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Take The Stress Out Of Your Legal Job Search: Use A Specialist Recruiter

  • November 1, 2023

The amount of stress that searching for the right role to advance one’s career can cause, is no secret to any legal professional. Time constraints, mounting case workloads and the resulting pressure to juggle work and personal commitments are just some of the struggles candidates often have to deal with. And that’s not even mentioning the rejection emails or calls jobseekers will inevitably have to face as part of the process, before beginning to make headway in their job search.

While a little stress can be useful for certain situations, high stress levels can quickly wear us down and drain our mental resources, robbing us of the energy, motivation and headspace we need to tackle daily challenges head-on. As many as 79% of workers around the UK have cited the source of their stress to be work-related this year, with 74% saying it has reached a level that has made them unable to cope.

Considering how demanding job-searching can be, having to deal with unbearable levels of stress is not exactly helpful when needing to be on your A-game to network effectively and make the best possible impression on prospective employers.

This is where the option of enlisting the help of a specialist recruiter would be a game-changer for legal candidates. Not only does it save you an inordinate amount of time, but it spares you the hassle you would otherwise have to contend with if you were job-hunting alone.

Here are just some of the many benefits you can gain from working with one:

A Time-Efficient Job Search

Many will be well aware of how daunting and time-consuming a job search can be, especially if you’re already employed and are trying to find a better role elsewhere. Being one of your most important resources as a legal professional, you stand to benefit greatly from utilising the services of a specialist recruiter as it significantly cuts down the time spent on scouring job boards and websites. Due to the vast network, connections and knowledge they possess of the industry, they are in the best position to find you a role that ticks all your boxes. As a result, what might have taken you months can easily be achieved in weeks or even days.

In some cases, consultants will already know in advance if a particular firm is actively on the hiring market before a vacancy is even posted. Leading firms often utilise agencies, because it’s a more efficient way for them to hire the right person. Rather than searching for opportunities that may not be visible online, you could save a considerable amount of time by working with an expert.

Valuable Market Insight & Access to Connections

While job boards can be a useful resource for identifying opportunities, firms will often opt to use their network and their recruitment company’s network to seek the right people for most fee-earner/niche roles, rather than advertising them online. The reason for this is that candidates who are right for these particular roles are often in demand and are either not on the market or are not actively seeking new employment opportunities. With a skills-short market currently making the fight for top legal talent more intense than ever, prospective employers are far more likely to rely on the help of a specialist legal recruiter to source the right candidate for their firm.

With a recruiter on-hand, you gain instant access to the information they hold about all relevant roles in the industry and current trends in the market. A good specialist recruiter will utilise the insight their network provides them to find the right fit for you, culture and skills-wise. By acting as a representative for both you and the firm, a specialist recruiter will facilitate the communication process, and ensure that the firm you are interested in is a good cultural fit for you.

Expert Guidance to Boost Interview Performance

Certainly, the most stressful part of searching for any new job is the dreaded interview stage which can be particularly daunting if it has been a while since your last interview. That’s where a specialist recruiter earns their keep, as they exist to make all parts of the transition from your current role to a new one as stress-free as possible. They are therefore always on-hand to help you prepare for the big day and offer career-specific guidance on how to approach your interview preparation accordingly.

As they are well-informed of the current hiring trends and practices adopted by employers, it is undoubtedly in your best interest to take onboard any advice they give regarding common and tricky interview questions, body language and even things like dress code and travel logistics.

They Will Negotiate the Best Deal for You

Getting an offer of employment for a role that you’ve long been in search for is half the battle; the other half is of course getting what you want (what you feel you’re worth) in terms of remuneration. Salary negotiation can often be a tricky and awkward conversation with a future employer, especially at such a sensitive stage of your relationship, and so it is best to let a legal recruiter handle such discourse. In addition to ensuring that you get the best possible deal when it comes to pay and benefits, they will also iron out other important parts of the deal such as notice periods, start dates and career development opportunities available to you in your new role.

Personalised Support – Your Success is Their Success

One of the biggest advantages of job-hunting with a specialist recruiter is the vested interest and understanding they will have of your particular needs on both a personal and professional level. What you’re looking for in an employer in terms of culture, values flexibility, role and ‘fit’ can be difficult to find and even articulate at times, especially as these are not always reflected in the job descriptions. This means candidates are often left to gauge where the best fit is for their career. Whereas by working with a legal recruiter they will not only have a firm grasp of what your priorities are but will also ensure they – and you – are well-sold to the firm in question.

It is therefore in their own best interest to be selective on your behalf with regard to vacancies; by choosing the most suitable roles for their candidates to maximize success, which will not only reduce the competition candidates face for each role, but also improve their chances of getting hired. Their success lies in their ability to see to it that you’re happy in your desired role as it means they are successful with their client – a win-win for everyone.

If you would like to speak to us confidentially about market conditions, opportunities in your practice area or geographical region, or if you are actively looking for a role and would like us to help give you that competitive edge, we would love to speak to you. Contact us here or call the office on 01772 259121 for more information on how our exceptional recruitment experience can help your career aspirations.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability during that time. We have made over 5,000 placements from Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal I.T. personnel to Practice Managers.

If you are looking for a new legal position or just want to speak to a recruitment expert about the current market, call our team on 01772 259121 or click here to submit your CV.

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Bridging The Gap In A Skills Short Market For Law Firms

The legal industry is experiencing change at a remarkably rapid pace. The last few years have ushered in a transformative period that will come to define the future of the legal landscape in later years. Amongst the many developments we have seen emerge in the past few years, such as the gradual shift towards greater flexibility in the work life of legal professionals, the incorporation of AI technology into legal and hiring practices and the transition of the industry away from established traditional norms comes a particularly pertinent point of discussion – and contention – one that has (and will continue to) influenced how law firms will operate in years to come: The well-documented skills shortage experienced by law firms across the market.

It’s no secret to anyone keeping tabs on how the industry has fared since the pandemic from a hiring perspective, with redundancies, and a resulting candidate-led market just a few of many defining features of the post-covid era. Much has been written about its impact on business performance, and in particular, recruitment, as law firms large and small face a lot of difficulty today in acquiring the talent and expertise they need, due to a variety of factors at play.

Why is there a Skills Shortage?

