- Make Job Seeking a Full-time Job: Don't look at job seeking as something to be done in your spare time; treat it as a full-time job. Devote about one-half of each day to finding job leads and arranging interviews. Then spend the rest of the day going out on actual interviews. Follow this schedule every day until you get a job.
- Use Friends, Relatives, and Acquaintances: as Sources of Job Leads. Make a systematic effort to contact friends, relatives, and acquaintances as a primary source of job leads.
- Use Standard Scripts and Forms: Have standard scripts and forms on hand, and use them when contacting friends or employers, writing letters, making telephone calls, and keeping records.
- Obtain Facilities and Supplies: Before you even begin job seeking, obtain and prepare all the supplies and services you will need—for example, telephone, typewriter, photocopies, stationery, postage, newspapers, and a work area.
- Obtain Unpublicized jobs: Obtain interviews for jobs that haven't been publicly advertised or that may not even exist yet. This will result in the discovery and actual creation of job openings.
- Use the Telephone as Tour Primary Contact for Leads: The telephone, rather than letters or personal visits, should be your main method of obtaining job leads and arranging interviews.
- Use the Classified Directory (Yellow Pages) of the Telephone Book: Each day, use die Yellow Pages section of the telephone book. It can provide you with new lists of potential employers who may have unpublicized job openings.
- Emphasize Your Personal and Social Skills: Your work skills aren't the only thing that deserves attention; you also need to emphasize distinctive personal and social skills. Stress these personal skills in your resume, in making contacts to obtain leads, and in the interview.
- Use One Job Lead to Uncover Others: Turn unsuccessful job inquiries into job leads. This will generate a continuous fresh supply of leads and contacts.
- Arrange Second Contacts and Callbacks: Arrange a second contact with an employer, following an interview, to help the employer decide in your favor. Similarly, arrange a callback with a highly attractive employer. This will give you quick access to information about forthcoming openings.
- Arrange Transportation: Arrange transportation to job locations that would otherwise be inaccessible. This lets you consider a greater range of job possibilities.
- Approach Former Employers: Approach former employers for job leads as well as actual job openings
- Obtain Open Letters of Recommendation: Obtain open letters of recommendation that will give interviewers all the information they need to reach an immediate decision.
- Write a Resume: Your resume should stress personal skills, attributes, and functional work skills — not give a formal listing of job titles.
- Train for the Interview: Learn how to act during an interview and how to respond to common interview questions.
- Prepare an Interview Checklist: Make up a list of actions to be covered during any interview. After each interview, review this list immediately to highlight omissions or problems that might need correcting for the next interview.
- Place Job-Wanted Ads: If you have great difficulty finding a job, place a job-wanted ad in the newspaper. Word the ad to emphasize your positive personal and social attributes.
- Identify Non-employment-Derived Work Skills: Identify all marketable work-related skills that you may not have acquired from, or that may not be related to, other previous paid employment.
- Structure a Job-Seeking Schedule: Use a form to plan each day's schedule of interviews, calls, and visits.
- Keep a Leads List: Maintain a running record of job leads. This helps you organize contacts with callbacks to potential employers.
- Keep Progress Charts: Keep a formal record of your job-seeking activities. This allows you to make a quick evaluation of your progress and—if you're having trouble finding a job—to pinpoint possible reasons for this difficulty.
- Contact Job Supervisors: Contact potential job supervisors, rather than personnel staff, in a company. The supervisor usually plays a critical role in hiring decisions, and also sometimes can create a job that's especially geared to the skills or attributes of a particular applicant.
- Consider Relocation: If you can't find a suitable job locally, learn how to get one in another location.
- Deal Positively with Tour Handicaps: Learn how to deemphasize and discuss apparent handicaps, such as a physical disability or a prison record, and how to view them positively.
- Write Letters for Job Leads: Write to people for job leads, using sample letters and forms as models.
- Enlist Family Support: Enlist the support of your family or roommates and tell them specific ways in which they can help.
- Provide a Photograph (Optional): When possible, personalize your resume by attaching a photograph.
- Understand Employment Applications: Learn how to emphasize your positive attributes when answering typical questions on employment application forms.
- Consider Many Positions: If you consider many types of positions, you won't restrict yourself to just one type of job.
Most law firms avoid posting jobs on Indeed or LinkedIn due to high costs. Instead, they publish them on their own websites, bar association pages, and niche legal boards. LawCrossing finds these hidden jobs, giving you access to exclusive opportunities. Sign up now!
published January 19, 2013
By Harrison Barnes, CEO and Founder - BCG Attorney Search 
The very idea of job hunting may elicit a variety of negative reactions, ranging from fatigue to grim determination to despair. After all, if your only alternative were to pound the pavement, classified ads in (clenched) hand, to compete with countless other equally grim or desperate souls, you'd have a right to feel bad. However, the job-searching process doesn't have to be grim; the Job-Club method offers several specific, systematic methods that yield a personal sense of accomplishment as well as a probable job. These are the procedures you'll be using:
About Harrison Barnes
No legal recruiter in the United States has placed more attorneys at top law firms across every practice area than Harrison Barnes. His unmatched expertise, industry connections, and proven placement strategies have made him the most influential legal career advisor for attorneys seeking success in Big Law, elite boutiques, mid-sized firms, small firms, firms in the largest and smallest markets, and in over 350 separate practice areas.
