How to Land a Law Job

Like most professional fields, law has taken a big hit in the recession. Law firms, once considered safe havens, have laid of employees in droves. And, of course, new jobs are hard to come by — especially for law students.

That means once a student (or recent grad) lands an interview, she has to be ready to nail it. Looking for interviewing advice last year, I found many websites and blogs had the same old rules — show up early, dress impeccably, ask good questions. We go beyond the standard protocol, with tips will push your interviewing skills to the next level and will help you land the job.

Talk about Your Non-Legal Experience

Just because you are interviewing for a legal job does not mean that you can or should only talk about your legal experience. Discuss your non-legal experience that relates to the work you will do at the firm. Since I worked as an executive recruiter before law school, I would talk about the parallels between recruiting and practicing law.

How to Map Out Your Dream Job

Ah, recession…a perfect time for career reassessment. Especially when you get tossed out of our job and need to figure out your next move — but also when the economic shakeup makes you realize you’re not all that satisfied with your work.

We’re loving this handy chart from the book How to Keep Your Cool if You Lose Your Job. (Full-sized version below.) You probably haven’t seen it, since author Kathryn Jackson lives in New Zealand. But it’s a wonderful way to visualize and measure all the different aspects of your work…

Want to Work at a Startup? Does Your Startup Need Workers?

Talk about upside potential.

In the recession, lots of entrepreneurs have had to bootstrap their startups. They’re dying for talent, but can’t pay salaries. Meawhile, there are lots of smart people willing to work for, um, “alternative” compensation (i.e., equity, low pay, or nothing), because they want to build their resume, take a shot at a startup or just do something with their unemployed selves.

Enter JobNob.

Our smart friends at JobNob bring the two sides together. They have held eight successful mixers in Silicon Valley for job-seekers to connect with startups, and they’re brining the show to New York on Feb. 9…

Create a Personal Branding Statement

Whether you get to a hiring manager by referral, through a recruiter or a job board, today’s candidate needs to make a distinctive impression quickly. The traditional resume form does a poor job of quickly, clearly, and succinctly telling the reader why they should spend more time on this resume.

Since the average time spent reviewing a resume is 15 seconds or less, a job seeker needs to quickly convince the reader to stick around. A well crafted personal branding statement tells the hiring manager three extremely important things in a well crafted, concise single line. The following questions and explanations will help you craft the right statement for you:

What does the candidate want?

In a Fishing resume the candidate has to give a generic title, but can make it specific for a response resume. It should be a single title, rather than a range, or something so broad as just Executive, or manager. Listing an industry specialization can help make it more specific…

Why You Should Sell Yourself Short

It used to be called an Elevator Pitch.

In this social media age, it’s known as a Twitter resume. And it’s still a potentially powerful asset.

I don’t mean an actual tweetable resume–despite what some experts advise, it’s hard to believe that people are getting work that way. I mean a distilled version of your story. What you’re about in a powerful sentence.

It can get the attention of someone you’re meeting for five minutes. It makes you memorable. And the process of getting to that summary forces you to figure out what you really have to offer.

Make lists. Boil them down. Think in vivid, active terms..

How to Sniff Out Your Talents

Whether you’ve been laid off, hate your job or just have that uncomfortable, it’s-not-really-me feeling at work, you’ve probably faced this question recently: What the $@%# do I do with myself?

You might even feel like you haven’t managed to unearth your most special abilities. If that sounds familiar, check out this post we recently found at Skelliewag. The gist of it is that you have hidden talents, “things you could do that would make you happy. But you don’t know it yet.”

Skelliewag is talking about skills that aren’t necessarily practical, but isn’t it a great start for thinking about a career? I mean, there are people who manage to build careers out of things that my conservative grandparents would have deemed totally useless. (Personal stylist comes to mind.)

To find your new passion, write down a list and then just try stuff out. Seriously…

What I Learned About Jobs in 2009

Last year was the biggest learning experience I’ve had. In 2009 I had to learn how to stay positive when almost on a daily basis I was interacting with candidates who were losing their homes, savings and any sort of self respect. And I had to be flexible when we saw our own company’s recruiting efforts become fruitless because there were so few jobs to fill.

After all, last year drove home that people who are able to change and adapt to the changing economy were the most successful. With zero experience in radio, we launched a web radio show, landing interviews with Keith Ferrazzi (author of Never Eat Alone), Michael Port (author of Book Yourself Solid), and the brash Jeffrey Fox (author of How to Become a Rainmaker). We put up their bios and shared the interviews with our talent pool. Did it make us a single penny? No. But we learned (some more) and were able to give back.

I think 2010 is going to be an interesting year–and it will be more successful if we use all the lessons we learned in the last 12 months:…

Why that Headhunter Won’t Call You Back

Recruiters can be like cads: They lead you on, pretend to be interested, and then never call you back. Lots of people have horror stories about recruiters who reach out for their resumes, interview them in-office, and then never speak to them again.

There’s a reason. And, it’s not pure malice. Generally. But I might need you to thicken your skin for a moment.

1. They Don’t Have Anything For You Right Now. The simplest answer is often the truth. Why, you ask, would they waste everyone’s time if they don’t have any positions for you? It’s in their interest to find out what you’re all about so that you’re good to go when a position does arise for your background…

How to Turn a Phone Interview into a Face-to-Face

When time and budgets are tight many employers start their interview process with a phone interview. Though it may sound like a lower hurdle than an in-person meeting, that’s not necessarily true. There are things you need to know to get you to a meeting with the hiring manager—and eventually, to a fantastic new job.

DO

Be positive and energetic. Remember that the person interviewing you can’t see any body language and can only read the inflection of your voice. Practice this if you need to—and if you have trouble with it, put a mirror in front of you to watch your face as you are talking on the phone.

Show you’re listening. The occasional “I see,” “Yes,” “Great,” make for a better conversation—as do any positive vibes you can give during pauses…

Recession Briefing 9.23: Candy is Dandy in Downturn

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

In a broad recession-related shift, many Americans have lost their taste for fancy cars, clothes and vacations, but their appetite for candy, it seems, only has become more pronounced. (San Francisco Chronicle)

The recession is apparently prompting more women to try to delay having babies, according to the first survey aimed at documenting the effects of the economic downtown on childbearing. (Washington Post)

The recession is complicating job hunts — and the lives — of two-career couples, particularly when one lands an offer out of town. The search for employment is forcing more couples into long-distance relationships. (Wall Street Journal)…