Some of these said factors are simply a direct consequence of the pandemic, as businesses across the world of work have struggled to keep their head above water amidst a multitude of challenges such as economic turmoil and changing regulations, which has led to a sharp increase in client demand for legal services, one that law firms are buckling under the pressure to meet. Last year UK law firms were reported to have advertised over 2,300 jobs for London-based associates between January and November the year before – a whopping 131% increase on 2020’s numbers – but struggle to actually fill them.

And with the increasing effort to expand workforces to address this issue, comes an inevitable squabble for the top legal talent on the market, leading to stiff competition between law firms for the same candidates and consequently the difficulty in recruiting we see amongst businesses today. Chris Sullivan, head of Clifford Chance’s London private equity division echoed this sentiment: “The hires we are making are about growing our business to meet client demand…The aim is to grow our headcount and given the demand we’re seeing I wouldn’t put a cap on that. It is certainly a very competitive market for talent, there’s no question.”

Law firms are consequently plugging the gaps with an attempt to turn the heads of legal professionals with much-improved remuneration packages, including ‘retention bonuses’, offered to those wanting to leave for a rival firm, and a host of other benefits now known to be in high demand amongst candidates, such as flexible working arrangements. Such a shift from practices expected of legal employers in hiring points to another reason the fight for talent is so intense, and that is the changing needs and priorities of legal candidates.

Partly borne out of the restrictions necessitated by the pandemic, the idea of flexible working has quickly become a staple in the list of demands of candidates today, due to a greater need for better work-life balance in such turbulent periods and is now expected to be part of any benefits package worth considering from legal employers. Hybrid and remote working have been warmly welcomed amongst legal professionals, and any idea of returning to a type of culture that, according to a recent article in Bloomberg,  pushed so many to leave for the sake of their well-being is firmly rejected. The rising demand for other desirables such as development opportunities, and a real sense of purpose that provides lasting satisfaction beyond a handsome salary, makes meeting candidate expectations while fulfilling business obligations a real challenge for law firms, especially considering how averse the industry is in general to changing established practices.

Perhaps one of the biggest drivers of change in the industry today, and a big reason for the skills gap, is its movement towards digital integration and a technology-centric approach to business. The pressure of rising costs and shrinking budgets on firms across the sector has pushed many to embrace the value that digital technology holds in streamlining legal procedures, improving productivity, and bolstering efforts to comply with data protection regulations, giving rise to the need for lawyers who are digital-literate and capable of adding such expertise to their value as a professional. As the legal industry has always held fast to its very straight-and-narrow approach to cultivating legal talent in terms of culture and education, there is now a lack of ‘business of law talent’ in the skillset of legal professionals, with ‘practice’ narrowing as the ‘business of delivering legal services’ expands.

Where is the Gap?

Amongst the most desired hard skills missing in the repertoire of candidates, cloud computing and cybersecurity rank the highest, and unsurprisingly too, considering the level of efficiency (collaboration and cost-wise), flexibility, and scalability the former offers firms looking to keep pace with increasing client demand and adapt to changing workloads. Hand in hand with that comes the necessity of ensuring client data privacy and security can be maintained across cloud-based systems, (especially considering this is a sticking point with the use of such technology) explaining the high demand for competence in cybersecurity. With the world shifting towards a digital-oriented way of working over the last couple of years, the skills gap present in firms and general counsel in this area, is increasingly striking. A 2021 EY CEO Imperative Survey revealed that nearly two-thirds of respondents (which comprised of business leaders and senior legal officers) admitted that they lacked the data and technology required to respond to a data breach. Sixty-eight percent of General Counsels stated that they lacked access to accurate, real-time info on their legal entities, highlighting a real lack of confidence from GCs in their ability to handle increasingly complex corporate risk management.

With GDPR in the EU a big driver of the use of technology amongst firms, and GDPR regulations tightening the noose around businesses failing to comply, the need to ensure client data security, as well as competence in risk management, has never been more evident for employers active in the hiring market for legal talent.

However, a notable by-product of the industry’s sudden shift towards digital technology is the difficulty of younger candidates stepping into the profession during the post-pandemic era in building core soft skills essential for career success, leading to a soft skills gap in the today’s talent pool. Many will be well aware of how the divide in digital literacy has created multiple issues in building and maintaining relationships – personal or professional – over the last few years. As consultant and psychologist Kim Tasso eloquently put it, those who missed out on acquiring these key skills while the world grappled to cope with the impact of Covid and lockdown now find themselves playing catch-up.

So what exactly is missing when it comes to soft skills?

At the top of employers’ lists when looking at an ideal skillset for advancing employees is attention to detail according to research conducted by Business Name Generator, with more than a quarter of respondents within the legal industry stating it was the most important skill to have in the workplace. Self-motivation came in close second, with 22% highlighting the need for it in a new recruit’s repertoire, and this was further echoed by Kim Tasso in her piece on what soft skills legal professionals will need this year: “Set goals…and keep these goals front of mind. You will need to constantly check them against data and evidence to see if you are still on track; and know when it might be appropriate to revise or update them.”

Communication & Emotional Intelligence

One important skill, however, that atrophied in many due to the nature of the pandemic era is communication – both verbal and non-verbal. It’s no secret to any aspiring legal professional the importance of active listening, good conversational skills and confidence when interacting with peers, colleagues and clients, as it is a non-negotiable for key areas of the profession such as client and relationship management, effective networking, and conflict resolution. The ability to present cases and ideas persuasively, whether through a Zoom call or in front of hundreds of conference delegates, is indispensable for any legal professional who wants to be taken seriously.

Even more important for things like effective client management is the awareness of and ability to pick up non-verbal communication cues such as body language and facial expressions, particularly when cultural barriers are involved. As it comprises the vast majority of overall communication, it can and often is the difference between a closed deal with a client or a major career opportunity, and a failing endeavour to achieve lasting success on an individual and corporate level.

Another highly sought-after trait that comes hand-in-hand with, and actually facilitates excellent communication is a high EQ (emotional intelligence). As the single biggest predictor and strongest driver of leadership and excellence, it is also a must for employers to have among their legal teams in abundance. This can be broken down into several different skills: self-control (ability to understand one’s emotional triggers and manage one’s own emotions), empathy (ability and desire to recognise and understand the emotions of others), and the aforementioned self-awareness (ability to recognise our own emotions, and impact on others).