A Reach Unlike Any Other Legal Recruiter
Most legal recruiters focus only on placing attorneys in large markets or specific practice areas, but Harrison places attorneys at all levels, in all practice areas, and in all locations—from the most prestigious firms in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., to small and mid-sized firms in rural markets. Every week, he successfully places attorneys not only in high-demand practice areas like corporate and litigation but also in niche and less commonly recruited areas such as:
- Immigration law
- Workers’ compensation
- Insurance defense
- Family law
- Trusts & estates
- Municipal law
- And many more...
This breadth of placements is unheard of in the legal recruiting industry and is a testament to his extraordinary ability to connect attorneys with the right firms, regardless of market size or practice area.
Proven Success at All Levels
With over 25 years of experience, Harrison has successfully placed attorneys at over 1,000 law firms, including:
- Top Am Law 100 firms such including Sullivan and Cromwell, and almost every AmLaw 100 and AmLaw 200 law firm.
- Elite boutique firms with specialized practices
- Mid-sized firms looking to expand their practice areas
- Growing firms in small and rural markets
He has also placed hundreds of law firm partners and has worked on firm and practice area mergers, helping law firms strategically grow their teams.
Unmatched Commitment to Attorney Success – The Story of BCG Attorney Search
Harrison Barnes is not just the most effective legal recruiter in the country, he is also the founder of BCG Attorney Search, a recruiting powerhouse that has helped thousands of attorneys transform their careers. His vision for BCG goes beyond just job placement; it is built on a mission to provide attorneys with opportunities they would never have access to otherwise. Unlike traditional recruiting firms, BCG Attorney Search operates as a career partner, not just a placement service. The firm’s unparalleled resources, including a team of over 150 employees, enable it to offer customized job searches, direct outreach to firms, and market intelligence that no other legal recruiting service provides. Attorneys working with Harrison and BCG gain access to hidden opportunities, real-time insights on firm hiring trends, and guidance from a team that truly understands the legal market. You can read more about how BCG Attorney Search revolutionizes legal recruiting here: The Story of BCG Attorney Search and What We Do for You.
The Most Trusted Career Advisor for Attorneys
Harrison’s legal career insights are the most widely followed in the profession.
- His articles on BCG Search alone are read by over 150,000 attorneys per month, making his guidance the most sought-after in the legal field. Read his latest insights here.
- He has conducted hundreds of hours of career development webinars, available here: Harrison Barnes Webinar Replays.
- His placement success is unmatched—see examples here: Harrison Barnes' Attorney Placements.
- He has created numerous comprehensive career development courses, including BigLaw Breakthrough, designed to help attorneys land positions at elite law firms.
Submit Your Resume to Work with Harrison Barnes
If you are serious about advancing your legal career and want access to the most sought-after law firm opportunities, Harrison Barnes is the most powerful recruiter to have on your side.
Submit your resume today to start working with him: Submit Resume Here.
With an unmatched track record of success, a vast team of over 150 dedicated employees, and a reach into every market and practice area, Harrison Barnes is the recruiter who makes career transformations happen and has the talent and resources behind him to make this happen.
A Relentless Commitment to Attorney Success
Unlike most recruiters who work with only a narrow subset of attorneys, Harrison Barnes works with lawyers at all stages of their careers, from junior associates to senior partners, in every practice area imaginable. His placements are not limited to only those with "elite" credentials—he has helped thousands of attorneys, including those who thought it was impossible to move firms, find their next great opportunity.
Harrison’s work is backed by a team of over 150 professionals who work around the clock to uncover hidden job opportunities at law firms across the country. His team:
- Finds and creates job openings that aren’t publicly listed, giving attorneys access to exclusive opportunities.
- Works closely with candidates to ensure their resumes and applications stand out.
- Provides ongoing guidance and career coaching to help attorneys navigate interviews, negotiations, and transitions successfully.
This level of dedicated support is unmatched in the legal recruiting industry.
A Legal Recruiter Who Changes Lives
Harrison believes that every attorney—no matter their background, law school, or previous experience—has the potential to find success in the right law firm environment. Many attorneys come to him feeling stuck in their careers, underpaid, or unsure of their next steps. Through his unique ability to identify the right opportunities, he helps attorneys transform their careers in ways they never thought possible.
He has worked with:
- Attorneys making below-market salaries who went on to double or triple their earnings at new firms.
- Senior attorneys who believed they were “too experienced” to make a move and found better roles with firms eager for their expertise.
- Attorneys in small or remote markets who assumed they had no options—only to be placed at strong firms they never knew existed.
- Partners looking for a better platform or more autonomy who successfully transitioned to firms where they could grow their practice.
For attorneys who think their options are limited, Harrison Barnes has proven time and time again that opportunities exist—often in places they never expected.
Submit Your Resume Today – Start Your Career Transformation
If you want to explore new career opportunities, Harrison Barnes and BCG Attorney Search are your best resources. Whether you are looking for a BigLaw position, a boutique firm, or a move to a better work environment, Harrison’s expertise will help you take control of your future.
? Submit Your Resume Here to get started with Harrison Barnes today.
Alternative Summary
Harrison is the founder of BCG Attorney Search and several companies in the legal employment space that collectively gets thousands of attorneys jobs each year. Harrison’s writings about attorney careers and placement attract millions of reads each year. Harrison is widely considered the most successful recruiter in the United States and personally places multiple attorneys most weeks. His articles on legal search and placement are read by attorneys, law students and others millions of times per year.
More about Harrison
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