Market

Job Numbers Up in April but Market is Still Down

  • On May 11, 2025
The US economy is up 177,000 jobs as of April, but employers are not bullish, the WSJ reports. In fact, “[m]ajor U.S. employers are slowing or pausing hiring to cut costs amid economic uncertainty… Companies are wary of layoffs, but are more cautious about bringing in new workers.” What’s giving companies concern? “Stop-start” trade wars […]
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Market, Uncategorized

Pendulum Swinging Back Towards In-Office

  • On May 5, 2025
While the pendulum is swinging away from remote work and back towards in-office, the Bay Area still “lags significantly behind” almost all other major metro regions. The national average is 32.2% fewer office visits in March 2025 compared to March 2019, pre-pandemic, but San Francisco is tied in last place with Chicago at 44.6%. On […]
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Interview, Presentation

Tips for Effective Communication

  • On April 27, 2025
I was honored to speak with Cisco DGC Sarita Venkat and top trial lawyer Bijal Vakil on effective presenting and interviewing skills. Key takeaways: Before any communication, consider your audience and what they care about. When communicating, be clear on your vision, the results you are conveying, and the impact on the audience. Sample answers […]
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Market

What’s Going on with the Market?

  • On April 13, 2025
As a recruiter I’m often asked what I’m seeing. What I am seeing is not good. I appreciated this Bay Area news summary of ongoing tech layoffs where “nobody is safe.”  While better than last year, times are still tough. Meta is closing three offices in Fremont, and Block (formerly Square) is laying off 240 […]
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Career Management, Career Tips

What to Do if You Didn’t Get the Promotion

  • On April 6, 2025
Getting passed over at work stings. A few years ago in-house lawyers could have their picks of other jobs because the market was so hot. Unfortunately that’s not the case now. WSJ reports job openings are down by 8.6% and the number of people quitting jobs is down 2.6% compared to last year, but gives […]
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Compensation, Market

What’s Going on with Startup Comp?

  • On March 30, 2025
Carta just reported on the state of startup compensation! The good news: Average salaries and equity grants rose slightly. Layoffs are at the lowest point in 3 years. These industries grew headcount: energy, hw, med device. Ready for the bad news? Startups “haven’t been this reluctant to hire in at least 5 years.” Net headcount […]
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Uncategorized

Law School Admission “Brutal This Year”

  • On March 22, 2025
WSJ reports the competition to get into law school is “brutal this year.” The number of applicants rose 20.5% for the top 200 US law schools. Why? The top reasons include: Desire for economic stability. Applicants believe that a career in law seems secure in an uncertain market. “Law school applications often rise during recessions, […]
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Networking

How to Maintain Professional Relationships (Sample Language Included)

  • On March 9, 2025
I appreciated the hands-on advice from career guru Gorick Ng on how to maintain a professional relationship. He was answering this question from someone going into law/finance, so his tips definitely apply to you. He gives 4 strategies, complete with template language (which lawyers always love): Share info. Ng suggests saying: “I just came across […]
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Uncategorized

Disastrous February CA Bar Offering by the Numbers

  • On March 3, 2025
Disastrous February California Bar Offering by the Numbers: Test takers of the newly designed California bar exam faced a myriad of problems. Many users were unable to log in, disconnected and/or locked out of the testing platform, and unable to copy and paste. Others reported getting blank exam questions or the same question twice, being […]
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