While these are already highly relevant and desirable, they are set to become even more so in future for employers as the industry continues embracing the value of digital and AI technology in streamlining processes and automating more mundane, non-complex tasks. With this highly likely to lead to a big jobs slash across the legal sector, ‘what will be left is the capacity to deal with human beings’, as Fuller stated in HBS’s publication Working Knowledge. Only the high value, complex or newest areas of law will need human input, among which will inevitably be client and relationship management, pointing to an even greater rise in demand for legal talent with a well-developed set of soft skills in the near future, something that Fuller also emphasises in the above publication: “Bosses will be hungry for good judgement, strong motivation and the ability to collaborate and articulate a vision.”

It is therefore concerning that, despite efforts to attract the candidates of today, businesses are failing to hire on a permanent basis, and are at risk of becoming oblivious to the gold mine of talent right beneath their feet due to the issue of inflexibility still present in the hiring practices of many firms today. It’s one thing for a skills gap to be present due to a lack of candidates available in the current talent pool with the desired kind of profile, and another thing entirely for such a profile to be the actual reason there is a perceived skills gap in the first place. According to a report from Harvard Business School and Accenture, there is a huge pool of skilled hidden workers shut out of employment by inflexible working requirements established by companies.

Just under a third of respondents of a survey conducted by Managing the Future of Work stated that they are only able to work part-time due to caregiving obligations, a reason highlighted as the ‘single biggest driver’ of hidden talent by Fuller in HBS’s publication. With 91% of that number being women – who are said to have better social skills in general – and this preference for flexible working set to only grow amongst candidates, the inability to show ample flexibility when it comes to working arrangements in the legal industry poses a major threat to the hiring efforts and overall success of firms unwilling to budge, especially considering what the future looks like from a business perspective.

In light of this, it is, although expected, prudent to ask oneself: How do employers combat the ongoing skills shortage to avoid a grim trajectory and futureproof their tomorrow? To answer that there are a few things you must consider:

Work-Life Balance: The Cornerstone of Individual – And Corporate Success

Starting with the most obvious but perhaps least straightforward aspect of the solution, the relaxing of stringent rules around working arrangements is very much the way to go for any law firm serious about standing out to today’s candidates. This isn’t just a matter of policy, but a cultural shift that should be embraced internally. With research increasingly indicating that employees able to achieve a better work-life balance are more productive, the priority a firm places on its workers’ wellbeing is evidently inextricably linked to the level of corporate success they see. This is the first step any business is advised to take when struggling to recruit, as it not only makes your accessibility to talent looking for a supportive culture far higher but also enables you to better facilitate their success.

What will determine the amount of value you get out of these decisions, however, is the prep work you do internally – that is, the commitment you show to building that kind of culture in your firm. Yes, what this will look like will differ slightly from individual to individual and it is multifaceted in nature but the most important rule to follow is communication with both your employees and leadership team. You should aim to have regular, frank and open conversations about what kind of culture you wish to establish and what every employee can do to help the business do that. This might be easier said than done, but there are steps you can take to make every candidate sure that you are an accommodating employer when it comes to culture.

This doesn’t just apply to working arrangements. Candidates are more discerning about where they work when it comes to career development and work culture, as this plays a large part in career satisfaction and work-life balance. Considering the nature of the problem at hand it is in your best interest to prioritise and invest in an employee development plan to upskill your workforce and ensure they are well-equipped to thrive in their roles in order to shield your business from the impact of a skills shortage and mitigate the problems it can cause down the line.

Setting Your Employer Brand Apart

Once these boxes have been ticked, the groundwork has been laid for your employer brand to shine. Taking a proactive approach to changing the culture and practices of your firm ensures it has the platform it needs to position the firm as one that values and invests in its workforce. In an age where the candidate experience is more important than ever, it’s imperative that you not only have an established employer value proposition but are also capable of communicating it effectively and convincingly to candidates. We break down how to build a winning employer brand in this guide here.

Your Personal Reservoir in a Talent Drought

The value that a specialist legal recruiter holds for firms running dry in their search for talent cannot be understated. With access to a wide pool of candidates, active or passive, a profound insight into current market trends and changes at every level, and a commitment to understanding the hiring needs of your firm, they are your ultimate ally in navigating a talent drought and staying competitive in a harsh climate. By simplifying what is often such an expensive and time-consuming process for hiring managers, they help to save your firm two of its most valuable resources, while ensuring you get the skills and the talent your business needs to thrive and excel.

That’s why our team at Clayton Legal are on hand – we take the stress and complications out of recruitment for your firm so that you can focus on what really matters. If you feel that the time has come to make an important hiring decision regarding your team, get in touch with us here.

Next Steps

If you would like to speak to us confidentially about market conditions, opportunities in your practice area or geographical region, or if you are actively looking for a role and would like us to help give you that competitive edge, we would love to speak to you – especially if you have your heart set on a new challenge for the new year.

Click here to speak to one of our experienced Legal specialists or call 01772 259121 for more information on how our exceptional recruitment experience can help your career aspirations.

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Posted By

Joel Okoye

Digital Marketing Apprentice

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Do You Need To Upskill To Supercharge Your Profile As A Legal Jobseeker?

  • October 29, 2023

The job market is evolving more rapidly than ever. The recent surge in the development and use of AI and digital technology has ushered in a highly competitive period that has seen a spike in demand for its incorporation in hiring practices and also to combat skills shortages gathering pace in certain sectors. Throw in a tumultuous economic background and it is clear that legal candidates today still find themselves having to navigate uncertain waters, in order to stay visible and attractive as a prospect to hirers. 

Nothing epitomises this more than the well-documented skills shortage widely seen across the legal industry today. A recent article in Fortune focused on this particular challenge being experienced across many sectors and is likely (according to the Future Of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum) to get worse before it gets better – referring to a ‘skills gap is so big that nearly half of workers will need to retrain this decade’. 

 And whilst employers are already feeling the impact and squeeze on their hiring and business objectives, employees too are well aware of the need to keep pace with the changing landscape and ensure their employability in the long-term. Upskilling and reskilling have become the talk of the town amongst legal professionals, but one thing that most commentators agree on the likelihood of a skills-based revolution, where certain soft skills are quickly rising in importance. 

