The globalizing of our economy requires this new kind of worker. Many people will not accept this statement. Take advantage of their close-mindedness. Strive to be a problem solver and an opportunity creator. This takes a good self-image and a creative mind. So, what do you need? Distilled down, the new economy needs workers with the following four traits, the traits of high-value workers.
High-Value-Worker Trait No. 1:
The successful high-value worker truly enjoys his or her work. It is not a compulsive, workaholic obsession. Rather, it is a genuine balanced interest. When you talk with these people, you realize their work is more than a source of income. Make no mistake about it, they do earn large incomes. Their work is an everyday learning experience. Work is a game providing an opportunity to take calculated risks and see how things work out. They are people-oriented people. They enjoy leading and they enjoy improving the lives of others.
It is this enjoyment of what they are doing that opens their minds to creative thought. The high-value worker views problems as opportunities, to be pounced upon. Most people see problems as nuisances. They focus on a single solution to rid themselves of the problem. Then they tensely await the next problem. Work is a never ending struggle. Rather than seeing work as a struggle, the high-value worker sees his or her work as a game worth playing well. Both the worker and the employer benefit.
High-Value-Worker Trait No. 2:
High-value workers communicate well. They use a variety of media to communicate to all kinds of people. They are gifted sellers; whether it is a product, an idea, or themselves. They enjoy the effort of working and communicating with others. They are gregarious and comfortable with people. They listen to others who are communicating with them.
Their ability to communicate and work with people makes them adaptable to all kinds of jobs, opportunities, and projects. That is what employers need right now: adaptability. How can a company be adaptable if its employees are not? Companies, even in these times of tight budgets, still spend a lot of money training their employees to communicate better. They all know that effective communicating is the key to selling their products and services.
High-Value-Worker Trait No. 3:
High-value workers are self-motivated. The high-value worker sets challenging, but attainable, goals. High-value workers know that short-term and long-term goals keep them on course by providing mileposts for their lives. The high-value worker motivates himself or herself with these internal goals. No one needs to supervise them.
In these rapidly changing times, companies need focused and motivated key workers. As a company is being buffeted by change, the rapidly changing market leaves little time for soothing its employees. Amidst the chaos, the high-value worker will perform at a high level powered by self-motivation. They know they are good at what they do and want to do it better. What is more, they feel comfortable with others counting on them. It is not egocentrism, but just confidence that they can get the job done. They might fail momentarily. Yet, they do not quit until they succeed. They expect success. It is self-fulfilling.
High-Value-Worker Trait No. 4:
High-value workers can be both leaders and team players. The successful key employees work with their fellow workers as a team. They can lead when necessary, but follow when the situation calls for it. Strategic teams, composed of high-value workers, answer the needs of the demanding marketplace. The high-value workers are ready to take on their needed role. A company must be able to adjust and move quickly in the direction of the market. It cannot afford, literally, to wait until all of its players decide that this course of action suits them.
Please understand and be confident that you have what they need. Fast-growing, competitive companies need high-value workers in jobs that are critical to the company's success. You are after these critical area jobs with dynamic companies. This is where the money and action are. Employers want to know if you possess the traits of a high-value worker. Take the initiative and show prospective employers that you possess the skills and traits they need in their high-value employees.
That is, you enjoy the work you have chosen, communicate well, are self-directed and are capable of leading, as well as being support player.
So you have shown to your prospective employers that you are a valuable high-value worker and that you possess all the traits of one. Now this is the next step of the strategy.
Showcase Your Legal Training:
Showcase your legal training. What does it take to be successful? You may say that it depends upon what it is you are doing. To some extent that is true, but the high-value-worker traits are the common thread. You must develop them, if you do not already possess them. However, the train will run you over if you just stand around. You must act. Knowing how to do something is not the same as doing it.
