Blog on the legal job market, how to best use an attorney recruiter to assist in your search for a new opportunity and musings on the job search process.
This warmer weather has a lot people thinking about our national pastime. Some would say the national pastime over the past few years has been finding employment, but historically we are talking about the country’s passion for baseball! In fact, there are similarities between the two.
When applying for a legal job, undoubtedly there will be a lot of other attorneys who are also applying for the same position. There are several ways to stand out.
This was a post from several years ago, but in reviewing the old posts, the exact same thing holds true – that I’ve received only four messages of thanks from people who I have met with or helped.
This week I had a candidate tell me that she had applied everywhere in the market and there are “obviously no jobs” in the market.
The decision to switch firms or go in house is often a difficult one to make. You know what your colleagues at your current firm are capable of (for good or for bad) and you are pretty comfortable there. But you know something is missing.
The vast majority of resumes we see are consistent with the way most of us were taught to write a resume – provide a chronological summary of your employment history and education. There is nothing incorrect about this format but is it really your best tool for marketing yourself to a potential employer?
There really is no “right way” to hire someone or get hired. That said, there are plenty of ways that are clearly wrong.
Every law firm or company has aspects that are less than desirable for some people. In fact, this may be the reason that someone is considering a move. However, it is never a good to dwell on this too much in an interview.
It seems like such a simple concept but it is one that frequently gets lost in the hiring process: understanding the other side’s needs. Whether it is the employer or job candidate, both sides tend to focus a little too much on their own needs and not addressing what the other side wants.
I recently met with a candidate and when talking to her about her experience, she only wanted to discuss the incredible number of hours that she billed – as if that defined her as an attorney.
Do you have an upcoming interview? If so, make sure take a common sense approach to making a good impression by utilizing three essential P’s: preparedness, positive attitude and professionalism. There won’t be much you can add to your skills and experience prior to the interview but you can control how prepared you are coming into the interview, the attitude you convey, and your appearance and demeanor.
When you submit a resume to a potential employer (or to a recruiter) it is important to put your best foot forward. While the resume may be perfect, the title of the resume may tell the recipient more than you want them to know.
While finding a firm or company that fits well with your actual legal practice is no doubt important, it is no more important than cultural fit or management style. In fact, the majority of attorneys that contact us are not interested in leaving their current job due to the actual work. Most often, it is the interaction with others, long-term direction, or decision-making of the firm or company that has people considering other options.
Whether searching for a job or just trying to stay in contact with current and/or potential clients in the legal field, having a LinkedIn profile should be a priority. Just as important as having the profile is keeping it up to date. Showing that you are still at an old position or, a much more common fault, failing to update your contact information so someone can get a hold of you, is a poor reflection on you.
Attorneys are generally conservative by nature when it comes describing their practice. Whether it is the idea of promoting your skills and abilities or the potential value of your practice, most attorneys will take a modest approach. Yes, managing expectations is important but being too conservative can really be to your detriment.
I was reminded today of the importance of protecting your reputation as a lawyer. I was contacted by someone who wanted to apply for an attorney opportunity at a firm where she was a summer associate many years ago.
Spring is in the air – at least in some parts of the country. It is a good time to clean the house, replace the batteries in the smoke detectors, and update your resume.
While it may be impossible to literally prepare for any and all interview questions or scenarios, you should do your best based on available information and at least be mentally prepared for the rest.
With an upcoming interview, your first priority is to do your homework. Thoroughly review the job description, any available information about the firm or company posted on the web, and bios on the people key to the job and interview process. You should also review your own resume and any supporting material you provided so you are ready to address specific questions about the material you provided. These are things within your preparedness control and the employer often is aware of it, which means your interview process could end quickly if you are not up to speed on easily accessed information.
The trickier part of interviewing is preparing for questions or scenarios for which you have no or limited access to information or control. This might be a case study posed to you by an interviewer regarding something you may or may not have experienced in the past. It might be dealing with a quirky interviewer who keeps going off-point during the interview. While you may not be able to prepare a well thought out response for everything, you can prepare for how you respond in terms of your demeanor. The key is to anticipate difficult questions or scenarios mentally so you are not completely caught off-guard when one comes your way. Often times, the interviewer is not as interested in the answer itself, but how you process information and your composure in responding.
It’s that time of the year again. Summer associates arrive at the bigger firms and get put on projects. Sometimes those projects are exciting. The files that these soon-to-be-attorneys are handed might even have really juicy facts. Ooooh – can you believe it? He did what?! She responded how?! “Ping!” Oh, that’s just my Twitter/Facebook/email/text account. And that’s how problems start.
This post really doesn’t relate to legal resumes or your job search, but it is something that is incredibly important to think about – both for law students and for the attorneys that hire them. We’re on social media and can see that this is happening and thought it was worth a moment of your time.
Never before has the legal community faced such a high risk of confidential client information leaking out. It used to be that if details were to leak out, someone would have to pick up the phone or drag out a Banker’s box of documents. Not anymore. Not with Twitter and Facebook. Not with email and text messaging.
If you are a summer associate, think twice (or three times) before sending any information out about what you are working on at your law firm. If “I’m review documents” just isn’t exciting enough, think about not sending that Tweet. Going beyond that to say that you are working on a file for Company X and are reviewing documents (or giving even more detail) may violate client confidences. Your best course of action is to resist the temptation to micro-blog about your summer associate experience altogether.
We know that timing is a key component to a job search but often think of it in terms of an applicant or candidate. The truth is timing can be just as critical for an employer looking to make a hire. Law firms and companies are often in competition for top attorneys – from an exceptional real estate associate to the partner-level attorney with a significant client base. If you can’t get to the offer in stage in a relatively short period of time, you may be missing out on some of the best people for your firm or business.
The legal market is fairly consistent in terms of hiring in that some areas are coveted more than others at certain times. For example, lately we have a seen a big push for securities attorneys (both law firm and in-house) and there are not many in the market. Someone with the requisite skills and experience is likely to have multiple options. Although every firm or company would like to think they offer something unique, to a candidate the opportunities can appear very similar so it might come down to who is able to extend an offer first. The intent may not be to force a candidate to make a decision but it can work in your favor since they know the offer might not stand too long. Likewise, the job search process can be very demanding and time consuming so many people would like to get it over with as soon as possible so they can just focus on work.
In a market that is quickly becoming competitive again for top legal talent, firms and companies should assess whether their hiring process is efficient enough not to jeopardize a hire solely based on timing. In fact, they may have seen first-hand how this can work against them. The key then is to take steps to eliminate this correctable disadvantage to become more competitive in the marketplace.