While functional or hard skills are an ever-crucial skill area for legal professionals to develop, they are often given the lion share of attention, sometimes at the expense of some core soft skills that have proven to be crucial for career success. Regardless of whether you’re a fresh graduate or a seasoned professional, these are skills that will make the most difference in accelerating your career, as they equip you with the necessary qualities to help you manage your mind, communicate well consistently, and influence your team to improve their performance. 

This is particularly pertinent when discussing the future of work for legal professionals in the industry, as the role of AI and digital technology in streamlining processes, commoditising work and automating less complicated aspects of the job, is only set to increase going forward. In such a scenario what will be left for aspiring candidates to shield themselves from the resulting job slash is the chance to prove their worth in the high-value, complex, or newest areas of law, among which is the human-to-human interaction necessary for effective client and relationship management.  

Considering this increasingly becoming the general consensus around the impact of digital technology, it’s clear to see where the demand is going skill-wise. 

Soft Skills For Growth 

A highly desirable aspect of a legal professional’s skillset is the ability to manage themselves and their relationships with others through profound self-awareness, effective communication, willingness to listen and capacity take on feedback. And it isn’t just required to excel in your role, it is indispensable for personal and professional growth. 

Here at Clayton Legal, we assist candidates in developing their careers where we consistently share the softer skills that need to be developed. Below are the ones most important to build: 

Self-Awareness 

One of the key challenges when managing and developing a legal team is a lack of self-awareness from the employee.    

You will hear the term emotional intelligence shared in many circles. The term was defined as a person’s ability to manage their feelings and to express those feelings appropriately and effectively.  

(The original book on this topic by Daniel Goleman, is definitely worth a read).

Who has not come across a colleague in the business who has zero idea about their impact on others? A candidate once approached us looking for a new role because of the behaviour of a new manager in the business; yes, managers can lack self-awareness too.   

It appears that every morning the manager in question would appear with a sore head, grumbling and snapping at people. The individual had no idea how his behaviour affected the team.   

Self-awareness also covers motivation, empathy, self-regulation, and appropriate social skills.  

Communication Skills 

All professions include varied people with effective communication skills and some that don’t hold the ability to have a conversation. Summing up a procedure to employees with jargon-free lingo are all expected skills for someone to hold. However, talking over a team member in a meeting does not demonstrate communication excellence.   

A large part of being a great communicator is the ability to listen. We can all tell the difference when someone hears the words you are saying or when they are actively listening.   

As an experiment, notice how often people have their phones open during conversations or look over your shoulder at other people and what’s going on when speaking with you; worse, they sit on the edge of their seats waiting to interrupt.   

Active listeners, meanwhile, pay close attention to meeting presenters, offer up clarifying questions or responses, and refer back to notes in future discussions. They do not need things repeated to them because they heard them the first time, making active listeners respectful colleagues.  

Openness to Feedback 

This might sound like a different soft skill, yet a lack of openness to feedback often indicates an individual is stuck in a pattern and unwilling to learn.   

The ability to accept developmental feedback is critical for all of us; otherwise, how will we improve? Think about it; constructive feedback will help you do the best job possible when it comes to your role, and yet often, people take it personally and react defensively; when this happens, feedback is not heard.   

No one is ever perfect, no matter how long they have been in a role. Reflecting on this, when did you last ‘overreact’ to feedback?  

Growth Mindset 

Having a growth mindset leads to the ability to accept feedback. Individuals with a growth mindset see feedback as the gift that it is.   

Their mind is focused on what is possible rather than what is not. No matter what role, you will encounter roadblocks, disappointments, and other situations that might frustrate you. A soft skill critical to your ability to persevere is having a growth mindset.   

Dr Carol Dweck conducted the original work on this several years ago. Her book is well worth reading to identify if you have a growth or fixed mindset.   

For instance, someone with a growth mindset who did not achieve their billable target would look at this as an opportunity to double down and focus on what they could do differently in the next quarter.   

Whereas someone with a fixed mindset would see this differently, complaining that the target was too high, the clients they were working with were demanding, and the list of complaints goes on.  

Adaptability and Flexibility 

The last few years have been a challenge for many, yet certain employees have stood out above others; Two words describe them.   

  • Adaptable 
  • Flexible.  

 No matter your role in your business, the ability to adapt to change and a positive, flexible attitude about what is happening never go unnoticed.   

Many people have no idea how negative they can be when something does not go their way. Worse still, they become a classic mood hoover.   

Fact: Our business landscape is changing, and no matter what role you hold in an organisation, you have to be willing to adapt and change.

Analytical & Creative Thinking

Analytical and creative thinking are reported to be the two most important skills for employees in 2023 according to the Future of Jobs Report, with over 70% of businesses surveyed as part of the research, citing these as the most valued core skills. A purposeful increase in both of these cognitive skills clearly reflect the increasing importance of complex problem-solving in the workplace. 

Analytical thinking is the ability to approach complex problems or situations in a systematic and logical way, breaking them down into smaller components, analysing the data, identifying patterns and relationships, and using that information to draw conclusions and make informed decisions.  

It is of particular value in roles that require problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making skills such as data analysts, business analysts, financial analysts, engineers, scientists, strategists, and management consultants, among others.  

Employees who display these skills are deemed to make sound judgments and decisions, and solve problems effectively. Analytical thinking is also useful for identifying trends, opportunities, and potential risks in a business, which can help organisations to innovate and stay competitive.  

As a jobseeker, there are several ways you can highlight these skills during the process – starting with your CV; using relevant that demonstrate your skills here such as:

  • “data analysis”
  • “problem-solving”
  • “critical thinking”
  • “research”
  • “logic”
  • “strategic planning”
  • “quantitative analysis”

Simply put, if you can provide concrete examples of when you have applied analytical or creative thinking, all the better.  

In your interview, be prepared to demonstrate your skills and discuss specific examples of how you have used analytical thinking to solve problems or make decisions. You could even prepare a case study or work sample that showcases your analytical thinking skills. 

Technological Literacy

Technological literacy is also deemed to be one soft skill that is growing in prominence and importance across a variety of sectors and roles. However, it is not just about using technology for everyday tasks like sending emails or using social media. It also involves having a deeper understanding of the underlying concepts and principles of technology, as well as its societal, ethical, and environmental implications.  

In today’s fast-paced and constantly evolving technological landscape, technological literacy has become increasingly important in many industries and professions. Jobs in fields such as engineering, software development, digital marketing, and healthcare require a high level of technological literacy, as employees need to understand and use various types of software, hardware, and digital tools.  

