Don’t Panic Over Law Firm Silence

I am currently working with a candidate who specializes in a very unusual are of law and who is quite unhappy in her current position. She came to me looking for a new position in the same of the law but at a firm with a better culture. Finding such a job was not easy, especially in this market, where the need for associates in general is not particularly high.

After about 6 weeks of working together, I was able to obtain an interview for this candidate at one of Chicago’s premier law firms with a strong practice that matched her experience. She had a fantastic interview, loved everyone she met with and walked out of the interview believing that she had just found the perfect firm for her.

As I always do, I warned this candidate that firms tend to move much slower in this economy, and that it may take a few weeks to hear back as to whether the firm was going to extend her an offer. She appeared to be fine with that, although she admitted that she was anxious about it.

A week passed, during which I had followed up with the firm to see where they were in the process. I learned very little in terms of details, other than the firm was still considering my candidate. I reported this to candidate, who was becoming increasingly anxious about the job. She kept asking me what was taking so long and suggesting that if the group really liked her, they would move faster.

Another week passed with no updates from the firm, despite my efforts to follow up. With the passage of this time, my candidate began to rethink the firm and her opinion of the people she met. “Maybe they weren’t as nice as I thought.” “Maybe they don’t do quite the type of work I want to do.” “Maybe they aren’t as great of a firm as I originally thought.”

By the time I heard back from the firm three weeks later, my candidate had convinced herself that she hated the firm, did not want to work there and was not going to accept an offer if given to her. As she put it, the fact that the firm took so long to get back to her was a “clear indication” that they didn’t really like her and she therefore did not want to join them. Of course when she learned from the firm that they were, in fact, extending her an offer, she didn’t know what to feel. After all, she has initially loved the firm but spent the last month talking herself into hating it. Now what?

Talk about mentally sabotaging a possible job opportunity!

Remember that firms spend significant time collecting and reviewing resumes, eliminating those they aren’t interested in, and narrowing it down to a reasonable number of candidates to interview, they have to schedule and actually interview the candidates. Finding a single day that 5 or 6 busy attorneys can interview a single candidate can take weeks. Scheduling multiple candidates to interview can be next to impossible. Furthermore, even after the firm interviews the candidates, each individual lawyer has to complete and return an evaluation form, and we all know that attorneys are notoriously terrible at doing these types of administrative things. Once the evaluations are collected, they must be reviewed, often by a committee of attorneys, and then a decision made. All of this can easily take weeks, especially when you factor in that attorneys would much prefer to service their clients than deal with recruiting and hiring.

So, remember this: Firm silence does not mean that the firm is not interested in you. Don’t torture yourself or talk yourself out of what could be a fantastic job opportunity simply because the firm’s attorneys do not move as fast as you would like.

After much discussion, my candidate took the job with the firm that sent a “clear indication” that it was not interested in her…. And you know what, she is back to loving the firm and the people with whom she works.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Why I Love The Chambers and Partners Website

I am consistently surprised by the number of attorneys that have not heard of the Chambers and Partners website (www.chambersandpartners.com), since it is a website that I frequent multiple times each day. Since 1990, Chambers and Partners (”C&P”) has been providing independent rankings and commentary for the worlds’ top law firms. While I am in no way affiliated with C&P, nor am I am expert on navigating the website, I find the law firm information and rankings to be extremely useful, especially when trying to determine whether a particular law firm or practice within a firm would be a good fit for a specific candidate.
As anyone in the legal field knows, there are countless law firms in this country (and in the world), and trying to distinguish them from one another can be difficult, to say the least. Moreover, while many firms have terrific websites filled with detailed practice descriptions and biographies of the practicing attorneys, other websites leave a lot to be desired. This is where C&P comes in handy. In addition to providing contact information for the firm, the number of attorneys who practice in the firm, a summary of the major areas practiced by the law firm and the location of the various firm offices, for each major practice area in a particular state, C&P ranks the top law firms into various Bands (Band 1 being the top firms, Band 2 being the next best and so on). Moreover, it provides detailed summaries of the specific practice, the clients serviced by the department and the star attorneys in the group. All of the information provided by C&P is gathered by independent third parties, none of whom are affiliated with a particular law firm. As a result, unlike a law firm website, which is put together by the firm itself, C&P provides unbiased, objective information about the firm practice. It is for this reason that I recommend that all candidates review the law firm summaries as well as the practice area rankings for the firms the candidate is evaluating.
By no means does C&P provide all of the information an attorney needs to assess whether a firm may be a good fit. That is because C&P does not provide information on the personalities of the individual attorneys in the group, the way projects are distributed to attorneys, the culture of the firm, how attorneys are evaluated, or other anecdotal information, all of which is extremely important when determining whether a particular firm would be a good place to work. Even so, it provides a good starting point from which attorneys looking to make a lateral move can assess the major firms in a particular geographic area.
Take a look.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Don’t Torture Yourself Post-Interview

