Tuesday, March 8, 2011

How Not to Conduct a Job Search (Lawyers & Law Students)

1. Apply to every legal job posting you see.
2. Spend all of your free time searching online for job postings.
3. Mail your resume to every law firm in the area.
4. Apply for lawyer jobs you don’t want.
5. Ask for generic help.
6. Have no LinkedIn profile or just a bare bones one.
7. Internalize things you can’t control.

Does your job search look like this? Does someone you know do these things? What are the results?

I see lawyers and law students conducting job searches this way all the time despite the wealth of good advice available about how to conduct a personalized search. And instead of interest and success, these common search tactics quickly lead only to frustration, exhaustion, burnout, continued unemployment or still being stuck in the same job.

Looking for a lawyer job in this economy can be incredibly hard and time consuming. There is no simple or easy solution and no single plan fits everyone. But if your job search isn't producing any results, not even a nibble, stop doing what isn't working. Seriously, look at the list above and stop doing what isn't working. At the very least you will stop wasting your time, energy and money.

Stay tuned here for how these tactics hold you back in your job search and tactics to replace them.

If you are ready to improve your job search through coaching, please contact me.