I think I have a fairly strong resume. I’ve only been practicing law for a few years but I’ve built up a pretty solid reputation and my peers seem to trust my work–whatever that means. Anyway, I’ve been kind of passively fishing for a new legal job so I retouched my resume a bit, wrote a couple of cover letters, and put myself out there to see what happens.
So far, the reception has been pretty positive. I’ve called a couple of the offices where I submitted my resume to follow up and people seemed generally impressed with my credentials but not so impressed with my limited experience. One woman, who is a high-level power lawyer, told me that my credentials were top-notch but that other people’s credentials were too and they just had more experience than me. She told me she never would have expected people with such experience to apply for mid-level attorney positions but that it must all be part of the brave new world of legal hiring.
She also told me that in any other job market I would be a no-doubt top candidate but since this job market is completely saturated with laid-off partners and “ballers” it’s tough for young lawyers to make a case for themselves (and their inexperience) and get an interview.
So what have I learned the past few weeks of employment seeking? First, and unrelated to the topic above, check and re-check your resume. I discovered an embarrassing typo on my resume today–yeah, real nice. Please make sure that everything is spelled correctly on all of your job-seeking documents. Please!
I also learned that calling and talking with potential employers can be very helpful if they are willing to entertain your phone call. I called a potential employer yesterday and our conversation turned into an over-the-phone job interview. Yay me, and yay for cold-calling. If you do decide to call though, make sure to be polite and just explain that you are just trying to follow up on your resume submission and want to re-emphasize your interest in the position. You might only get an “okay, thanks” but you might get lucky and get someone who is willing to chat with you about the position, your chances, etc. Either way, there’s no harm in a little well-placed aggressiveness in a job market like this one.
Because I couldn’t have said it any better . . . Here are a few interesting media articles for ya:
10 Killer Tips for Creating a Branded YouTube Channel. I am loving this article! Its tips are really helpful, and with a few tweaks, they can be used for branding your Twitter account also. It’s a must-read if you’re thinking about adding YouTube to your marketing repertoire.
How to Keep Business Conversations Professional. Yes! I know plenty of people who like to commingle their personal and private lives or who just don’t know how to properly address their co-workers or employees; this article has some go-to advice.
AP Stylebook Online. Okay, this is not an article but the AP Stylebook is a media/marketing/public relations professional’s bible — comparable to my friend and yours, the Bluebook – and they finally changed the rule for the word “website” (a huge deal in my world, not so much in yours). Before the change, you had to write “Web site” and not “website.” Well, they finally let go of that archaic rule and and saw the 21st century light. However, as a side note — I rebelled against this rule a couple of years ago so if you go back through my posts, you’ll notice I’ve never used “Web site.”
With the recent increase in review/check-in sites like Yelp, Foursquare, Gowalla, Citysearch and even Google’s local search, businesses are receiving unintended positive and negative publicity. Obviously, you can’t control what people post online but it’s important for attorneys to monitor what’s being said about their practices on these sites.
While these sites are primarily used to review or “check-in” restaurants and shopping hot-spots, there are more professional services — medical doctors, veterinarians, lawyers — being reviewed daily. Think of it as a call to step your legal game up — you never who may post their opinions of your lawyering skills online for all of Cyber-world to see, so you gotta bring your A-game every time!
Knowing that these sites exist and checking them on a consistent basis for information/opinions/recommendations about your practice is important for three reasons:
1) you want to stay in the know about how people feel about you and your practice in order to adjust,
2) you want to be able to acknowledge and thank people who were satisfied with your assistance, and
3) you want to be able to reach out to people who weren’t 100% satisfied with your assistance.
Remember, the rules governing building and maintaining relationships with clients and prospective clients have changed — and you need to modify your marketing strategies and efforts accordingly.
As we all know by now, the USNWR law school rankings came out this week. They were leaked early and I got a look at them over the weekend. Rankings are stupid and I don’t care too much for them but even I will admit it was fun to see my law school climb back into T1. Anyway, screw rankings, they are dumb. However, USNWR is not completely worthless; it seems they are finally starting to report some of the challenges that law students and law grads will face if they go to law school.
While USNWR does not discourage people from going to crappy law schools, it does warn of the hazards of big debt and the low salaries that are flooding the market. USNWR also warns potential law students of some of the poor practices that universities are engaging in such as tuition hikes and over-admitting. Good for you US News, I was proud of you for a second– unfortunately my joy was short-lived. Just as fast as it warned about the traps of going to law school, USNWR turns around and says that “job prospects are improving.” Really? No. The job prospects are improving very slightly but not for new lawyers. The only lawyers competitive in the market are experienced laid-off types and laterals with books of business. I haven’t heard news of summer clerk programs coming back or new-lawyer hiring anywhere.
