You know I love you, right?

I’ll just start with that, because I hate to be harsh.

I’ve ranted about this before, but nothing drives me crazier than an unprofessional presentation during a job search.  Most people would be surprised if they saw what I’ve been seeing–when the economy goes downhill, so does the work product of the resumes and cover letters I see.  I have lots of unscientific theories about why, but that’s not really the point of this particular post.

This post is about your e-mail address.  If your e-mail address is some version of your proper name (and only your proper name), you can stop reading.  For those out there with e-mail addresses on the creative, side, this is for you.  It’s tough enough in today’s economy–there is no reason to make it harder by using a ridiculous e-mail address.

You don’t have to pay for an e-mail address anymore.  So even if you love the SurfChick@whatever address you’ve been using for 10 years, get a new one.  CoolLawyer@address, go ahead and change yours as well.  The personal e-mail address you list for correspondence pertaining to your job search should be personal (i.e. not your work e-mail), but it shouldn’t be personal, know what I’m saying?  If your e-mail address references your hobbies (BakingManiac@…), your pet’s name (Fluffy’sMom@…), or whether you are attractive (CuteAtty@…), please do not put it on your resume.  Today I saw ANOTHER e-mail address with some cheeky innuendo.  Why are you harpooning your job search efforts?

There are times to show a little flair and a little individuality.  I love a good sense of humor.  But some of these e-mail addresses I’ve been seeing–they are distracting the heck out of me, and not in a good way.  You want someone to pay attention to your resume–but not negative attention.  Your e-mail address is your contact information–plain and simple.

I know you are funny, I know you are interesting.  I promise I am excited to review the details of your professional background.  Your e-mail address, however, should bore me to tears.

Did we skip the litigators?

Recessions are typically best for litigation and bankruptcy lawyers.  While we generally see a demand for high quality litigators, litigation attorneys used to prove somewhat recession proof.  As we near the end of this recession (that’s right, I’ve declared that it’s over.  I am willing it to be over.) I am seeing some differences in hiring trends.  While bankruptcy practices have been hiring, litigation practices have not.  The overall downward forces of the economy has been so strong that even usually resilient litigation practices have felt the pinch.

Here in New York, the early stirrings of the recovery are pointing to transactional lawyers being sought after.  Does this mean that the cycle ebbed and flowed without bringing in some litigation upswing?  Maybe.  When the economy recovers (see?  I said when, not if), there are certainly going to be ample opportunities for litigation practitioners.  Even so, I believe that this recession hasn’t followed in the steps of other downturns–we may very well see transactional practices rebound before it’s time to staff up other controversy practices.

The next few months should be interesting.  Who are the busiest lawyers in your firm?

Marketing Tip of the Day: Be an abundant resource of information for your recruiter

Being an abundant resource of information, is one of the best ways you can help your recruiter market you to law firms. The best types of recruiters will be those who take the necessary time to get to know you and your professional strengths. A little extra preparation can go a long way, in trying to set you apart from the numerous other applicants vying for the same position. Freely give your recruiter all of the information he/she requests, along with any additional details about your background that you think will be helpful.

In order for your recruiter to create a cover letter that effectively markets you, he/she must collect and process useful marketing information about you. It often surprises me when candidates refuse to give additional and helpful information to their recruiters because they are ”too busy” or it is not convenient to do so. A recruiter’s ability to represent you is directly enhanced or limited by your participation and commitment to this process.

You and your recruiter are acting as one team, so put in the time and effort to help your recruiter maximize your chances for a successful job search.

Thank You Notes: Are They Still Necessary?

After completing a full day of interviews, a common question I receive from my candidates is whether they should send a thank you note to each of their interviewers.  There are two different schools of thought on this question, and I believe that there is no right answer.  Instead, I believe each candidate should do what makes him/her most comfortable.  While some believe that a thank you note is absolutely necessary, I believe sending a thank you note could actually hurt your candidacy if it is not done correctly.  In my personal experience as a member of the hiring committee at my old firm and a frequent interviewer of lateral candidates, a thank you note never changed my mind regarding a potential candidate.  My decision was always based upon my personal interaction with a candidate.  At most, a well-written thank you note from a candidate whom I had liked simply reaffirmed my positive impression.  However, it never changed a “no” decision to a “yes” decision.  Thus, I do not believe that thank you notes are absolutely necessary.  However, I am sure that there are many people who would disagree with me.  So, if you are going to send a thank you note, there are several important rules you must follow.

