Understanding Social Media and Using it to Boost Your Career

In today’s world of modern technology, even our social interactions and presence has crossed over to the digital world. Instead of calling someone to wish them a happy birthday, or even more outlandish, sending them a birthday card via the U.S. Postal Service, we now post a happy birthday message on their Facebook wall. And old colleagues we may have once been too intimidated by to even say hello in the hallway are now approachable as we send them a “connect” request through LinkedIn. As Drew Barrymore’s character in “He’s Just Not That Into You” lamented, there are so many social media outlets available now that just keeping up with your different accounts is nearly impossible! As you begin your job search, or just aim to keep yourself on an upward trajectory with your current employer, there are some rules of the game to play by with regard to your social media accounts.

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Everyone Go Home And Be Nice

A few weeks ago, I had the great fortune of attending a grade-school reunion in the same cafeteria in which I ate soggy french fries and drank chocolate milk every day for six years back in the 1980s.   The four individuals who so graciously planned this reunion did not just work tirelessly to locate as many of our classmates as possible, but they reached out to all of our old teachers, and, get this– our old principal, Mr. Neilsen.  Much to my surprise, there were as many teachers as students at the reunion, and not five minutes after I arrived, in walked Mr. Neilsen, who I believe just celebrated his 80th birthday.

Mr. Neilsen was a fantastic elementary school principal.  Funny, outgoing and always kind.  In fact, at the end of each and every day (or at least that is how I remember it), Mr. Neilsen would stand at the very front door of the school, and as every child left the building, he would shout “Everyone go home and be nice.”  And man, did his voice carry.

How, you must be asking yourself, is this related to the legal field, practicing law and/or finding a new job?

Very simply, Mr. Neilsen was a brilliant man who gave simple-but-wise advice to us kids:  Be nice.  Sure, his advice focused on how we should act at home, but we all knew what he really meant: be nice to each other; hold the door open for another person; allow someone in a hurry to slide past you on the street; and treat all people with the same level of respect you would want to receive.

Sadly, in my observations of late, I am seeing more and more job seekers who do not abide by this rule and who do not think it is necessary to be nice to others.  By others, I mean anyone and everyone we encounter in our daily life, from the grocery clerk to the court clerk and everyone in between.  Being rude, inconsiderate and disrespectful to anyone is a dangerous way to operate, because sooner or later the individual you flipped the bird to for cutting you off on the sidewalk is going to turn up as a partner in the law firm you work in, or worse, an interviewer during your next job interview.  And make no mistake, he will not have forgotten about your seemingly anonymous hand gesture.

A great example of this recently happened to me.  For the first five years after law school, I practiced law as a commercial litigator, and like most associates, after two years I decided to see what else was out there.  At the time, the economy was in good shape and opportunities were plentiful, so it was not long before I secured an interview with a well-known firm in the area.  The interview started off very well, and I felt like I “clicked” with the first three people I met.  However, as soon as I walked into the office of the fourth individual, I knew the interview was doomed.  For whatever reason (to this day, I do not know what it is), even before I opened my mouth to say “hello,” this senior associate did not like me.  He spent the 20 minutes we had together treating me with disrespect and criticizing the responses I gave to every question he asked of me.  I remember it as if it was yesterday: those were the longest 20 minutes of my life.

Needless to say, I did not get that job, but I went on to practice at another firm for a few more years before becoming a legal recruiter.  Truth be told, I never really thought about that interview again.

That is, until last week, when I met with a new candidate that reached out to me for help after he had been passed up for partner twice in the last two years.   Imagine my surprise when I walked into the waiting area of my office, and there was the senior associate that treated me like garbage over five years ago.  At that instant, I had a quick decision to make: do I treat him like he treated me or do I remain professional and treat him like I would any other new candidate with whom I was meeting?

Make no mistake, I wanted to go with the former, but I ultimately went with the latter.  And the truth is, the guy turned out to be fairly nice, but he was now in need of my help, so I was not surprised by his change in demeanor (I did not get the impression that he remembered me).  Even so, that is not the point.

Here is my point: take my former elementary school principal’s advice and be nice.  To everyone.  Because the next person you mistreat or disrespect could turn out to be someone you need to impress.  And by the time you figure this out, it will certainly be too late.

So, thank you Mr. Neilsen for drilling a simple but invaluable rule into my brain: Be nice.  Not just to the people you love or the people you deem important, but to everyone.

The Importance of Keeping an Interview

I recently have had candidates ask me etiquette questions about going to a previously scheduled interview after new circumstances arise. The issue can be anything from no longer being interested in the firm to having a busy week at work to having received an offer from another firm. In ninety percent of the circumstances, my advice remains the same: keep the interview, show up, be your usual charming self and try to get an offer! There are several reasons for this advice, but let me at least expand upon a few.

1.            The legal community is smaller than you think. You never know where your career will take you, which partner will join your current firm, who you’ll need a favor from in the future, who opposing counsel may be, etc. You want everyone in that small legal community to have the most favorable impression of you possible and not think that you are flaky or uncommitted or a litany of other potentially false impressions.

2.            You never know what you may find. Though you may initially think a certain firm isn’t the best fit for you because of something you heard, or something you read, or for some other reason, you really never know how you will mesh with a specific group of people in a particular office. You owe it to yourself to show up, check it out and see how it works for you.

3.            You have to look out for yourself. Even if you went on an interview at another firm and even received an offer, you don’t know if something will arise during your conflict check or if some other unforeseen circumstance will result in you not actually working for that firm. In the meantime, you should continue to interview and get offers from the firms that you are interested in so that you have a choice to make and can make it after getting first-person experience at each firm.

Those are just a few reasons why it’s important to keep an interview after you’ve accepted it, but every situation is different. If you have concerns or a circumstance arises, call your recruiter and discuss the situation so they can fill you in on all of your choices and their thoughts and experience with the issue. At the end of the day, you are both trying to find you the best job possible so work together as a team!