The Positive and Persistent Jamie Bailey

Personal Life

Jamie Bailey is a Partner with BCG Attorney Search's Chicago office and is responsible for BCG Attorney Search's Midwest region, which includes Chicago, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, Colorado, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. She places partners and associates in a wide range of practice areas in Am Law 100/200, middle market and boutique law firms across the Midwest.

Jamie was born in Kentucky. Her family moved to Chicago where she has lived most of her life. She enjoys hiking, biking, running and attending concerts. Jamie is an avid U2 fan and goes to three or four of their concerts when they are in town.

Jamie met her beloved husband at a running race called the “Shamrock Shuffle.” Her future hubby approached her and said, “Nice Bike,” which got him a first date with Jamie.

When she isn't working, Jamie is usually working out at the East Bank Club in River North or planning her next hiking trip.

One of Jamie's favorite books is A Prayer for Owen Meany and she loves reading anything by William Somerset Maugham. Her favorite food is Italian and she is a frequent visitor at Cocco Pazzo, a restaurant located in River North.

Jamie's Career and Tips to Become a Successful Recruiter

The BCG recruiter was asked, what does it takes to become a successful recruiter? The jovial recruiter said, “To become a successful recruiter, you need to have tenacity, flexibility of thought and a huge level of endurance. You need to be able to deal with success and failure with maturity and stamina. Recruiters are on a daily basis dealing with good and bad job markets, deals that close and do not close and a wide variety of personalities. Without an ability to weather these daily ups and downs, a recruiter is likely to fail.”

The veteran recruiter acknowledged that she has learned from her mistakes by analyzing transactions from start to finish. She stated that “learning from the cause and effect of my actions during representation allows me to more effectively represent candidates and law firms in the legal marketplace.”

Jamie continued to discuss how you can become a successful recruiter. She stated, “You also need to have a vast array of knowledge of the firms and their practices, as well as contacts at the firms. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, in order to be successful, a recruiter needs to be ethically grounded and unwilling to compromise in that area. These are the characteristics that I have successfully developed over the past 12 years of recruiting.”

Why did Jamie enter the industry and what motivated her to become a BCG recruiter? The U2 admirer was a recruiter for Hopkins & Sutter (now Foley & Lardner), a large law firm with an office in the windy city, before she transitioned to working as a recruiter at BCG Attorney Search.

She was motivated to work as a BCG recruiter because she “was particularly attracted to BCG Attorney Search's knowledge of the industry, approach to the recruiting process and standard of representation. I identified with BCG Attorney Search's core value of providing attorneys the best representation and knowledge of firms, while providing law firms the highest quality candidates.”

The recruiter added, “Having served on both sides of the fence has afforded me the opportunity to bring attorneys and firms together with the confidence that I am aiding both to achieve their long-term goals.”

Jamie is known for consistently being professional, loyal and ethical. Does the top-notch recruiter have a weakness? She recognized, like other great law recruiters, she tries “to please too many people.”

The warm hearted Midwesterner finds her occupation very rewarding because she likes “having a positive impact on people's lives.” Jamie also pointed out that she never experiences the same day. She enjoys the constant challenge and continues to learn while working for BCG Attorney Search.

A great candidate, Jamie confessed, is “someone who has an outstanding work ethic, both academically and professionally, has overcome significant obstacles and who can articulate their experience and background effectively in an interview. Someone who is well rounded, interesting and works well on a team.”

The recruiter also talked about what she looks for to find the right fit. Jamie asks the law firm to define what it is looking for and asks the candidate to define his/her career objectives. She stated, “Based on both sets of criteria, I am better equipped to make a good match. I have found that by spending a great deal of time with both the law firms and the candidates, I can successfully match the right attorney with the right law firm.”

So what is Jamie's advice to new recruiters? The straightforward recruiter kept it simple by replying, “Stay positive and persistent.” The Midwesterner pointed out that the process for recruiters “can be like a roller coaster” and warned individuals who might be interested in transitioning into recruiting that there is “no immediate gratification. It's difficult to be a recruiter at times.” Jamie believes if you have two qualities, the desire to work hard and endurance, you can be successful in this industry. She indicated recruiters should always ask themselves: “Have I done enough or could I do more?” That has been Jamie's motto while working for BCG Attorney Search for the past 12 years.

Although Jamie believes it's hard to predict where the legal field will be in five years, she believes the national election will greatly impact lateral hiring in law firms and in what practice areas growth will occur. Why? Jamie said, “Law firms and businesses in general are waiting to see who wins the election and the affect it will have on taxes, healthcare and unemployment.”

Confidence, Faith, and Her Husband

Many readers would be interested to know from where Jamie derives her confidence. The recruiter declared, “I derive my confidence from my faith, my husband and other family members. My confidence is also derived from my continued success as a legal recruiter.”

Jamie said her faith has a huge impact on her life. She “goes to church often” and was raised a Christian.” The recruiter emphasized that her faith was “the most important aspect of her upbringing.” Jamie added, “It drives me daily.” Her favorite quote comes from John 14, verse 27, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Another major influence in Jamie's life is her loving husband. She credited him as her number one priority outside of work. She said, “He's brilliant, insightful and one of the most loving individuals I've ever met. He sets a great example for the rest of us.”

Jamie's mentor while growing up was her mom. She proclaimed, “She is the best mentor anyone could have.”

Confronting Obstacles

How does Jamie tackle obstacles, both professionally and personally? The BCG recruiter asserted that she confronts obstacles through “hard work, persistence and lots of prayer.” Her toughest professional obstacle was working on two partner placements, which took over a year to complete. How did she get through the process? Jamie said through hard work and dedication. She knew failure was not an option and because of that she stayed on top of the process. She claimed it was the “culmination of my 12 years at BCG.”

Non Profits and Professional Associations

The Midwesterner admires any non-profit organizations dedicated to finding missing and abducted children. Jamie said she “adores children” and almost signed on with the organization, The Adam Walsh Center, in Tampa, Florida. The recruiter is involved with the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) through BCG Attorney Search's membership.

Jamie's Goals

In terms of her professional goals, Jamie would like to continue to increase her work with partners and groups. One day, when she retires, Jamie hopes to become a ranger at a national park. She also wants to volunteer for an organization that finds missing children -- and dreams of getting to base camp Everest.