First and most important, make sure that there are no typographical or grammatical errors in your thank you note.  If necessary, have someone else (like your recruiter) read your thank you note to make sure that it does not contain any embarrassing mistakes.  This is your last impression with an interviewer, and you want to make sure that you do make the most of it.  For example, one of my colleague’s candidates met with two different firms on the same day, and was in a rush to send out his thank you notes when he got home that evening.  Thus, he typed out a simple, generic note and “cut and paste” the same thank you note to each interviewer.  Unfortunately, he forgot to change the name of the firm.  Needless to say, this made a bad impression on the firm and the candidate did not get the job offer.  It is impossible to say whether this one mistake was the reason for the firm’s decision, but it certainly did not help.

Second, do not send the same thank you note to each interviewer.  Make every attempt to personalize your thank you note in some way.  After all, interviewers have been known to  compare notes and you do not want your last attempt to leave a positive impression to seem false in any way.

Third, send your thank you note in a timely manner.  The purpose of your thank you note is to help solidify the hopefully positive impression that you made.  Typically, an interviewer completes an evaluation shortly after meeting with a candidate, and you want to make sure that your thank you note reaches the interviewer before that evaluation is completed.

Fourth, keep the thank you note short and sweet.  Do not use the thank you note as a means to repeat all of your qualifications and reasons why you believe you would be a perfect fit for the job.  Hopefully you will have already covered this during your interview as well as in your resume and your cover letter.

Lastly, the second most common question I receive after whether to send a thank you note at all is whether to send a handwritten thank you note or whether an email is sufficient.  I believe that either method is fine.  There are pros and cons to each approach which will depend on both the candidate and the interviewer.  For example, if your handwriting is hard to read or you do not have the ability to use formal stationery, you may opt to send an email.  An email will also be certain to reach the interviewer in a timely manner.  On the other hand, some interviewers may prefer the traditional approach of handwritten thank you notes, which unfortunately is impossible to determine.  Also, a well-done handwritten thank you note can win you style points.  At the end of the day, either method is fine.

Ooh Ooh Child, Things Are Gonna Get Easier

I was listening to the radio on the way in this morning.  The stock market is improving.  Yesterday three banks repaid some of their bailout money and the government actually made a profit.

There are signs of better days in the midst of which there are still many sacrifices being made.  In the law firm community we became accustomed to certain things.  We got used to being pampered.  We work hard of course.  But relative to what professionals in other industries earn in compensation and benefits in exchange for their labors, we are in the upper percentiles.

I’m not quite ready to declare victory over the economic shifts that have occurred in the profession over the past year.  Salaries and benefits are still being cut but the volume of lay offs is decreasing.  There does seem to be a transformation taking place which is moving things along and I am optimistic that we are on the right path.

Recruiters at BCG have spent a fair amount of time consoling out of work attorneys that contact us for help.  Then there are the attorneys we speak to daily who have had their pay reduced.  Most of them have a good attitude and can put it into perspective.  Some of them are pretty resentful and bitter.

It is understandable when your hours are as high as ever that having your pay cut is annoying.  For people who have set expenses and families it is a strain.  It stinks.  But a reduction in pay is preferable to being a recent graduate, experienced attorney, or former law firm staff person without any job at all.

All of us enjoyed the tide of good times and the perks that went with them.  Every single one of us has felt a sense of loss about our profession and had a part to play in the road back towards something more sustainable.

There are a lot of disillusioned people out there who feel battered and uncertain in varying degrees.  When I wrote in a December blog on what was in and what was out at law firms I said having a job was “in”.  I received a couple of unpleasant comments for that remark.  I didn’t say it to be flip or even funny.  I said it with a sense of foreboding about what was to come between January and the present.

If you have a job that now pays less than you are accustomed to, thank you.   In time it will improve again.  For now that is your part of contributing to the greater good of the future.   I’m not denying that there have been gratuitous lay offs and some knee jerk reacting, but our industry was standing on a house of cards.  Some these changes are necessary in order for us to regain the stability.

