How To Conduct a Job Search in a Soft Economy

If you practice in an area that has slowed dramatically, it is not surprising that you are concerned. Seasoned lawyers, those who have experienced an economic downturn earlier in their career, probably understand the cyclical nature of the economy. However, more recent graduates, understandably, are running scared - - afraid of being laid off, afraid of stagnating and afraid of having nothing to do. If you are in this position, should you be thinking about your next move? While it is always appropriate to be thinking about and preparing for the next move, in these uncertain times, unless you have been asked to leave, it may be more prudent to stay put. Looking for a new position now is likely to mean a long, protracted search, and one which could be exceedingly frustrating. Moreover, if the practice is slow at your firm, it is unlikely to be booming at a competitor law firm.
 

This certainly is not the best time to be looking to change jobs. On the other hand, this may be the "perfect" time to add additional skills, retool, and increase your long-term marketability. What cross-training opportunities are available in your organization? How can you expand or change the focus of your practice? If there is not much corporate/merger & acquisition work, are you able to do workouts? Might you be able to assist a colleague doing real estate? What other areas are still viable? As previously mentioned, it is difficult to get a good sense of what is happening in the local market; however, well-informed alumni have suggested that, aside from bankruptcy and workouts, healthy practice areas are tax, employee benefits, FDA, health, litigation, patent/trademark, securities enforcement, legislative, finance or real estate.

 

Keep a Long Term View

Today lawyers need more than one specialty! Thus, if you are in a practice area that has slowed considerably, do not wait to be approached about cross-training. Show how your practice, law school background, and previous work experience make you a likely choice for any available cross-training opportunities in specialties where the firm could use your assistance. In these slow times, when work projects are harder to come by, take the initiative and seek out such opportunities.
 
Take advantage of the fact that the market is slow and DO whatever you can to develop another specialty, enhance your credentials and gain visibility. Help a partner write an article or speech, write an article of your own choosing, offer to speak for client organizations or civic groups, become active in professional associations. Take CLE courses to show commitment to a new field or enroll in . . . . "seminars in your field of expertise, anything that expands your abilities, from how to read a financial statement to how to manage people." (Clarke, Spencer) Become involved in the legal community outside the confines of your office. This will broaden your horizons, could introduce you to useful referral sources, and offer experiences in new fields.
 
What else might you do to increase your long-term marketability? In our fast-paced world of global enterprise, lawyers need to develop a business mindset. Learning "to think like a lawyer" is no longer enough. You need to understand your clients' business and be able to generate resolutions to client problems that involve solutions other than legal ones. Lawyers with business acumen bring added value to the table. Taking a business or economics course might be a good first step. Such courses will not provide a high level of sophistication, but combined with your transactional experience, they should provide a basic understanding of business issues and client concerns. Moreover, taking such a class might afford the opportunity to meet other professionals - - again, individuals with the potential to become excellent referral sources.
 
If you already have a business orientation, use this time to improve your ability to do business internationally. Be proactive. Dust off your college Spanish language skills - - take a course, get a tutor, use books on tape, etc. Alternatively, depending upon your particular career plans, use this downtime to consider a course in alternative dispute resolution, a hot topic right now. In addition to learning an important and valued skill, such a course will get you in the habit of exploring creative solutions and thinking "outside the box," to obtain the best results.
 
In spite of the slow market, if you cannot be convinced to postpone a job search - - if you want to seek out other positions now, DO conduct your own personalized job search. Unless you offer a unique specialty or have a sizeable book of business, firms are less likely today to pay a premium for your experience. A Georgetown graduate, who has been a litigator, an associate development manager, and a headhunter, confirmed my sense that doing your own search may be the best way to proceed today. Finding time for a job search is often the greatest stumbling block alumni job seekers encounter. However, with workloads lighter as a result of the business slowdown, being gone a few hours during the week may no longer be a problem.
 

You Are Unemployed - And Waiting For The Market To Improve Is Not An Option

 
There's a rhythm to a successful job search which should begin with self-assessment - - what your strengths are, what skills you enjoy using, what you are capable of handling but prefer not to spend your entire day doing, etc. In addition to this personal introspection, there are career-related questions to be answered. Should I be looking for a similar type of position? Should I change practice settings? Am I cut out for a large firm lifestyle? Would I enjoy working for a government agency or an advocacy group? Should I consider changing specialty areas? At this point in my career, should I consider a judicial clerkship? Would it make sense to consider opportunities on the Hill? Am I interested in nonlegal options? "If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere else!"
 
Too often, job seekers begin looking for a new job without deciding on their goals - - "where they are going". Rather than make an affirmative decision about where they want to be and devising a plan to get there, they look for a "replacement job". In fact, their first step begins with the Internet. DO – stop long enough - - DO the appropriate self-assessment: develop a clear sense of who you are, what you want to do, and what you are willing to give up to get there. Then, you are ready to begin a targeted search.
 
