.png)
Experts agree:
Working with the right legal recruiter can be a powerful tool
Law firms and corporate legal departments are facing unprecedented challenges in finding qualified professionals. Competition to secure a talented and dedicated workforce is fierce. That’s why selecting a world class recruitment and placement partner is so important.
Whether you’ve just passed the bar or you’re a seasoned attorney, it can be a daunting task to seek employment or to shift firms—especially during a strong and spirited market. An experienced and trusted placement service will help keep you ahead of the curve. You should expect this job searching “partner” to identify strong opportunities quickly, provide you with meaningful market intel, and finally, offer you sound expert advice on the entire job search process. A diligent recruiter will assist you in managing the timing of your search as well as advising you when you’re negotiating the terms of an offer.
Top-notch recruiters and executive placement firms will also maintain a vast network of contacts—and this network should be a two-way street built on trust. Law firms trust that recruiters understand their available positions, their unique culture and environment, as well as the firm’s history, specialties, and client base. Working with a valued and experienced placement service, a law firm can expect that the candidates recommended will be high-value individuals who represent a good organizational fit. Conversely, the recruiter or placement service verifies that the law firm and their hiring managers are presenting the position or positions in an accurate, honorable, and straightforward manner.
This “two-way street” will likely save both the candidate and the firm considerable time and effort during the job/candidate search.
The process begins when law firms or in-house corporate legal departments ask the placement service to identify candidates who closely fit the job description and experience qualifications for a specific position. The agreement between employer and recruiter may be on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis. In a non-exclusive agreement, your placement service could be one of many being utilized to suggest candidates for the job; whereas in an exclusive agreement between employer and recruiter, your placement service will be the sole source suggesting candidates. But either way, the law firm or corporation will pay the fee and not the candidate.
There are some basic foundational elements that job-seeking candidates should consider when strategizing career moves and partnering with a placement service.
Team-up with an industry-specific placement service
We suggest working with an industry-specific service. Many recruiters (or head-hunters) have a presence in various fields. As an attorney or legal professional, we believe it’s important for you to partner with an experienced expert that knows the industry inside and out. A valued placement service will be focused on your career growth as well as your personal needs.
Partner with a placement service that focuses on YOU
A recruiter (or head-hunter) might succeed in helping you avoid the wrong job, but a quality placement service will focus on finding you the right job. It’s the difference between someone simply shooting you out there, hoping to make a match, or strategizing with a vested partner who completely understands your history, your career goals, your personality, not to mention your exact needs and desires. Expert and engaged placement services have direct access to hiring managers and will advocate on your behalf.
Bottom-line: an experienced and trustworthy placement service should have one goal and one goal only: finding the position that will fit YOU like a glove. That’s why you want a placement service that makes YOUR CAREER job number one.
Remember, you’re still in charge
As stated above, partnering with a great recruiter or placement service is important if not imperative in a fiercely competitive job market. But you’re still in charge, always in control. Make sure you strategize with your placement service and dictate exactly how you want your next position and future career to unfold. Be specific and don’t hold back. Be brutally honest—your recruiter will be better prepared to serve your needs. Ask as many questions as you deem necessary, ask for specifics about how the recruitment firm operates, inquire as to what type of technology they utilize to bolster your chances in the marketplace.
A professional job placement service is not a magic potion or absolute solution. Like any great relationship, you need each other.
Final Thought: Head-Hunter or Placement Firm?
Many folks believe those terms are interchangeable. But at Superior Executive and Legal Recruiting (SELR) we know the difference—and so should you. A great career may hang in the balance. Remember, we’re not a head-hunter using a large net to gather candidates and then shotgun them into interviews, hopefully to land an offer. Instead, we work closely with our candidates—as well as our demanding client roster—on very specific assignments. In fact, our experienced professionals work with our proprietary and cutting-edge technology—all of it designed to find our candidates the ideal organizational fit. And at SELR, we deliver exceptional results.
Put our experience and expertise to work for you today.
Comentários