past seven years she has been comfortable doing what she has been asked to do – reviewing documents and researching case law. She was recently passed over for partnership and is now wondering why she isn’t attractive to other employers. She never stopped to ask what she actually did. She assumed she was a litigator. She assumed that other firms would always want to hire her because she was “litigating”. Because she never really thought about what a litigator actually does (compared with what she actually did on a day to day basis), she never thought to expand her skillset to make herself more marketable. She also learned a powerful lesson (and the topic of a future blog post) – don’t rely on your firm to advance your career; YOU need to make sure that you have the skills you need to advance.

Had this attorney taken some time to reflect on her career – that she was still doing important work, but not increasingly complicated work on litigation matters, she would have realized that what she was doing was a thin slice of what a litigator does. She was not, in fact, a seasoned litigator and her value to other firms was severely diminished as a result.

What could she have done? Maybe she could have taken on more responsibility at her firm. Maybe she could have tried to market her practice to get some of her own clients (of which she could have taken on a larger litigation role). Maybe she could have realized that her firm was making her increasingly unmarketable and tried to find a new job earlier. Whatever the case may be, the best time to think about what you actually do is NOW – not later.

Another very common example of how not understanding what someone DOES can affect their chance at career change comes in the legal resume. Too often people let their job title stand alone on the resume, not putting ample thought into parsing out what skills they have learned and what accomplishments they have had in their current (or past) roles. Simply putting “litigation attorney” on your resume doesn’t make you competent in all facets of litigation. Think about all areas of your practice and make sure they are clearly laid out in the resume. Essentially, this is forcing you to answer the question of “what do I do?”.

As many of us ramp our work schedules up with summer (sadly) behind us, take some time to really think about the question of what you do if you want to advance your career!

You Don't Have To Settle

You spend most of your day (and too often a good part of your evening) at work so why settle for a job that does not fulfill your professional or personal objectives? There are constant reminders in the news and in our personal lives just how short life can be so do yourself a favor and at least explore opportunities that might be more fulfilling.

Yes, there is always risk involved with a job change but rarely is there true reward without taking some chances. Too often people fall into the trap of complacency because they don’t think things could be better elsewhere or are “comfortable” with the dissatisfaction of their current job versus the uncertainty of a new job. Of course, every new job posting does not contain the golden ticket for happiness or even necessarily address everything you seek. However, if you are 25% happier in your job and your work constitutes the majority of your waking hours, then even a seemingly marginal change can make a huge difference in your overall happiness.

It is very easy to get caught up in the minutia of your job and just ignore the frustration that you experience on a regular basis. The answer to finding more happiness may be out there but you will never know if you are willing to settle for less.

Change Brings Opportunity – Are You Ready To Make The Most Of It?

No matter what side of the political spectrum you reside, the outcome of this presidential election seems to have caught most people by surprise. One of the overriding themes for the prevailing side was the desire for change. Whether you like it or not, change is ultimately unavoidable and sometimes necessary. Change also brings opportunity. The key to making the most of the opportunity, is to understand the underlining reason for that change and react appropriately.

Change can affect those in the legal field in a variety of way. For example, change can come in the form of a client seeking new representation; an associate given the chance to make an impression with partner who typically looks elsewhere; or new responsibilities assigned to in-house counsel. In these examples it is easy to see the potential opportunity resulting from change, but to make the most of it is necessary to understand the underlining reason for the change. Perhaps the client did not feel like they were getting good customer service. Maybe the partner was not happy with the work quality of previous associates. The new responsibilities for in-counsel may be due to downsizing and a need for greater efficiency. Understanding the “why” greatly enhances the likely of making the most of the opportunity otherwise you may unwittingly cause further change.

Of course, once you understand the underlining reason for change it is equally important to make the most of it by working diligently to meet or exceed expectations. Don’t forget, your opportunity can quickly go to someone else if you fail to grasp it.

Using a Recruiter To Focus on What Matters: Your Attorneys

Some people love cars. My grandfather, it seems, loves tires. Every time I see him, he asks about my tires. How is the tread? What brand are they? How are they in the snow? He is sure that tires are the single most important part on the car.

My wife is an excellent cook. She meticulously scours the grocery stores and co-ops in town for the freshest organic ingredients. She makes her own spice blends. She rarely uses anything from a can and avoids all shortcuts when preparing a meal.

I love coffee. Whenever possible, I track down the best beans from the local roaster and to take home and make a great pot of coffee. Pre-bagged coffee that has been on the shelf for who-knows-how-long is something I try not to buy.

And yet, people spend money and focus on the wrong things all of the time. They demand nicer floor mats instead of better tires. They want processed food for convenience rather than cooking form scratch. They want quick pre-loaded coffee pods and fancy coffee machines rather than focusing on the only ingredients that affect the taste of coffee (beans and water). Why? Because sometimes it is easier.

Easier is fine, but what happens when we focus on what is easier/cheaper/faster for your law firm or legal department? Is ‘easier’ and ‘good enough’ what you are looking for? Probably not.

The most important parts of a law firm are the lawyers you begin with. Not the clients or the systems or the policies or even the office. Great people make everything easier. Settling for less than a targeted candidate search may be easier, but it won’t likely lead to the best candidates. Those that aren’t actively looking (“passive candidates”) will never respond to an ad. Using a recruiter is the only way to reach these candidates and make sure that you are finding the most important thing for your firm: the right attorney.

Move quickly on high-demand candidates!

While we were in the recession, legal employers had the luxury of time. There were ample candidates, and with few opportunities, firms could take their time when making hiring decisions. It seemed that no matter how long they took to extend an offer, the candidate was excited to receive it.

Fast forward a few years and the market has changed. Skilled candidates are being courted by multiple employers. Top candidates are getting multiple offers, and others are being much more selective with their decisions. As a result, firms that can’t make hiring decisions quickly and present a competitive offer in a timely fashion are losing out to firms that have sped up their hiring process.

As a result, firms and corporate legal departments should revisit their hiring process. How quickly are you responding to candidates? How long are you making them wait between interviews? When are you letting them know that you would like to extend an offer?

Even if the delay is only a few days, that can feel like an eternity to a candidate who is hearing from other firms in the meantime. A quick phone call or email with an expected timeline of the interview/hiring process can often manage a candidate’s concern that interest is waning. Also, this update may buy the firm time to extend an offer when other offers may be on the table or imminently forthcoming.

In the recruiting business, we say “time kills deals.” It seems that this is more true than ever in 2016. Remember, if you aren’t quickly moving a top candidate through your hiring process, in all likelihood, another firm may be trying to scoop them up!

Although Limited Experience, Recent Grads Can Still Make The Most Of Their Resume

We are hearing from a lot recent law school graduates lately and although the market has improved, jobs are still scarce for the majority of these folks. Creating a compelling resume can be a challenge when you do not have practical legal experience. While a law firm clerkship or interning for a judge can help, the truth is many hiring attorneys or recruiting directors do not give this much weight. So what can you do when your experience is not a big selling point? Try to make your resume stand out in other ways.

While hopefully the old school, heavy stock, colored resume paper is not coming back; you can still use some tasteful graphics to make your resume stand out. Perhaps some color headings, shading a separate column for achievements, or simply adding links to work-related social media sites would help.

A creative resume may not get you the job per se, but it may draw enough attention to move it to the top of others with similar experience so why not spend an extra few minutes and make it stand out.