The law admission business is booming but law, for average lawyers, is not. That’s the reality. You read it here.
Check out the USNWR article here.
To see the 2010 Law School Rankings click here.
Have you decided to add a business Twitter account to your marketing efforts? Well, if you have — you can now add “apps” to your account to enhance your effectiveness and make your life easier!
Tools found on Oneforty.com can help with a range of categories from analytics, productivity to shopping.
Oneforty not only offers “essential” Twitter Tools but also allows users to compile various apps to create toolkits.
Hey! I have great news. If you read my last post or if you otherwise pay attention to the Universe around you, then you know that Justice Stevens decided to retire. What does that mean for you? Well, it means that there is a job opening in the federal government that needs filling! I highly encourage every unemployed lawyer to send Mr. Obama his or her resume. Maybe that way, the planet will get the message that law schools need to be reigned in and this profession saved!
So go for it. If you don’t have a job you don’t have anything better to do anyway. Send the White House your resume and hope for the best. Who knows, the standards are vague and mysterious, maybe he’ll pick you.
Justice Stevens announced this week that he is retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court. While Mr. Stevens wrote many notable decisions during his tenure, one in particularly sticks out in my mind because it is related to Internet law–which if you didn’t know, is near and dear to my heart.
In Quill v. North Dakota, Stevens, on behalf of a unanimous court, said that vendors cannot be required to collect sales tax on out-of-state sales. Guess what happened next? The internet was commercialized and familiar names like Amazon.com, Ebay, and Overstock.com were born.
I’ll leave whether the commercialization of the internet is good or bad for another post, but there is no doubt that Mr. Stevens’ decision has helped shape the internet into the shopping and porno mall that it is today.
Thanks Mr. Stevens and farewell.
To read more on Mr. Stevens’ impact on the internet and for some other notable internet cases click here.
Here are a few interesting posts/events/articles that I’ve gathered over the past week that really illustrate what I’ve been preaching for the last few months.
Nestle is facing fierce backlash for an unnecessarily sassy Facebook response to protesters’ comments on its company page. Companies, no matter the size, need to take the high road when dealing with criticism. Nestle’s social media administrator learned that the hard way. Remember, once you post something online — whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, your law practice’s blog, or wherever — you cannot take it back! Think before you speak — or, um, press “post.”
Mashable published a demographics study that compares the average American to the average Facebook user. The numbers are broken down by race, gender, age, political beliefs, and top cities. Take a look at Mashable’s infographic, it may be helpful in deciding whether Facebook is or would be an effective marketing tool for you — compare Facebook’s demographics with your target audience. Also, you can click here for Facebook’s company statistics.
This ad had me wondering, who’s your motivation? While the “fear-monger” ad is eye-catching and makes a reader stop, look twice, and think — I wonder who the firm’s intended audience is, and whether the ad was placed in the most effective place (an attorneys’ magazine). Curious.
If you practice law and have already bought an Ipad you are wrong. Lawyers are producers of media i.e. documents, presentations, etc. However, the Ipad strikes me as an absorption box—a machine for receiving media but not really producing it. So even though the Ipad seems to be Facebook’s and Youtube’s dream machine, I wouldn’t be rushing off to buy one if I were you. Most of us already have enough distractions and this little trinket seems to only add to the madness.
If you do feel compelled to buy one, whether because you want to sustain your elite status as a tech nerd or because you think “it’s sooo pretty,” then I would suggest you first take a look at what these kids did when they were one of the first people to get their hands on one. Personally, I think they have a weak swing but their use of the Ipad is certainly a huge innovation, especially this early on during the “Ipad revolution.”
So I’m flipping through the Florida Bar Journal and when I get to the back I see this doozy.
Classic, I say! Not only is this ad supposed to instill fear in anyone who sees it (I personally find it terrifying…lol) it is specifically targeted at old folks. Poor old people, they see this ad, they wet their pants, and then what…call Mr. Thomas?
I wonder if Mr. Thomas himself wore a ski mask and posed for this photo. Or maybe he hired a professional model to portray his villain. I secretly hope it’s him wearing the ski mask. It would add a nice personal touch, don’t you think?
If I were a senior or ’seasoned and age-experienced citizen’ and came across this ad, I’d probably be insulted. Then, I’d call Mr. Thomas with tips about potential crooks I’ve seen around the Bingo Hall wearing things other than ski masks like maybe a guy in dark sunglasses, or a couple of ‘young punks’ walking around the parking lot in long black coats.
Give me a break! This ad is ridiculous. But it sure did one thing. It got me to visit his website and check him out. I guess it’s an A for effectiveness and an F for taste for Mr. Thomas.
