Top 10 Legal Job Search Fails

On February 19, 2023

I see these ten things all the time that lawyers should not be doing. I call these out because they are within your control to avoid. 1. Your resume lists what you do in the order you do it rather than in the order the prospective employer cares about. Do not make the interviewer work to […]

Career Management, Career Tips

2 Super Easy New Year’s Resolutions for Lawyers

On January 1, 2023

Happy New Year! 2022 was challenging, so let’s make extra-attainable New Year’s resolutions for 2023. I reviewed 20 crowd-sourced and hand-picked by the New York Times. These two apply to your career and are excellent: “Never take criticism from someone you wouldn’t go to for advice.” “Learn to say, ‘I need time to think about this.’ […]

Career Management, Job Search

Non-Legal Jobs for Lawyers

On December 4, 2022

Now that tech layoffs have hit, you may be thinking of other careers. Here are other jobs I’ve seen lawyers successfully shift to: compliance privacy/data HR legal operations business operations founder (e.g., of tech or services company) consulting crisis management finance banking/trading sales/channel/business development venture capital real estate government recruiter coach writer Lawyers who want […]

Career Management, Career Tips, Mentors, Networking

10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started My Legal Career

On October 29, 2022

I am the child of immigrants and the first in my family to go to law school in the US. Not knowing any lawyers, I navigated my career through trial and error. Here are 10 things I wish I knew when I started: Big law is not the only way to go. Yes, big law […]

Career Management, Career Tips, Change, Departure, Market, Timing

5 Non-Obvious Signs of Impending Layoff

On September 25, 2022

As the risk of recession increases, here’s a good article on how to tell if your company is about to do layoffs (beyond if you see a steep drop in revenue or a threat emerge to the business model). I survived multiple rounds of layoffs when I was in-house, and these ring true to me: […]

Career Management, Mentors, Networking, New Job

The Importance of Work Friends

On August 28, 2022

As new grads enter the workforce, they should know the importance of bonding with workmates. What can they gain? The New York Times recently quoted a few things a professional woman learned at her first job decades ago: How to take feedback from a boss without compromising on her ideas. How to have fun at […]

Career Management, Career Tips

3 Simple Signals You Are Good at Your Job

On July 17, 2022

As a legal recruiter, I talk to thousands of people about their careers. The obvious things that make them stand out: top-notch credentials, strong work performance, and a clear career trajectory (what they’ve done makes sense and connects with what they want to do). And here are three less obvious things candidates can do that […]

Career Management, Career Tips, Move

In-Office vs. Remote/Hybrid: Trends & Tradeoffs

On July 10, 2022

The great experiment of work from home, hybrid, or fully in-office is still going on. Most companies are doing some kind of remote or hybrid schedule, while some others (e.g., Tesla, C3 AI and JP Morgan) want all employees back in office full-time. (See this article “Think Working From Home Won’t Hurt Your Career? Don’t Be So […]

Career Management, Career Tips, Mentors

Is Getting Honors & Awards Actually Helpful for Your Career?

On July 3, 2022

Most lawyers I know are pretty humble and don’t go out of their way to collect awards and honors. The question is, should they? The answer is yes for awards given by a credible group, ideally by a professional organization with recognized members of the industry. And the answer is no if it’s obviously a […]

Career Management, Career Tips, Women & Minorities

Get Strategic: Think Hard about Taking on Non-Promotable Tasks!

On June 12, 2022

As the world economy sputters (see recent NYT story Global Growth Will Be Choked Amid Inflation and War), get strategic about your career as companies aim to cut fat. Take stock of your responsibilities and make an impact recognized by management. I read with interest this Harvard Business Review article on non-promotable tasks, which lawyers […]

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