Resume

5 Most Common Resume Mistakes by Lawyers

  • On January 29, 2017
The resume is one of the few things about your career in your control now. Give it proper attention so you present yourself crisply, and avoid these 5 mistakes: Too long! Your resume must fit on 1-2 pages, 1 if you graduated fewer than 10 years ago, and 2 for everyone else. One exception is […]
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Job Search

4 Ways to Get Considered When You Don’t Meet All Requirements

  • On January 22, 2017
Can you land a job when you don’t meet all the stated requirements? Yes! Here’s how: Determine which requirements are nice to have versus absolutes. The hiring manager does not always have the time and energy to craft a perfect job description, so know that it is not the gospel. To learn which parts of […]
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Career Management, Client, Inhouse

Top 5 Client Management Skills

  • On January 16, 2017
I speak to many senior partners and in-house executives, who successfully manage their clients. They consistently: Research clients, both current and prospective. Even before their first meeting, lawyers have researched their clients’ goals, business, and hot buttons so they are ready to give tailored advice. Build relationships with clients. It takes time for lawyers to […]
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Compensation

How to Get a Raise This Year: 5 Things to Think About

  • On January 8, 2017
Getting a raise takes advance planning. Start thinking now so you are ready to negotiate when the timing is right: Find out what your manager faces to give an employee a raise. Get metrics and a timeline, ideally in writing. (If that’s too awkward, take good notes and jot down the date.) Record your accomplishments/results […]
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Career Management, Job Search

How to Ring in 2017: 5 Easy Things to Do!

  • On January 1, 2017
Happy new year! 5 easy things to do now for your career: Update your LinkedIn account. Does it have a good photo? Did you include your latest awards, publications, talks, or achievements? You want prospective employers and clients to find you for the right reasons. Understand what the job market is doing right now. To get a snapshot, […]
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Career Management, Client, Inhouse

3 Ways to Accelerate Your Career!

  • On December 11, 2016
I recently spoke to two in-house lawyers who have successfully accelerated their careers. Their top 3 tips: Befriend your clients. Clients will then approach you early and often. From these conversations, you can get the big picture about the business goals, product roadmaps, risk tolerance, etc. than if you kept partners at arms’ length (even if you […]
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Attire, Career Management

Career Advice Lawyers Should Avoid

  • On December 4, 2016
Career advice is often obvious: arrive on time for interviews, prepare for the role, ask the interviewer questions, etc. But there are a few tips that do NOT apply to lawyers. Conventional wisdom that Bay Area lawyers should avoid: “Add a career objective on your resume.” Your resume should be 2 pages long tops (you […]
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Interview

3 Questions to Ask in an Interview

  • On November 27, 2016
An interview is going well if conversation flows. Do not awkwardly save all your questions for the end. Instead, work good ones into the conversation. Some samples below: “How did this role come about?” This question, if asked positively, is a nice way to get context and history — you need to know if there […]
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Career Management, Women & Minorities

How to Get the Promotion & Raise You Deserve!

  • On November 13, 2016
I came back last week from the annual NAPABA conference and am summarizing useful pointers from the seminar “Pushing to the Top: Women Attorneys in High-Tech Culture.” Speakers included Hogene Choi (Baker Bott partner), Sarita Venkat (Apple senior counsel), Emily Ward (former PayPal VP), and Yuri Mikulka, (Manatt partner). Their tips apply to lawyers of any race […]
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