Moreover, technological literacy is essential for individuals to participate fully in a rapidly changing society and workplace.  

Demonstrating technological literacy is relatively easy to do on your CV and during the interview process – although it is important to list those that are relevant for the job in question. It is a good idea to include specifics here such as level of qualification so a hiring manager can assess your exact competencies from the get go. Additionally, be prepared to talk about examples where you have used your skills to solve problems or improve processes. This is arguably where you will stand out as a candidate… focusing on the impact these skills have had in your previous roles. 

In Summary

Amongst the many developments we have seen emerge in the past few years, such as the gradual shift towards greater flexibility in the work life of legal professionals, the incorporation of AI technology into legal and hiring practices and the transition of the industry away from established traditional norms comes a particularly pertinent point of discussion – and contention – one that has (and will continue to) influenced how law firms will operate in years to come: The well-documented skills shortage experienced by law firms across the market.

Having an awareness of what these skills ‘are’ exactly is important – particularly if you are to be successful in your hunt for a new legal opportunity (and know the areas where you yourself may need to upskill).

Upskilling is more than just a buzz word doing the rounds – it is very much centred on the wider issues of skills shortages and ever-changing working conditions and environments that are affecting jobseekers and employers alike.And it seems like the focus on the importance of soft skills in giving you a competitive advantage (again, in your capacity as a jobseeker or employer) is not going away.

Simply put ,soft skills focus on developing a positive can-do attitude. A well-worn statement perhaps – yet developing abilities like this will help you navigate most things that are thrown your way while making you stand out as a potential new hire for a firm (as well as being areas to focus on if you are indeed in the hiring seat, and looking for a standout candidate to bring on board). 

 

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability during that time. We have made over 5,000 placements from Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal I.T. personnel to Practice Managers.

If you are looking for a new legal position or just want to speak to a recruitment expert about the current market, call our team on 01772 259121 or click here to submit your CV.

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Why Now is The Time to Start Putting Your 2024 Plans Into Action

  • October 18, 2023

With the darker nights noticeably creeping in, and the shops already stocked with Christmas paraphernalia, the final push towards the end of the year is upon us. This last quarter is often a period where many businesses and individuals will be making firm plans for the following calendar year, setting budgets and agreeing business objectives. And for many, with an average three months’ notice period across the industry – consideration of the ‘c-word’ is also likely. Not ‘Christmas’ per se…but career – what it looks like and where it is heading in the new year.

The so-called mid-career career blues happen to everyone at some point or another  – and it can often be for a number of reasons…

You have outgrown the position

One of the most common reasons legal professionals cite as a reason to leave their current position is around progression – or more specifically, lack of opportunities at their current Firm. Often, a lateral move within the firm is one viable route that, whilst perhaps offering a similar overall remuneration package, does provide the individual with the chance to expand their skills and professional network. Quite often a lateral move can provide a revised career path that still gives that individual chance to develop and learn about other areas of that business, and in turn raises the status of that employee and their broader influence internally.

However, this is not always possible either due to the size or structure of the Firm in question, or because of the current practice area that individual operates in. If the role no longer provides opportunities for the growth you seek in your career and there isn’t an obvious path to promotion, chances are finding a new opportunity elsewhere may be the only option to further advance your career. Before making that leap, it is always time well spent to review the market for opportunities, particularly if this is the first time in a few years you find yourself looking for those greener pastures. Ensuring that the firms and roles you look at do offer clear paths for progression and advancement is key for ambitious individuals.

Recruitment agencies have a vested interest in understanding the sector in which you (and by extension, they) operate, and because of the trusted position that they have with Clients, they will undoubtedly be able to offer you market insight, practice-specific guidance as well as trends and activity they are experiencing in the recruitment cycle. It is always worth enlisting their help at an early stage to get that birds-eye view of market trends and movement, as well as the inside-track of Firms in your area.

You are looking for an increase in remuneration

If the driver for moving is monetary, then it goes without saying that the first step should be to explore the option of a pay review at your current firm first. Whilst few individuals relish the thought of having those perhaps awkward conversations around money, it is important to see where the land lies first, even if that is to sense check the Firm’s position ahead of a diarised salary review later in the year/early next year. It is important to head into such conversations realistically and professionally – can the Firm afford the figure you have in mind for example? Have you got clear reasons why the review is justified, based on performance perhaps or the value you have brought to the business? Building a strong business case here is important – as is knowing your value and worth in the wider market.

This brings us to the second point – researching your market value. Understanding the current average or better still, range of salaries for similar roles in the market is crucial, especially if conversations around a pay rise end without the desired resolution and your hand is forced to look elsewhere. Recruitment agencies undoubtedly add value here with live salary data and wider benefits packages on offer for active jobseekers.

However sometimes the only way to achieve your salary expectations is to talk with your feet and look at other opportunities in the market where they can be realised. It is a perhaps unfortunate reality that pay increases tend to be more significant upon a move (as opposed to an internal promotion) so doing your due diligence early on will pay dividends so you have a realistic view of what those next steps look like.

You are looking for more work/life balance

Long hours and demanding workloads within the legal profession are much documented (and prevalent even amongst those who work from home according to a recent article in The Law Gazette).

Whilst changing job roles may not necessarily negate all of these, the landscape of work has altered significantly following the aftermath of Covid, meaning that the likes of hybrid and home working models increased exponentially which for many has helped to strike a balance between work and home life.  Whilst this won’t be the case for everyone (and ongoing conversations about whether hybrid work arrangements should be abandoned altogether rumble on ) conversations around flexi-, agile-, home- and hybrid- are still taking centre-stage amongst jobseekers are legal job roles offering such work arrangements.

Conversations around the pros (and indeed cons) of flexible working arrangements is still ongoing – and there is a fine line to tread when sometimes homeworking leads to an ‘always on’ mentality. A recent article even looked at research highlighting a negative impact on wellbeing….

Nevertheless, there has never been a better time to have an open conversation with your Recruitment Consultant, or prospective employer about the ways in which they can support the balance you’re looking for.

