Transcript Slide 1

Networking and
Informational
Interviews
Presented by The Lawyers
assistance Program
Facilitated by Robert
Bircher
Networking
• The main factor in your job search
is how you go about it-not some
external factor
• Ways that don’t work are often
what your common sense says
would work!
• Ineffective methods:
• 1.The internet-only useful for
some postings like gov’t or
academia otherwise it is grossly
overrated
• 2.Random mail outs of resumes
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Networking
• 3.Answering ads in trade journals
• 4.Answering ads in newspapers
• 5.Employment agencies and
headhunters
• Others are asking former teachers,
gov’t employment agencies etc.
• The fact that these are ineffective
does not mean don’t do them-it
just means don’t make these your
only or main strategy!
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Networking
• “Warm Contact Rule” this means
that the closer you are to actual
face to face human contact the
greater your prospects are
• Your chances increase
exponentially with any personal
contact!
• Email is cold contact-meeting face
to face is warm contact-even a
phone call is warmer than an
email or anonymous contact
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Networking-Methods that
work
1.Asking for job leads from people
you know-for lawyers this means
anybody at any law firm
2.Knocking on doors- resume in
hand-whether or not they have a
vacancy-this is one of the oldest
and most effective methods
This is the best method for small
and mid-sized firms
In many cases it is the only
method that works!
Most firms never advertise
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Networking-Methods that
work
• You can identify which firms do
what simply by looking at the
yellow pages
• The 2 main problems with this
approach are that it is simple
(lawyers want things complicated)
and it involves cold calls (fear)
3. Job clubs or groups are highly
effective
4. The most effective is a structured
job hunt
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Networking-Methods that
work
• This involves an examination of
skills and interests-most lawyers
have never done actual career
planning!
• This will result in a vague sense
of what you want to do-a blinding
flash of inspiration knowing
exactly what you want is rare
• The next step is Informational
Interviews-This takes you out of
your head and into reality land
• The next step is marketing-selling
yourself to the world
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Networking
• How do employers find people?
1.They ask colleagues “do you
know anybody looking for x”
2.Or “do you know anybody who
might be willing to move?”
3.They look at Drop-ins who have
left resumes
“Drag and Drop”-Means drag your
butt to the door of the firm and
drop off your resume!-especially
if they aren’t looking!-if you wait
for small firms to advertise you
will wait forever
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Networking
4.They ask people they know for a
direct introduction
5.Only as a last resort: they use an
agency, they place an ad, they sift
through resumes-Why? All of
these are either expensive or time
consuming and yield poor results
6.The employer pays a lot of
attention to the way you look for a
job-are you proactive or do you
wait to be asked?
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Networking
• Best kept secret in looking for a job in a
small or mid-sized firm: The act of
applying often creates the job!
• Best way to get a job-Through a mutual
friend or acquaintance
• Best way to look for a job-Drag (your butt
to the door) and Drop (your resume)
• Best way to stay put-Rely on job ads,
obsess and worry rather than act, wait for
something to come up, avoid any personal
contact, wait to be discovered, assume that
if they are looking they would advertise
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Networking Fears
• Even armed with this information
people still won’t do it-their fears
will take various forms-all of
them are reasons not to take
action
• Fighting your fears exercisesentence stem completion-the
reasons I don’t like networking
are…….Replacing fear with facts
• False Evidence Appearing Real
• What are you willing (not able) to
do? The smallest act is better than
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the greatest intention!
Informational Interviews
• Replaces stories or mental
constructs in your head with
reality+ an easy low stress way to
network, you are not looking for a
job - you are looking for
information
• Useful for finding out about a new
field of law i.e.. what is it really
like to do X area of law
• Useful for checking out a firms
culture-what is it really like to
work here?
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Informational Interviews
• See II handout-feel free to copy
• Screens out bad jobs, firms with
cultures that are incompatible with
yours, can ask questions you can’t
in a job interview
• You can talk without pressure to
people actually doing the work
• Your story or imagination about
what it will be like can be very
inaccurate! Think about what you
thought being a lawyer was going
to be like!
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Informational Interviews
• These are for information onlythey are not a job interview
• How to set them up?-very
informal-ask for only 10-20
minutes-coffee is good
• Most people are flattered to be
interviewed -Talk to a person
about themselves and they will
listen for hours!
• Designed to be easy and casual-no
pressure-basically they are what is
your work life like? interviews
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Informational Interviews
• It is equivalent to trying on
clothes at a store-what fits what
doesn’t
• With law firms it is essential-the
image of the firm is not the same
as reality-many firms are “legends
in their own minds” in fact they
may have a great image but be
terrible places to work
• If you want to get out of law
Informational Interviews are also
critical-your dream job could
actually be a nightmare
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Informational Interviews
• Fabulous places to do II or
network
• CLE courses, bar functions, any
law gathering, job fairs, law
school events etc.
• Who are your contacts? law
school classmates, past or current
coworkers, professional
associations, generally anybody
you know over 12 and breathing
• How to cope with fear-Feel the
fear and do it anyway!
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