Once you are ready for the search, the Internet will provide you with a great number of current opportunities - - while simultaneously providing employers with a stockpile of resumes. In reality, that puts job seekers back to the same spot they would have been in scanning newspaper ads. Flooding the market with resumes in response to Internet listings is like playing the lottery - - the chances that you will hit the jackpot are small. The Internet is a valuable tool, but it is only one way to look for a job; it should not be relied on exclusively. In my estimation, job seekers are far too likely to do just that.
 
As you know, organizations advertising a position are generally planning to hire, however, do not assume that the opposite is true - - that if you do not find an advertised position, the organization is not hiring. It is amazing that sophisticated lawyers frequently operate from that assumption and restrict their search to organizations with readily apparent job postings. Proactive job seekers determine what employers interest them, then go about devising a plan to gain entree to those organizations on the assumption that - - Employers are always looking for good people.
 
The rhythm of a successful search includes networking and a conscious commitment to stick with it for as long as it takes. Although frustrating, it is important to understand - - employment transitions do not proceed in a straight line from where you are to where you want to be. Despite your efforts, there will be times when every job seeker is met with "no" responses, and when every lead winds up taking you nowhere. You must persist; you can not give up on the process! Job hunting is like looking for a parking space in an overcrowded lot. You circle round and round and round and round and round again until you finally find that one empty spot.
 

Emotional Support

Job hunting can be difficult and extremely frustrating in the best of times; however, when the market is soft, when the process takes longer when opportunities are scarcer, the search has a way of making intelligent, confident people feel like failures and worry that they are fated to be unemployed forever. Do not believe it. You will get a job, but you will have to be patient, persistent, and force yourself to keep at it.
 
Keeping a positive attitude while unemployed is a Herculean task. You will need to be your own "coach" and to give yourself daily pep talks. Remind yourself to:
 

• Be realistic - - the task ahead is a challenging one and could take longer than you want to believe;
• Accept the fact that when you do find a job, you will have to pay your dues. You may have to take on some unwanted work tasks before you gain credibility and are afforded the opportunity to do what you enjoy doing.
• Put the emphasis on people! It is even more difficult to find a job while sitting at home - - get out and talk with people -network. Remember, there is a vast network of alumni out there.
• Be proactive. Candidates with initiative do not wait by the telephone; they pick up the phone and create opportunities.
• Recognize that reaching your goal is more than likely a circuitous path - - it may even require a step backward. And while all job seekers want the path to be direct, it rarely is.

 
Aside from being your own "coach," if you are running in place and making little progress if you are having trouble pushing yourself to take the necessary steps, consider joining forces with other lawyers and/or other professionals who are also in the midst of a job search. Generally, such support groups do not sit around bemoaning their fate or trading war stories. Instead, they brainstorm about each person's next step. It is a way to keep your self-esteem intact and to overcome the terrible isolation that often accompanies a job search.
 

You Are Unhappy With Your Current Situation, Want to Move On - - and Wish You'd Done So Last Year

 
You recognize that the timing is less than ideal, but you are unhappy (or worse) and must do what you can to find another position. DO - - stop long enough, before walking away from the job, to think about what can be done to improve your situation? What moderations can be made? Can you reshape your current position to create a "new old" job - - one that will provide you with renewed energy? Are you able to reduce the time spent on activities you dislike and take on other projects you would find more agreeable? Often firms have such projects that simply have been on the back burner during busy years. Lawyers can create their own opportunities by recognizing where their services would be a plus - - and learning how to ask for what they want.
 
Recently, an attorney, who hoped to reinvent his job, went to his supervising attorney about taking on additional work in the copyright area in exchange for reducing his trademark responsibilities. In the right circumstances, this approach might work; however, it will require an investment on your part before speaking to your supervisor. To be taken seriously you must have done your homework and have creative, realistic solutions in mind. Going to the firm too early with a general question, "How can I reshape, eliminate, change the percentage of time I spend doing x?" is not likely to get positive results. First, assess the firm's needs, the areas with fewer than needed lawyers, those areas that are too heavily staffed, etc. Then discuss a "special initiative" that you would work on approximately ten to fifteen percent of your time. What you are really saying is - - Give me a test; if it works, the firm benefits, and so do I.
 
Another attorney, in discussions about reshaping her current position, believed that this approach was not possible in her circumstance. Nonetheless, she found a way to accept her old job and to re-energize herself with projects outside of the work environment while waiting for the economic climate to change. She volunteered with a child advocacy group and got more involved with the organization - - including eventually taking a leadership role. This gave her the boost she needed to manage her current job and to get "high" on the volunteer position. Becoming involved in the community will enhance your credentials and provide you with a broader outlook. Years later this alumna turned that passion, interest, and knowledge into a job as executive director of a small child advocacy organization.
 
If you are in serious need of a job change and adding to your "bag of tricks" or reshaping your job is not an option, do stop long enough to go through a self-assessment (even though you think you do not need to do that) and to plan a well thought out job search. Now you should be ready to respond to job listings, do some prospecting with employers who are not advertising openings and explore "the hidden job market" through networking.
 