Last week, I prepared a very qualified candidate for an interview for her “dream job.” Sure, she was a little nervous about a few questions she might be asked about her resume. After all, about a year ago, after working at her law firm for a number of years, she up and quit her job to care for an ailing family member and do volunteer work. Plus, she felt “rusty” in terms of her interviewing skills, in large part because she had not interviewed for a job since before graduating from law school.

By the time we conducted the preparation session for the interview, this candidate had done her homework and practiced answers to many of the questions we anticipated she would be asked. As we spoke, she fine-tuned her answers and articulated them in the most concise way. Moreover, she had researched the individuals with whom she was going to meet and crafted some insightful questions for each of the interviewers. By the time she was finished preparing for the interview, she was confident, excited and ready to go. As I always do, I asked her to call me after the interview to provide me a summary of how she thought it went.

As the obedient candidate that she is, she called me as soon as she finished the interview. That is when the self-torture began. She began recounting each and every sentence she articulated to each interviewer and began tearing each response apart. Within two minutes of calling me, she was practically in tears, convinced that she had sounded like an uneducated, inarticulate, unqualified candidate who had no chance of receiving an offer.

Now, don’t get me wrong, we are all human, and sometimes candidates say stupid things in interviews. But as this candidate recited the answers she provided to the questions asked, I thought she sounded fantastic. Sure, her answers were not “perfect,” and she may have said “ah” and “um” a few more times than she needed to, but overall, she relayed professional, concise answers that showed not only an interest in the job but a true expertise. However, in her mind, she had failed to explain in the best possible detail how and why she was the best candidate for the job. As our conversation continued, and her panic grew, I had to cut her off and begin my Post-Interview Lecture, which goes something like this:

DO NOT TORTURE YOURSELF AFTER AN INTERVIEW. Once it is over, there is absolutely nothing you can to do go back and re-answer the questions asked of you, so there is no use in obsessing about each and every word you said during the interview. Instead, take a deep breath, pat yourself on the back, and remind yourself that you prepared for the interview to the best of your ability and gave it your best shot.

Of course this lecture is completely inapplicable to the candidate who thinks he or she does not have to prepare for an interview, but I will save those individuals for another blog. If you have thoroughly prepared for an interview and given everything you have, then torturing yourself after the interview with the things you said (or failed to say) is completely counterproductive. Sure, there is always room for improvement and things that can be learned from an interview, and for those reasons, reflecting on the interview is very important. But reflecting on an interview is very different than obsessing about it and convincing yourself that you completely blew it.

After multiple calls to me, during which she relayed additional “stupid” things she said during her interview, I finally convinced my candidate to let it all go. Easier said than done, but I think she is starting to realize how destructive her behavior was. While she has not yet heard from the firm, and she is not confident that she will receive an offer for this job, she is no longer spending 90% of her time thinking about the “deficient” answers she gave and the “proper” answer she should have provided.

Or at least that is what she is telling me.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Don’t Rely on your Acting Skills

Here in the Midwest, the economy is improving (finally!) and we are seeing more and more opportunities.  This is great news, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that the job offers are going to start pouring in.  The competition for the jobs is brutal, and there are some pretty fantastic candidates out there competing for a relatively small number of positions.  Consequently, when interviewing for a job, you need to be fully prepared and engaged in the position, firm and process.  Without this focus, there is almost no chance that you will secure the position.  That is, unless you are a professionally trained actor.

The other day, I was preparing a candidate for an interview.  The firm with which he was interviewing was a great one:  strong reputation with solid work and a collegial atmosphere.  The position, on the other hand, was not a perfect fit for him.  This candidate began his career in commercial litigation, and after four years of practice moved into white collar crime before being laid off for economic reasons.  The current position was for a commercial litigation associate, and while my candidate had the requisite skills and experience (and expressed interest in applying to the job), I was having a hard time preparing him for the interview.  It seemed like he had a dull, almost apathetic response for every question I asked him, after which he’d say something like “in the interview, I’ll be more enthusiastic,” a statement I have learned not to trust.

