I saw this great post from Seth Godin the other day and it immediately got me to thinking about law school graduates and the way they approach finding and getting a job.
Here’s the post No Direction Home (it’s a short one):
There are millions of college seniors beginning their job search in earnest.
And many of them are using the skills they’ve been rewarded for in the past:
Writing applications;
Being judged on visible metrics;
Showing up at the official (placement) office;
Doing well on the assignments;
Paying attention to deadlines, but waiting until the last minute, why not;
Getting picked; and
Fitting in.
The thing is, whether you’re a newly graduating senior (in hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt) or a middle-aged, experienced knowledge worker looking for a new job, what the best gigs want to know is:
Can you show me a history of generous, talented, extraordinary side projects?
Have you ever been so passionate about your work that you’ve gone in through the side door?
Are you an expert at something that actually generates value?
Have you connected with leaders in the field in moments when you weren’t actually looking for a job?
Does your reputation speak for itself?
Where online can I see the trail of magic you regularly create?
None of these things are particularly difficult to learn, if you are willing to be not very good at them before you’re good at them.
Alas, famous colleges and the industrial-education process rarely bother to encourage this.
What Law Firms Really Want when they Hire a Lawyer
Before I get too far let me point out that there are two distinct kind of lawyer jobs out there:
- Big firms jobs; and
- Everything else.
We’re not going to talk about big firm jobs. If you want to be a small fish in a big pond go ahead and do it.
If you want to be a cog in a wheel, go ahead and do it.
If you want to strap on golden handcuffs for 30+ years, go ahead and do it.
I think that’s probably enough about big firm jobs. They aren’t for me. Maybe they are for you.
I have a pretty good idea of what law firm owners are looking for when they want to hire someone. I am actively hiring lawyers on a regular basis.
If you want to know what stands out to me it’s one thing: hustle.
What I want to know is: how motivated are you to work your ass off for as long as it takes to become a success?
Sure, everyone says “yes!” because they want a job.
But in today’s world that’s not good enough.
Actions Speak Louder than Words
When you say “yes!” to me I immediately do one thing.
Actually, to be perfectly honest, I’ve already done it.
I googled you.
And do you know what I usually find? Nothing.
Most of you probably think that’s a good thing. You would be wrong.
I actually don’t care about those pics of you on the booze cruise doing keg stands. I actually kind of like it because it tells me you’ve got some personality.
The reason your lack of online presence sucks is that it shows me you aren’t devoted to promoting yourself or what you are doing.
We are All Our Own Personal Brands
What social media has allowed us to do is shape the way that people see us.
It has given us a voice to let people know what we are interested in and to also build and demonstrate expertise.
You know what you don’t need a law license to do?
- Start a blog about your favorite practice area;
- Create a Facebook profile and share that content;
- Create an instagram account and share quotes and pics that interest you;
- Actively begin building a network; and
- Actively learning about the art of networking and marketing.
If You Can Make Me Money I Want You on My Team
Nothing makes you more attractive to a potential employer than being able to make them money.
And no, expertise and being a good lawyer doesn’t make people money.
And yes, if you’re a dick and can make me money, I won’t have you on the team.
I know you are trying to find ways to rationalize this fact away, but it’s true: if you can provide true value to a law firm by bringing in clients, they will hire you.
So stop going to shitty network events where everyone talks about how bad the market is.
Stop sitting around working on your resume.
Stop believing there are no jobs out there.
Start actively using social media to create a voice and a following.
Start actively building connections with leaders in your community.
Start writing blog posts every day.
And in no time, you will have that lawyer job you’ve always wanted.
Cheers,
Christopher Small
P.S. – curious about what I do on a daily basis to create and build my successful law firm? Now you can find out first hand (and steal some of my secrets). It’s called the Law Firm Confidential Podcast, and you can get access to the first 5 episodes for free by clicking right here.
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