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.
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This time of year often calls for personal and professional reflection. It is a good time, and often beneficial exercise, to re-evaluate your employment situation. Of course in this day and age, we should be grateful for gainful employment but that does not mean you should not consider ways to advance your career.
There has been a lot of press recently about the rebounding market for home sales. For many years now, buyers have had their choice of multiple options and could afford to take their time in making the best selection.
Some of our blog posts offer useful information. This isn’t one of them. Here I’d like to pose several open-ended questions. Who is responsible for you to be employed after law school? You? Your law school?
We’ve come full circle from the Great Recession. The numbers are in and, according to The American Lawyer, mid-level associates are happier than they have ever been – but paradoxically, more prone to move to a new firm. These mid-level associates are actually working harder (as evidenced by the number of hours) and have been given more tools (at least technology that help them work longer, faster, better) and have more perceived job security than in recent years., but they are unsure about their future at their current firm.
The dog days of summer are a perfect time of year to assess your current employment situation. For many, late summer offers a chance to take a breathe from a hectic work year – whether you find yourself with some free time in the office or are out vacationing. Yes, loyalty is an admirable trait but if you are not willing to at least consider other jobs, you might be missing a real chance for career advancement.
Of course the grass is not always greener elsewhere, but you will never know unless you are willing explore other options from time to time. There may not be such thing as the absolute perfect job, but you might be able to improve certain aspects of your career that are particularly important to you.
So after some self-reflection, ask yourself if you are content with your current job or is it less than what you had hoped at this point in your career? If you hoped for more, now is an excellent time to consider a change because you may actually have time to update your resume, start networking, and perhaps test the market. Even if you are waiting for a year-end bonus, it is not too soon to start the process.
When is the best time to switch firms if you are a practicing attorney considering a move? Although there is no hard and fast rule, the window of opportunity for associates to move typically falls in the range of 3-6 years of practice.
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.
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.
Compensation for attorneys can be determined by a number of objective and subjective factors including tenure, quality of work product, profitability, and information gathered from salary studies. You may know how your compensation stacks up to others at your firm or even what people make at other firms, but do know if it is comparable to what you would make in the open market?
A lot of attorneys have no idea if their compensation measures up to their true market value. By true market value, I am referring to how much you could expect to earn if you decided to explore other options in the legal market – not what a typical attorney makes after so many years of experience. Some people are actually making more than they would in the open market because they are currently being rewarded for factors that are not given the same consideration by prospective employers. Yes, loyalty and teamwork is valued by all employers, but it is often measurable attributes such as business generation and working receipts that carry the most weight in the open market. This is especially true in a post-recession economy where the ability to generate revenue is becoming expected of all.
If you are working hard to generate business and starting to see real revenue growth as a result, you should ask yourself how much of your potential income is going to others who are not as productive (especially those who make no effort). There may be other factors that make your current work experience so positive that the potential of lost income is okay, but if you could have a similar experience and make considerably more money elsewhere it might be worth your time to explore your true market value.
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.
Are you beholden to other attorneys for supplying your work? Do you wish that you had more control over your practice? Would you like more options for a change in employment? Not surprisingly, the key is building your own client base.