After a few minutes of this painful question and answer session, I finally stopped and said something like “why are we wasting your time and mine on this interview if it’s clear that you don’t want the job?”  To which he replied “because I don’t have a job and I need one.”

I get it.  When unemployed, it is best to keep an open mind and apply for positions even if they do not appear to be the exact fit.  But, needing a job, without other reasons, does not qualify as a good enough reason for wanting the position.  If a candidate is going to bother with this process (especially if he is using a recruiter), he should be interested in enough to be able to sincerely state why he wants the job and why he would be the best choice for the position.  My candidate was expecting to rely on his acting skills for the interview and planned to throw out a couple of generic reasons for wanting the position.

Simply put, his plan was a recipe for failure.  In order to have any chance of getting a callback interview, my candidate needed to have some sincere reasons for wanting the job.  So, I spent the next half hour breaking apart the job, the firm and the opportunity in order to help him to see that there were things about the job that were very attractive to him.  There was tremendous opportunity for growth and business development, and the firm did a little white collar crime, so there was hope that in the future, my candidate might be able to partake in that work.  By the end of the prep session, my candidate could actually answer the questions I posed with a little bit of sincerity, energy and (almost) excitement.

It wasn’t an easy process, but I am pretty sure that it helped him secure the callback interview he has next week.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Go ahead and take that imperfect job

Let me start by saying that I get it:  the economy is bad and finding work can feel next to impossible, even if you have phenomenal experience, great academic credentials and have worked at some of the best firms in town.  Having said that, I have to admit that I am little surprised at the lack of flexibility I am seeing in some of my candidates.  The days of being recruited by firms and having multiple offers from which to choose is gone (that is not to say that it won’t come back, but for now, it is a thing of the past).  Jobs are few and far between, and firms can choose from the best of the best.  One would think that in light of the small number of jobs out there as compared to the number of out-of-work attorneys, said out-of-work attorneys would not complain about a job offer that is less than “ideal.”  Apparently, this assumption is completely wrong.

Take a corporate associate with whom I am currently working.  Nice individual, very smart, with great credentials.  She was at the top of her game before the market crashed, but when it did, she was laid off by her AmLaw 10 firm.  That was 10 months ago, and she is still not employed.  Even so, it seems like every time I call her with an opportunity, something about the opportunity just isn’t “right.”  The firm doesn’t pay enough; it’s located in the suburbs rather than right downtown; the position is too focused on finance (an area she has experience in but does not particularly enjoy).

As I said above, I get it.  It really sucks to be out of work, especially when you previously had an untarnished record of getting into the best schools and top law firms.  But the fact remains that this economy does not support the “perfect job.”  Firms are going to pay less, and the jobs that exist are going to be otherwise flawed.  But, that does not mean that you, Ms. Unemployed, should reject every opportunity that comes your way.  We all have to make sacrifices, and if that means driving to the ‘burbs or making 15% less than you would have back when salaries were inflated, then so be it.  At least you will be employed, and I can almost guarantee that if you put up with some of the flaws of the job, when things improve, many of those flaws will disappear.  Salaries will go up again, and more work will come through the door, thereby allowing you to choose projects that are a little more interesting to you.  Hell, when times are good, some suburban firms might even open an office in the city, and if you have put in your time, you might be able to help establish the new office.

I guess what I am trying to say is suck it up while the economy still stinks, and as it improves, so will your job.  That is, if you are willing to accept one that is not perfect.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Go Ahead and Hate Me for My Optimism…

I am an optimist. It’s in my blood. No matter how bad things get, they have to get better eventually. It’s just how the world works. I am sure many people who have heard my never-ending optimism would like to stomp on my head. Frankly, I irritate myself sometimes with the things that I say. But in the end, I believe that optimism will take you far in life. Take a candidate with whom I recently met. She is as talented as they come, with a resume to match. But she was a senior associate, with no business, in a transactional practice that has been dead-as-dead-gets since the recession first hit. Not surprisingly, she was laid off from her Am Law 10 firm, despite being there for over five years.

Depressing? Hell, yes. But what’s worse is that she is a single Mom. No partner/boyfriend/spouse to pick up the slack during her unemployment, and no shoulder on which to cry.