There are many other reasons of course that trigger that early decision to start looking for new opportunities. The reasons may be complex, and numerous, yet it is often not a decision that is taken lightly. According to our own Salary Salary and Market Insights Report, other reasons include envisaged redundancy, conflict in the workplace, and down to a relocation. Most respondents we spoke to however (37%) said the decision came down to a desire to progress, upskill, and take on a new challenge.  Employee expectations around how, when, and where they work have changed – and as clients continue to compete for the best talent, arguably it has never been a better time to make the leap.

Next Steps

If you would like to speak to us confidentially about market conditions, opportunities in your practice area or geographical region, or if you are actively looking for a role and would like us to help give you that competitive edge, we would love to speak to you – especially if you have your heart set on a new challenge for the new year.

Click here to speak to one of our experienced Legal specialists or call 01772 259121 for more information on how our exceptional recruitment experience can help your career aspirations.

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Are You Failing to Plan for Growth in Your Law Firm?

  • October 18, 2023

As a successful legal professional, be it a Senior Partner, Managing Partner, or on the Board, you are a primary driver of success for your law firm, determining its growth. Ultimately, you are pivotal in creating your firm’s story and building a pathway to its goals. Hopefully, you are experiencing current success and business is doing well – but don’t fall into the trap of overlooking areas where you could improve. It’s easy to become complacent, and before you know it, you will start to slip backwards. So how can you ensure you don’t fail to grow? In the current climate with market forces, as they are, you must strive to remain successful – and the key to that lies in planning. 

Sometimes it’s natural to overlook areas where you could make improvements if the firm is experiencing overall success. It’s easy to miss opportunities to progress. Alternatively, you may feel that your business is suffering due to market forces out of your control and you’re unable to take a step forward in the current climate.

However, there are always ways to improve and move forward – and that involves taking a step back, first of all, to review your law firm holistically; its customers, systems, processes, and people to reassess your goals and ensure you are making the most of your business. 

Talk To Your Clients:

It doesn’t matter how qualified your employees are or what specialist services you provide if you don’t focus on customer service first. Customers define your firm, so your priority is to ensure you understand their needs (and indeed challenges).

You can do this by conducting surveys and research – both quantitative and qualitative –  to gain valuable insight. Just ensure that your surveys facilitate honest feedback, or you’re wasting your time, and theirs. Having a spotlight on your customers’ thoughts about your service will allow you to leverage the elements that you’re already doing well, as well as focus on any hot spots where you need to reflect and make improvements. It’s essential to take the extra step to make your customers feel valued and unique, so make sure you talk to them and listen to (and address) any problems they have. That way, you will inspire loyalty – and loyal consumers won’t just come back to you – they will recommend their friends and colleagues to you too.  

Come Out Of The Bubble: 

In a volatile market – where the economy is impacting all facets of running a business,  one of the quickest ways for a firm to stunt its growth and cripple its potential is to conduct business blindly. By that, we mean lacking awareness of what your clients’ needs are, how they have changed over time, and how your competitors have responded to such needs to stay ahead of the curve. It can be tempting to get wrapped up in the business-as-usual of today, respond to immediate needs, and push anything deemed important but not urgent – however this can have disastrous consequences for your firm. Opportunities to capitalise on market changes, strike deals with highly after clients or scale business operations can pass you by if you fail to pay attention to how your competitors are conducting their business in the market. Coming out of your ‘bubble’ to look at other firms in your practice area and/or region can really impact how you trade competitively. As the saying goes, ‘no man is an island’ and if you’re looking to increase market share, you need to fully understand where and with whom that market is buying from.

This makes the presence of a regularly updated and detailed target persona an absolute must in your business strategy as it will ensure you have a Unique Selling Point that is consistent. A target persona consists of who your clients are, where their interests lie, what pain points they have, what they want from your services, and much more. Having this level of insight into your target market enables you to not only address their problems at the right time, but it also allows you to make your marketing and specifically your branding effective by communicating your USP at every touchpoint of the buyer cycle. This helps to create a strong brand that utilises both its position and performance in the marketplace to develop a reputation for being an excellent firm to do business with. 

Lack of an EVP: 

Going back to red flag number one, a firm’s culture, people strategy, and EVP (Employee Value Proposition) live or dies by its values as that forms the foundation for its competence in attracting, retaining, and developing top legal talent. As legal professionals are now becoming increasingly demanding in their search for the ideal employer, one of the biggest mistakes any firm can make in today’s market is failing to consider the priorities and preferences of its employees or jobseekers they are looking to attract. Without such a foundation, it is incredibly easy for a firm to slip into reactive mode and allow external factors such as economic pressures, market changes, and consequently, business performance to dictate how it treats its employees.  

And even though you will hopefully have ironed out your values as a business at this point, it does not guarantee immunity from making such blunders. The key to a strong EVP is the ability to create and sustain a positive, productive workforce, and that is only made possible through a regular, honest, and thorough review of your people strategy, to ensure your firm culture and environment remain the focus of it, and not the business goals – no matter the external or internal situation at hand.

According to Brett Minchington, who coined the phrase Employee Value Proposition in the first place, this comes down to largely five elements:

  • Fair pay

  • Personal development and growth

  • Meaningful work, making a contribution

  • Good reputation

  • Working with friendly colleagues

Your work environment should have employees feeling valued, respected, and motivated and should regularly facilitate open communication, effective collaboration, and a healthy work-life balance. We have seen a big shift in the market in recent years towards flexibility, hybrid working, and employee satisfaction so ensure that your EVP focuses on these areas while remaining aligned with your goals for business growth. 

Consider Your Leadership Contingent – Are They Suitable For That Role? 

The last few years have been challenging for the legal sector. Dealing with the fallout of the pandemic, increased workload, and the impact of overworking on employees’ well-being means that many firms also now need to uplevel their leadership skills alongside recruiting new lawyers into their teams to lead their firm moving forward.

In turbulent times, everyone looks to great leaders for guidance. Leadership resonates throughout a business, and the quality of your leadership can be the difference between your firm’s ultimate success or failure.

A successful law firm requires leadership that is transparent, emotionally intelligent, resilient, empathetic, focused, and inspiring.

If you believe your leadership could develop in some of these areas further, take steps now. Training in personal development and upskilling where needed will enable you to lead from the front. Failure to invest in leadership will result in good ideas coming to nothing, so start at the top. 

Invest In Building A Top Team 

A high-performing team is what any employer would want. A high-performing team of solicitors that is efficient, drives profits and gets results is no doubt the utopia that business leaders strive for, which requires excellent leadership, support in their development, and constant engagement (even before any recruits join the firm).