How Other Attorneys Handled Career Change Issues During Slow Economic Times

 
Frankie began her career with a government agency where the experience she obtained had little transferability in the private practice world. After several years, Frankie wanted to move into a law firm, but she was unsuccessful in finding a position. Eventually, she moved into academic administration which she enjoyed; however, after several years, she missed the intellectual challenge of law practice. After a careful self-assessment, Frankie decided she really wanted to be an estate planner - - which, in fact, had been her goal while still in law school. At that time, as well as after leaving her government position, she had tried to find opportunities in estate planning. She kept encountering the traditional "chicken and egg problem" - - she did not have experience.
 
Now she was determined to become an estate planner. How could she do it? As expected, her problem now was the number of years since law school graduation combined with her lack of trust and estate experience. After a great deal of time and much effort on her part, Frankie found a solo practitioner willing to bring her into his practice, provide her with the opportunity to observe, understand, listen and learn about trusts and estates - - and pay her approximately 30% of the amount he billed for her time. Although it was a step backward, the position allowed her to learn, absorb, and obtain hands-on trust and estate experience. Frankie stayed with the solo practitioner for a year before opening her own estate planning practice. During that year, she attended professional estate planning functions, met and established relationships with other trust and estate lawyers. She felt confident that there were colleagues out there to whom she could turn for counsel and advice. Through her own determination and creativity, she established herself in the estate planning field. Frankie, unlike many job seekers, understood that she had to be willing to do what she did not want to do before she could reach her goal.
 
When, during law school, he was a law clerk at a federal administrative agency, Adam was frustrated by the absence of a topical digest of the decisions by the agency (these were the days before Lexis and Westlaw!). As a result, when Adam became an associate at a law firm that practiced before the administrative agency, he decided to try a better approach. He developed his own topical digest - - first relying on index cards and then switching to an electronic format once he got his first PC. "This developed into a very valuable research tool for me and my colleagues, and allowed me to do quick research, which allowed me to focus on developing creative arguments," he said.
 
Recently, when Adam was looking to change jobs, his topical digest was invaluable. During interviews, he handed out a multi-page excerpt from the digest and explained the genesis of the document. He emphasized the way that the digest helped him assist clients and colleagues. Potential employers were impressed with the initiative and organizational skills that the digest highlighted. Employers were also impressed that Adam served as a team player - - and made the digest available to all of his colleagues. Not only had the digest helped Arnold to become an extraordinarily knowledgeable practitioner, but during his search, it clearly helped to distinguish him from other job applicants.
 
Todd had 15 years of experience with a small firm and no book of business when he moved his family to a large southwestern city. After getting settled, Todd arranged to have lunch with Matt Flemming, a Harvard alumnus who practiced with the largest firm in that city. Matt took Todd's resume but was very clear that Todd was far too experienced to be considered without a substantial book of business. As anticipated, nothing happened. Todd made many valiant attempts to meet with whomever in town would agree to get together - - and most of those meetings led nowhere.
 
Weeks after Todd's meeting with Matt, he noted that Matt's firm was advertising for a tax lawyer with 2-3 yrs experience, and he decided to submit his resume in spite of his extensive experience. In updating his resume, he consciously addressed every area of the tax practice even if it was a one-liner and even if his experience was years earlier. Todd informed Matt that he had submitted his resume, and a complimentary interview was granted.
 
Todd spent 20 hours preparing for that interview including reading all of the recent tax cases and rulings. No matter what issue came up, he knew something. Todd had done very little work in the partnership area but was able to converse with the lawyer in that specialty based upon his "self-study" before the interview. Although the interview went well, it was 6 weeks before he was called in for a second meeting. Prior to that second interview, Todd went through his papers from the last 15 years and put together a tabbed notebook containing still relevant client-related memoranda, etc. Anyone who looked at the notebook would understand the breadth of his experience especially in the specific areas of the firm's practice. Again, before the second interview, Todd spent an additional 15-20 (no exaggeration) hours going through BNA Daily Tax Reporter. That strategy worked again - - no matter who Todd talked to, he knew something about the recent tax decisions, and could always keep the conversation on track.
 
Eventually, Todd was asked in for a third interview and once more he did the same preparation. And, once more, there was no word from the firm. This time, Todd decided that he could not wait for them; it was time for action. He wrote a two-page proposal that included what he could do for the firm, and what he would need to be paid. Within hours of their receiving the proposal, he received a job offer. The proposal worked; however, Todd believes it would not have been a catalyst earlier in the process. From the beginning, the firm was convinced of Todd's knowledge, efforts, persistence, and determination. They felt confident that he would demonstrate that same commitment to his clients. Nonetheless, he simply did fit the mold - - and until everyone was convinced to break with tradition, it was not going to happen. Todd was recently brought into the firm in a temporary position; however, I feel confident that his status will change after he has been there a while.
 

In Conclusion

Whether you are unemployed, concerned that you will soon be in that position, or unhappy enough to want out - - the message is the same. There's more competition out there and the process will take longer. In spite of the financial pressures and emotional stresses, if at all possible, do not allow yourself to settle for "a" job. Continue to seek out "the" job recognizing that, of course, you must have some flexibility. And, if you must take something quickly, the job should be one that will provide new skills, greater knowledge, or contacts. While easier said than done, you must be proactive, persistent, and patient.