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Preparation for Attorneys in a Career Transition
Alexis Reed, Esq.Special Counsel, Inc.
Attorney Search Director (312) 814-0240 office
Finding a New Job • Network, Network, Network!!• Join the various associations – American Bar
Association, Illinois Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, Women’s Bar Association, etc.
• Seek out Internships• Attend CLE Courses that are relevant to your practice
area or are within an area in which you have an interest• Search in various places – Chicago Daily Law Bulletin,
Monster.com, CareerBuilder, The Ladders, etc.• Follow Up on EVERY SINGLE Lead!• Follow up on EVERY SINGLE Resume Submission! • Talk to a Recruiter or the Career Services Office
of your law school
Resume Pointers – Revise It!• You should constantly revise your resume to include new activities,
including publications, awards, volunteer efforts, etc.• Revise your resume for every job to which you apply so that your most
relevant experience is highlighted• Include Pertinent Contact Details
Address Phone Number E-Mail Address (an APPROPRIATE e-mail address!!)
• Do not waste key space with Summary or Objective Statements• Give clear and specific examples of your experience• Detail your education, including GPA if it is reasonable to do so• Include all skills – Software and Languages• Check for spelling and grammatical errors – in fact, have someone else
review your resume for errors• Make sure your format is consistent throughout the document
Problematic Resume• See Attachment A
Persuasive Resume • See Attachment B
Benefits of Contract Work• During this tough economic time, we are seeing
more lay-offs and reductions in force • Contract work is a way to stay busy and
provides other great benefits including:• Gaining relevant experience for resume;• Earning income while searching for perm position;• Avoiding gaps on resume;• The possibility of a temp-to-hire position; and• Networking with decision-makers and others in your
field who can make important introductions for you.
Preparing for Your Interview• Arrive ten minutes early and bring at least two extra copies of your resume
with you. If you are meeting with multiple people, make sure that you have a copy of your resume for each interviewer.
• Prepare at least two questions for each interviewer. They can be things like “What makes ABC firm a great place to work?” “What do you expect from this person on a day to day basis…what will the individual you hire be working on primarily?”
• Be prepared to explain why you left each place of employment and why you are currently looking.
• Make sure that you are consistent in answering the same questions with different interviewers – they will compare notes after you leave the interview.
• Be prepared to be asked about money and NOT give away a figure. • Proactively tell the interviewer that you are interested in the position and
why you can be an immediate asset.• Ask if the position is an expansion or backfill position and then follow up with
appropriate questions.
Preparing for Your Interview, cont.• Ask what type of personality works best with that practice group or the legal
department. • Be prepared to talk about your substantive work experience and explain in
detail what you do in your current position.• Make sure to do your research before the interview. Look at the firm’s or
company’s website. Run a Google search on the firm, company and the interviewers. Look at insider websites like abovethelaw.com, infirmation.com, vault.com and judged.com.
• Never, ever ask questions that can easily be answered by looking at the corporation’s website, the firm’s website or the firm’s NALP form.
• Do not be afraid to ask the difficult questions. However, be prepared to ask them in the appropriate manner.
• Ask a question that allows the interviewer to compare and contrast – i.e. this firm vs. others; this practice group vs. others; or this company vs. others.
• Do not ask questions that are too personal in nature. Instead, ask questions that are directly related to the interviewer’s work experience.
Preparing for Your Interview, cont. • Do not ask yes or no questions. • Make sure that your questions are geared towards the practice group or
corporate department in which you would be working. • If you are considering relocating for a position, make sure that you have
additional and valid reasons for relocating to the market other than this position.
• Reiterate your interest in the position/company/firm at the end of the interview.
• Ask for business cards so that you have contact information to send thank you notes.
• Practice making eye contact and speaking clearly.• Dress appropriately in a suit and make sure that your jewelry, perfume, etc.
is understated.• While most interviewers pay little attention to thank you notes, they do
notice when they do not receive one. Moreover, they notice grammatical and spelling errors and incorrect firm/corporate address, name, etc.