My son’s tae kwon do teacher says, “keep working at things and tough it out”.  It hasn’t been pretty or perfect but slowly we are making progress.  There are practice areas that are beginning to heat up- just a few minutes ago I saw a news ticker about changes to the exectuive compensation rules.  That means work for some of us.  And there are other areas beginning to thaw out or continuing to thrive.

Compared to the sacrifices our grandparents and great grandparents were called to make during WWII and the Great Depression for our future, we are pansies. We are going to get through this and it is getting better. The vast majority have felt the sting of this crisis.  Despite the frustration and loss, we all stand to gain something by going through this.  Our kids and grandkids will be talking about us and I hope what they remember is that we pulled together and did what we needed to.  So keep your eyes on the horizon and keep walking.

Using Social Networking in Your Job Search

In the current economy, it goes without saying that job seekers need to take advantage of all available employment resources.  This includes, of course, traditional avenues, such as recruiters, colleagues, friends, family and job posting websites.  More than ever, it also includes exploiting new, innovative and even unconventional methods.  Those who embrace and exploit these newer technologies will gain a significant advantage over their colleagues who are restricting themselves to established job search methods.  While there are a host of emerging technologies that can assist job seekers, this article will focus on the use of social networking and social media to expand the reach and scope of their pursuit of their next job.

Law firms and background checks

Most law firms will do some form of background check on their potential hires, but the depths of their investigations seem to vary. Virtually all firms will check with the local state bar to confirm that you are an active member of that bar. In addition, if you are currently working as an associate at a firm, most potential employers will look up your biography on your current employer’s website. Thus, before you start conducting your job search, you should confirm that your biography is 1) on the website and accessible, and 2) that it is up to date with your most recent work experience.

In addition, please note that a lot of firms are now looking up potential hires on social online networking sites like www.myspace.com or www.facebook.com. Make sure that anything that is accessible to the public is something you are comfortable with a potential employer seeing. There are a number of stories about candidates who failed to get interviews or job offers because of the types of pictures/written materials the potential employer discovered on these types of social online networks. Use these types of websites with caution.

Beware unscrupulous recruiters

Recently, I have had several candidates tell me that their resumes have been submitted widely without their permission.  These candidates have been disappointed and embarrassed that this has occurred.  For this reason (and for many others that I won’t go into here), I believe it is very important to choose wisely when selecting a recruiter.

When you are introducing yourself to a recruiter and you send the initial version of your resume, make sure that the recruiter understands that, at this point, they are receiving the resume for informational purposes only.  A pdf copy of your resume that indicates on the face of the resume that it “not approved for submission” can be especially helpful at an introductory stage with a recruiter.

When selecting a recruiter, it’s important to have a certain level of rapport and trust.  Do you feel that the person you are talking with understands the market and has a good sense of how to represent your best interests?  If so, this person might be a potential fit for your needs as a candidate.

And unless my candidates prefer that I submit them widely, I usually give candidates a finite list of where I am sending their resume and have them approve each and every submission.

If there is any level of uncertainty about where a recruiter may be sending your resume, make sure they understand that you must expressly authorize every submission.

Summer Interviewing in Law Firms

Ah, summer time: a season that evokes images of picnics, family vacations to the beach, and lounging by the pool. Although some associate summer with a decrease in work, our experience is that the summer can be the most jam-packed period for associates. In addition to the normal workload, summer associates are everywhere, begging for attention and lunch companions. And, if you are in the midst of the interview process during the summer months, you may find summer the most difficult season to get through the process.

What do I Wear?

On the surface, this is a fairly silly question. Certainly, there are more important issues one encounters during the recruiting process than what color shoes go with a navy suit. However, appearance at an interview should not be overly marginalized. The truth is that lawyers are in the customer service business, and being professional in your appearance and demeanor is one facet of your overall performance as a lawyer. So, while you are being evaluated on the basis of your substantive knowledge, record, and interest, you are also leaving an impression on your audience by the way you dress.