When we first met, she was devastated. Anyone in her position would be. As we talked, I drew out of her that while she liked her most recent law firm position, there were countless other positions that might be a better fit for someone like her – both inside and outside law firms. At first she was resistant, and she even shed some tears during our meeting, but as I helped her to see the endless possibilities out there, she seemed to perk up. But it wasn’t until I told her that I believed (which I do) that there is a “100% chance that you will get another job” that she breathed a sigh of relief. I quickly qualified that statement by making sure she knew that I could not guarantee that I was going to be the one to find this job, or that it would pay as well, be in her chosen specialty or even be in the legal profession. But the fact remains that each and every one of us is employable, and as the recession begins to fade, the opportunities for talented attorneys are going to increase. It’s just how the world works.

While it may not actually get her a new job, I am confident that my optimistic outlook on her employment future helped to infuse new energy into her search. And for that reason alone, I will continue to irritate myself with my optimistic view of life.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Unemployed? STAY BUSY.

A year ago, if someone had told me that the vast majority of associate-level candidates I would see during 2009 were going to be unemployed, I would have laughed (or cried). But it’s true. Unemployment is a reality for associates in all areas of law and at all levels. Lately, I have seen these associates fall into two categories: those who believe that staying busy in their substantive area of law will benefit their marketability to firms, and those who think now is the time to become one with the couch and rekindle their love affair with soap operas.

To most of you, I hope this is an obvious statement: the attorneys in the first category are going to get jobs long before those in the latter category. It feels almost ridiculous to have to say something that obvious. But I have my reasons. For example, I recently spoke to a candidate who called me about a new job posting on the BCG Attorney Search website. He has absolutely fantastic academic credentials and law firm experience, but in 2006 he left his last firm to obtain an additional graduate degree, and while doing so the market crashed. Consequently, he has been out of the law firm world for almost three years (two while in school and a year since graduation). Naturally, one of the first questions I asked him was to explain what he had been doing since earning his graduate degree a year ago. Imagine my surprise when he replied “not much.” I followed that up with “Have you been keeping up with the ever-changing rules and regulations of your practice area?” “Ah, not really,” he mumbled. “What about attending CLE classes?” I asked. “Um, that’s a good idea. Hadn’t thought about that.” (Really? Is that possible?) “Volunteering or doing contract work?” His reply: “nope.” You get my point. The guy had been doing nothing to help explain the growing gap on his resume (other than search the web for a permanent job).

As a recruiter, this makes my job infinitely more difficult. The first question a firm is going to ask me when I submit this candidate’s resume is to explain what he has been doing for the last year. Make no mistake, the majority of firms I work with are not turned off by a candidate who has been laid off from his firm, but they do want to know that the candidate is motivated to keep up with his legal knowledge and skills. Think about it. If you were the hiring partner at a firm, wouldn’t you prefer to interview the candidate who has been taking CLE classes, volunteering at a legal aid clinic, seeking out contract work where available and networking with former colleagues and friends all while contemporaneously looking for a permanent job over the candidate that has just been looking for work for the last year? Firms are not stupid. They know that while a job search is very time consuming, it does leave time for other activities. And in this economy, no matter your credentials, if you are not out there doing extracurricular activities, the guy sitting next to you (who has equally impressive credentials) is– and he is going to get the job over you.

So, get out there. I guarantee that it will help you land a solid job.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

To contract or not to contract?

By no means is this post meant to raise a new issue.  In fact, I am sure the issue of whether to do contract work while searching for a permanent position has been blogged about before.  Even so, because I believe that the answer to this question changes as the economy changes, its worth a revisit.

I cannot recall a day in the last six months on which I was not asked by an unemployed law-firm associate whether it would hurt their chances of finding a permanent job if they did some contract work to bring in some money (yes, even though big-law firm attorneys make ridiculously large salaries, let’s face it, we are not exactly the best money managers).  I applaud anyone who asks me this question because it shows that he/she is thoughtful and aware that much of what you do can affect your chances of obtaining a new permanent job.