Developing a high-performing team that works collaboratively will enable your law firm to achieve its goals, both short and long-term. It will create a positive mindset and ethos of encouragement and positivity that will allow your firm to excel and grow, keeping you ahead of the pack in the competitive legal marketplace and making your law firm attractive to further top talent.

As part of this, professional development should play a significant role in ensuring your team keeps ahead of trends. Training and development of both hard and soft skills will not only instill a sense of pride in specialist knowledge and ability but also make employees feel valued by the firm. This, in turn, will lead to better staff retention saving you the costs of hiring and onboarding new employees. Additionally, happy staff are more productive, so you will see positive developments in the bottom line. In a working environment where individuals are part of a capable team, the quality of an individual’s sense of purpose in understanding big goals is enhanced. They feel ‘included’ in decisions, and their ideas and concerns are listened to and acted on. 

Keep On Top Of (And Ahead) Of Tech  

The legal sector is growing at a rapid pace. If you’re standing still in terms of digital ability, then you might as well be going backwards. Using digital strategies to grow your law firm allows you to reach a much larger number of potential clients than ever before. As well as building your client base, if you regularly post industry articles online, you will develop a reputation as being an authority in your specialist areas – attracting both top talent to want to work for you as well as establishing you as a credible law firm in the eyes of competitors. Your website should also reflect your forward-thinking by embracing new technology. Refining your online platform will make it more responsive, and maximizing your SEO will enable you to reach more viewers online, as well as offer you the opportunity to connect and network with others – crucial in moving forward. Additionally, a social media strategy will enable you to reach more clients, develop relationships and strengthen existing ones, gain insight into competitors, and demonstrate your industry knowledge. 

Plan For Headcount Growth Early 

As firms consider their strategy and business objectives, whether that’s on a quarterly basis as a checkpoint, or a typical 1-, 3- and 5-year plan, any kind of compound growth inevitably goes hand in hand with the need to increase headcount and upskill where required.

Firms may have their own Hiring Managers whose remit is to attract new talent to the firm, or this may fall to HR or even practising Solicitors and Partners in some cases. Either way, reaching out to a specialist legal recruiter as those strategic discussions are taking place will undoubtedly pay dividends in the long run to get a true birds-eye view of the market, your competitors, the movement of talent (and scarcity which may impact your plans) – invaluable insight that you can readily tap in to.

Ultimately, a strategic plan is the tool that will enable you to move forward and grow your legal firm. Using your knowledge of what has worked well previously, you can build a pathway to achieve your ultimate goals, avoiding strategies that have failed in the past. A good plan will move you from where you are now to where you want to be. Including milestones, and achievements will keep you focused on the end goals and provide you and your team with motivation along the way. Make your strategic plan achievable (but aspirational) and timely – and don’t be afraid to amend it as you progress if your law firm’s requirements change.  

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals, and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

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The Evolution Of The CV – And Its Place In The Digital Age

In today’s competitive job market, it’s more important than ever for candidate profiles to stand out. With digital channels such as LinkedIn (often seen as an online CV) and video platforms becoming the norm, it’s quite normal to consider where the traditional CV lies in all of this. Is crafting a 2-4 page document still worth your time and effort as a jobseeker?

In short – absolutely.

The CV (Curriculum Vitae) continues to plays a crucial role in the job application process. It serves as a summary of an individual’s skills, qualifications, and experiences, showcasing their suitability for a particular role. But have you ever wondered how this document came to be and how it has evolved over time?

Here we look at the history of the CV, from its humble beginnings to the digital age, and explore its impact on the job search process – and it’s future.

The Birth of the CV

The origins of the CV can be traced back to the Renaissance era, specifically to the genius mind of Leonardo Da Vinci. In 1482, Da Vinci, in search of work, crafted a letter to the Duke of Milan, outlining his skills and experiences in various fields such as engineering, sculpture, and bridge-building. This letter is often considered to be the first official CV on record. Although Da Vinci did not secure the job he sought, his innovative approach to presenting his qualifications set a precedent for future job seekers.

The Middle Ages: Portfolios and Personal Profiles

While the concept of a formal CV did not exist during the Middle Ages, there were instances of artists and inventors creating portfolios to showcase their work. These portfolios, often referred to as sketchbooks, contained designs, sketches, and examples of their craftsmanship. One notable example is Villard de Honnecourt’s portfolio, which dates back to the 13th Century and includes architectural drawings and mechanical designs. These portfolios served as a visual representation of the artist’s capabilities and can be seen as precursors to the modern-day CV.

The 20th Century: Newspapers and the Rise of the Modern CV

In the early 20th century, job applications predominantly relied on newspaper advertisements. Applicants would submit handwritten or typed resumes, which included personal details such as age, height, weight, and marital status. These characteristics, as you would imagine, were often used as discriminatory factors in the hiring process. However, as societal norms progressed, legislation was implemented to address these biases. The inclusion of hobbies and interests in resumes became popular in the 1960s, allowing job seekers to showcase their personality and interests beyond their professional qualifications.

The Internet Age: Online Job Boards and the Power of LinkedIn

With the advent of the Internet, job searching underwent a significant transformation. Online job boards, such as Monster.com, emerged in the 1990s, providing a digital platform for job seekers to submit their resumes and connect with potential employers. The rise of social media further revolutionized the job search process, with LinkedIn leading the way as a professional networking platform. Launched in 2003, LinkedIn allowed individuals to create online profiles, highlighting their skills, experiences, and professional achievements. It became a valuable resource for recruiters and job seekers alike, providing opportunities for networking and job discovery.

The Future of the CV: Multimedia Resumes and Personal Branding

As technology continues to advance, the CV is likely to undergo further changes in the future. Multimedia CVs, incorporating elements such as videos, infographics, and interactive content, have gained traction in recent years. These dynamic platforms offer job seekers a unique opportunity to showcase their skills and creativity in a visually engaging format. Additionally, personal branding has become increasingly important in the job search process. Job seekers are encouraged to cultivate an online presence through social media platforms, personal websites, and blogs, allowing them to showcase their expertise and stand out from the competition.