It is for that reason that we absolutely recommend that attorneys interviewing wear suits, even when the firm with whom the attorney is interviewing is business casual. This is just as true during the summer months, when some firms allow considerably more casual attire than they would throughout the remainder of the year. Yes, we know, it is sometimes uncomfortable to be the only person in the room wearing a suit. However, the fact is that you do not know your audience. The partner with whom you are interviewing could be one of those lawyers who simply does not believe in business casual under any circumstances. Although his firm’s policy may not jive with his way of thinking, he or she may have a negative image of you based only on your appearance. While we don’t agree that “clothes make the lawyer,” why jeopardize an opportunity at a firm because you didn’t look the part? In short, no one will raise an eyebrow at a lawyer wearing a suit to an interview. Some may at a lawyer who does not. Why take the chance?

There’s an Exception. We’re Lawyers. There are always exceptions.

On occasions, lawyers are concerned that wearing a suit on their interview day, especially in the middle of a firm’s casual summer, will set off alarms indicating to those lawyers’ current firm that the lawyers are interviewing around. Although this is in no way a general rule, there are times when the interviewing firm will allow or encourage a lawyer to come in business casual attire. If this is the case, each lawyer should still be careful in deciding whether to go in anything more casual than a suit.

First, business casual attire may mean many things to different people. While golf shirts and open-toed shoes may be commonplace in a variety of firms, we do not believe that this is interview appropriate attire. Certainly, you may still see attorneys in the halls dressed way down, but only your most professional business casual attire will do, and only then with express permission from the firm. Appearing too casual may have the effect of causing your interviewer to believe that you are casual with respect to your attitude about them.

But it’s Hot Outside!

Yes, and this can lead to some funny, but disastrous results. We know of one man who, while waiting for his interview to begin, was reading the Wall Street Journal in the lobby. Simultaneously, he was wiping off beads of sweat from his face. Upon beginning the interview, the interviewer said, “you seem to be the type of guy who reads the paper every morning,” and then advised him to run to the bathroom. While wiping his face, the man had gotten newsprint from his hands all over his face. The interview never went anywhere after that.

To our knowledge, science has not yet invented anything that will prevent nervous sweat during an interview. However, if you are likely to manifest your stress by excessive perspiration, be prepared. Bring a handkerchief, leave yourself plenty of time to get to the interview so you won’t have to rush, bring a cold bottle of water. Your linen suit may be the favorite thing in your closet, but are you going to look like a rumpled mess after the first 10 minutes?

Margaritas are Not Your Friend

At least not the night before an interview. Even if you are only going in for a quick screening interview, and load up with coffee, you should still never appear tired or worn down for your visit to a potential new firm. Aside from the obvious issues an interviewer would have with a candidate who still smells like tequila, being tired or talking about a big night out the night before leaves the impression of someone who really doesn’t care whether they get the job for which they are interviewing. And, as stellar as you may look hung-over, and despite a good shower, we still know lawyers who have walked into interviews with the remainder of a bar’s hand stamp that couldn’t be washed off, who had to excuse themselves to get sick in the bathroom, and who arrived late after sleeping too late. None of these lawyers got the job.

You’re Getting the Point, Right?

It’s summer! Time to have fun and kick back - summer seems to bring out the silly and laid-back part in all of us. Casual is fine for everyday life, but not while interviewing at a firm. Even though the lawyer on the other side of the desk may be leaning back in his chair after a two hour lunch with a summer associate, his feet propped up on the desk, you must make sure that you remain as professional and engaged as you would in a stark conference room full of suits.

Q: Why do some recruiters say that summer is the best time to find a job while others disagree? Is there a definitive answer this year?

Q: Why do some recruiters say that summer is the best time to find a job while others disagree? Is there a definitive answer this year?

A: Generally speaking, summer is not the best time to look for a job. Actually, the first quarter of the year is the best time to start looking. The benefit of looking in the summer is that there tends to be less competition for positions, and firms would like to hire someone quickly rather than wait until the fall. I would say, however, that if you have a desire to leave your law firm in the summer and do not want to wait until the winter, you should start looking now. If you wait until fall, there will be far fewer opportunities because first-year associates shall have begun working and the current associates will be trying to meet their billable hour requirements.