So, what is the answer?  Should you do contract work or will doing so make your resume less attractive to prospective employers?  While there is no “right” answer, in a strong economy, I recommend against contracting because it can make an associate look unfocused and/or uncommitted. However, in an economy like this one, all bets are off, meaning that contract work has become a necessity for many unemployed associates.  Think about it.  Countless attorneys have been laid off as a result of this recession, many of whom are the primary wage earners for their families or have other monetary obligations that do not simply disappear because the economy has gone down the toilet.  Contract work is a relatively easy way to keep some level of income while searching for a job.  And, from my experience (and only my experience) firms have changed their tunes about contract work as well.  In fact, when I inform firms that my candidate is doing contract work, the usual response is something like “that makes sense” or “of course, that’s no problem.”  After all, we are all experiencing the recession to come extent so those who have escaped the massive lay offs should empathize with those who have been cut.

So, while the economy is in the tank, contract away.  But remember, once the economy has recovered (which it will very soon) and permanent jobs are abundant, contracting may no longer be as acceptable.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

An Alternative to Lay-offs: Simpson Thacher’s New Public Service Fellowship Program

Unless you are trapped underground, you are well aware of the massive layoffs taking place across the country in just about every major (and not so major) law firm. Associates have obviously been hit the hardest, and the results are not pretty. Thousands of young attorneys with minimal experience, lots of debt and no jobs are looking for high paying firm jobs where none exist. It’s depressing, to say the least.

But one firm has done something that could serve as a creative alternative to the mass associates cuts. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett announced the creation of a new Public Service Fellowship Program, through which associates can take one year to work on a public service project of their choosing, and at the end of the year, the firm will give them the option of returning to the firm. During the year-long fellowship, an associate who participates will receive a $60,000 stipend from the firm.

To me, this is the perfect alternative to cutting associate jobs. Lord knows there are plenty of non-profit legal organizations and public services agencies who would gladly host a public interest fellow, and while $60,000 is significantly less than the salaries of Simpson Thacher associates, I like to think that even the greediest of associates would consider taking this opportunity to give back in exchange for not losing one’s job. Plus, the firm saves significant money on associate salaries for the year of the service project and won’t have to interview for new associates when the economy bounces back (because it WILL bounce back, no matter how bad things appear right now).

So, which firms are going to follow suit? So far, I have not heard of any other firms doing so, but I most certainly hope they do. Anything to slow the layoffs down, increase morale among young attorneys and promote public service work.

Suddenly, I am feeling a bit jealous that there was no massive recession like the current one while I was practicing law at a big firm. That’s just twisted, isn’t it?

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Do NOT Pass Up an Interview Just Because the Firm is Not Footing the Bill

We all know this is a very tough job market for attorneys.  There have been countless law firm layoffs and fewer openings for lateral hires at the firms.  As such, the competition has gotten out of control.  In fact, it is not unusual for a firm to interview upwards of ten attorneys for a single position.  Gone are the days in which associates are confident that they “have it in the bag” if they are invited back to a firm for a second round of interviews.  Instead, I am seeing attorneys invited back for third rounds, asked for a writing sample and references, only to be turned down in favor of another candidate.

While the competition is tough, the only way to obtain a new job is to actually get before prospective employers in an interview setting.  And in this market, it may require you to shell out a few dollars to do so.  For example, a few weeks ago I submitted a fantastic candidate, currently practicing in New York, to a firm here in Chicago.  The firm responded by letting me know that they liked the candidate’s resume and asking if I knew whether this candidate had any plans to be in Chicago in the next month.  If so, the firm would like to interview her, but the firm was not willing to pay for the candidate to fly into Chicago for the interview.

Knowing that my candidate had no immediate plans to come to Chicago, I called her and told her to book the first flight out here to meet with the firm.  While she was excited at the prospect of doing so, she pushed back at my suggestion because, as she put it “my [current] firm pays me next to nothing, and I cannot afford to pay for my own flight.”

While I felt badly for this candidate, I spent the next few minutes explaining to her that in this market, firms have plenty of candidates to choose from, so if she didn’t fly in for the interview, the firm was going to find other candidates who would.  Thankfully, it clicked with my candidate, and $350 later, she was on her way to Chicago and ready to meet with the firm.

Thankfully, the interview went very well.  In fact, the partner with whom she met liked her so much that he invited her back on the spot for another round of interviews while she was in town.  This time, the firm would pay for her to change her return flight so that she could stay in town for the interview.

This full round of interview took place yesterday, and while we have not yet heard whether she is going to be given an offer from the firm, the point of the story is that she would never have found herself in this position if she hadn’t taken the chance and come out, on her own dime, for the interview.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.