Don’t waste your time and effort in downplaying your law school education. There is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact it is something to be proud of and something you should flaunt. Nobody will hire you as you will across as someone who was confused and had no confidence. Don't count on luck. Your law degree is a big plus. Show it off.
We talk about the traits of the high-value worker because high-value careers are not for the timid, introverted, or lazy. However, since you have gotten into, and for some, graduated from law school, this hardly describes you. The high-value-worker traits match the skills developed by legal training. All you need to do is choose a career that you enjoy. If you are not sure this describes your situation, look at the traits again.
Good Communications Skills:
This is the heart of legal training. You wrote in legal writing class. You wrote papers. You wrote essay finals. You wrote and wrote. Moot court and trial advocacy taught you to speak in front of others, friendly and not so friendly. You recited in class. You spoke to audiences so much; public speaking became natural. You can think on your feet. This trait should be fairly easy for you to show because most people know that lawyers are skillful writers and speakers.
Self-Direction and Motivation:
Law school and the bar exam are not user-friendly processes. You are competing against your own classmates to stay off the wrong end of the bell shaped curve. The legal profession prides itself on being adversarial. No one can get through law school, pass the bar exam, and subsequently practice law without being internally motivated. You did it because you are self-directed. You did it one step at a time. However, you stayed focused on the distant, but definite, goal. Employers familiar with the law school routine and bar exam procedure know two things: you can work hard and you only need yourself to make you do it.
A Leader and a Team Player:
Most employers have little trouble envisioning lawyers as leaders, but what about team players? Being a team player signifies being able to get along with people to achieve a group goal. You learned to be adversarial. Did you not? Sure you were-against your adversaries! However, you learned, first and foremost, to protect your client and your firm. You all were a team. Successful teams demand loyalty and openness. What other profession would kick you out of it if you were not loyal, open, and completely trustworthy with your coworkers and customers?
You Know and Can Apply the Law to the Business Situation:
Obviously, you understand the law, its terminology, and application to doing business. You understand the issues presented in contracts, the basis of tort claims, and the framework of business law. You can maneuver through these areas much more deftly than those without your training and experience. You cannot disconnect business from law.
You Have Constructive Critical Thinking Skills:
Critical thinking explores alternate possibilities. Successful workers in the competitive global marketplace rely on their critical thinking skills to solve problems and decide difficult issues. You have heard it repeatedly. You have learned to think like a lawyer. Do not take this skill for granted. Professors pounded it into you until it was second nature. It is a skill encoded in your very core. It is a skill that applies itself to all types of problems, not just legal ones. It is an uncommon ability. You can spot issues and work to solve them. Listen to people when they are discussing something complex. How many times are they not even concerning themselves with the issues? You, on the other hand, think in a critical and constructive manner.
You Can Do More than Communicate Well-You Are Persuasive:
Let's put it bluntly. In law school you learned how to advocate anything. Now you need to sell a product or service. The method is the same. You collect and order the facts to persuade whomever to do what you want them to do. Again, many of the math camp kids have never had to do this.
No Business Defines a Position In Terms of a Law Degree, You Must Do This:
Your legal skills are valuable, in part, because they are transfer-able. Customize your skills to the career you want. Always be thinking about how you can effectively present your skills and training to an employer. Your introduction letter will embody your presentation of your skills to a potential employer. This process of defining your legal skills and experience in terms of business is the heart of the strategy. It also takes a lot of work and thought.
The process is much like preparing for a case. It is research in and out of the library. Yet, it is more than just research. It is your strategy for a successful and enjoyable life. You have seen how your skills and background give the employer a competitive advantage. The message is that creativity, combined with hard work and persistence, wins. Employers are looking for creative employees who bring new thinking and energy to the table. Companies demand both technical and sales skills in one neat package: a specialist and a generalist.
The job market will challenge you. It is neither logical, coherent, nor it is orderly. Do not try to control the process. Just take the chaos as a given and thrive on it. Chaos is a ready-made opportunity. It is your key to success.