The Role of the CV in the Modern Job Application Process

Whatever the design and format, the CV has become an essential tool for both job seekers and employers in the modern job application process. It serves as a snapshot of an individual’s qualifications and experiences, providing employers with valuable insights into a candidate’s suitability for a particular role. However, the evolution of the CV has brought about new challenges and considerations. Job seekers must adapt to changing trends, ensuring that their CVs align with current expectations and industry standards. Employers, on the other hand, must navigate through a vast pool of applicants, leveraging technology and innovative recruitment strategies to identify the most qualified candidates.

Changing Candidates’ Approach to Job Searching

The evolution of the CV has also influenced how candidates approach the job search process. Job seekers are now more proactive in building their personal brand and online presence, recognising the importance of networking and showcasing their skills beyond the confines of a traditional CV. They are leveraging social media platforms, professional networking sites, and online portfolios to engage with potential employers and demonstrate their expertise. Additionally, the accessibility of online job boards and digital application processes has made job searching more convenient and efficient, allowing candidates to explore a wider range of opportunities.

The Impact of Technology on the CV

Technology has played a significant role in shaping the evolution of the CV. The shift from paper-based CVs to digital formats has streamlined the application process, making it easier for candidates to submit their credentials and for employers to review applications. Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) have also become prevalent, enabling employers to efficiently screen and manage large volumes of documents. However, it is important for job seekers to optimize their CVs for ATS compatibility by using relevant keywords and formatting techniques.

Other AI-focused platforms that can help jobseekers appear on the market almost weekly – and whilst it becomes hard to see what is truly useful and what is a distraction, there is certainly more in development that can help to elevate your profile.

The Importance of Continuous Learning and Adaptation

As the job market continues to evolve, it is crucial for both job seekers and employers to stay abreast of industry trends and adapt their strategies accordingly. Job seekers should invest in continuous learning and skills development to remain competitive in a rapidly changing landscape. Employers, on the other hand, must embrace innovative recruitment practices, leveraging technology and data-driven insights to identify the best talent. The CV, as a reflection of an individual’s qualifications and experiences, will continue to be a fundamental tool in the job search process, but its form and presentation may continue to evolve.

Conclusion

The evolution of the CV from its humble beginnings to the digital age exemplifies the dynamic nature of the job search process. Leonardo Da Vinci’s letter to the Duke of Milan marked the birth of the CV, setting the stage for centuries of innovation and adaptation. From portfolios in the Middle Ages to the rise of online job boards and professional networking sites, technology has continually shaped the way job seekers present themselves and connect with potential employers. As we look to the future, multimedia CVs and personal branding will likely play an even greater role in the job search process. However, amidst these changes, the fundamental purpose of the CV remains the same – to showcase one’s qualifications, experiences, and potential to prospective employers.

We have a number of resources and guides about what to include in your CVs (and indeed, what to leave off) – CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THOSE.

Whether printed and taken in to an interview, uploaded to a role profile online, or sent as a PDF speculatively to a potential employer, the 2-3 page document certainly has to work hard to confidently ‘sell’ your suitability for the job in question. That’s why it’s also worth enlisting the help of a specialist legal recruiter to also represent you in the market. A good recruiter will take the time to get to know you – your skills and strengths, and how to leverage these when talking to a hiring manager or Partner. They will also help to bring your 2-D document to life, talking to the hiring firms about your suitability, how they envisage you fit in with the culture, and the driving force behind your move.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or perhaps have had your fingers burnt by a bad hire in the past, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

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Posted By

Joel Okoye

Digital Marketing Apprentice

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Why Every Law Firm Needs an Employee Development Plan

What legal professionals look for in an employer has changed significantly since the pandemic, with work-life balance being the theme that has taken centre stage in job discourse amongst legal candidates. As the importance of employee satisfaction has grown massively in recent years – whether that be in the form of hybrid working or strong DEI practices – the value of career fulfilment has become a staple part of the modern legal professional’s priorities when searching for the ideal employer. 

Today it’s not at all uncommon for employees to be left with a lingering sense of stagnation after spending a few years building their skills in their current role, and consequently view the option of jumping ship as the only way to experience real progress in their career, in part due to the negligence of their employers to ensure their continued growth with a long term development plan of any sort.

The resulting high turnover rate is what has brought the idea of Employee Development Plans into focus for law firms, as it provides a range of solutions that can benefit all parties on an individual, collective and corporate level. Such plans centres on work-related skill development, and is owned by both the employee and the line manager. As a continuing process that is consistently and regularly reviewed and updated, an EDP should aim to ensure ongoing employability through improving the individual’s workplace soft and hard skills, and industry knowledge. A good plan will strive to create a series of actions designed to help the individual develop and grow within the context of their legal career, while also developing their capabilities and meeting the needs of the employer. 

 EDP: Goal & Objective

As mentioned above, the goal of Employee Development Plans is not just to meet the needs of the individual – when done right it should also help employers effectively tackle the problems that are brought about by a lack of professional and career growth, the biggest of which, is replacing key skills and people your team without having to invest so heavily. The difficulty of doing so in today’s market is no secret to any Hiring Manager or Partner and while utilising the services of a specialist legal recruitment agency can mitigate this, it is still very much advisable to eliminate other causes of persistent turnover issues by demonstrating a genuine commitment to your employees’ professional development. This in turn will create and facilitate a productive workforce that gives back that same level of commitment across the business because it: 

  • Meets their career/professional needs. 
  • Provides that sense of security and support they need from their employer to thrive as individuals. 

It also ensures your firm doesn’t constantly run the risk of being hit by a skills shortage, and helps avoid additional costs involved in recruiting, onboarding and training up new staff. 

 With the importance of an Employee Development Plan in a firm’s people strategy now established, let us look at what makes a great EDP. 

How To Create A Great Employee Development Plan 

 There are 6 key points to consider when mapping out Employee Development Plans, and although not exhaustive, are certainly a good place to start:

1. Where does the skill gap lie?

  •  Begin with an audit of the individual’s skills and see how their existing skillset aligns with the demands of their current role. You’ll want to consider how your clients’ needs have changed over time, what skills the role will demand of the individual in question and how the role will develop/evolve based on this. Knowing where the employee needs to be at the end of the training will enable you to measure progress, and gauge what the next step forward will be at each stage. 

 2. What training and development is required? 

  •  Leading on from the initial skills audit & your vision of the role, your next step should be to establish what the employee’s personal and professional goals are. This is important because it encourages them to develop a holistic view of their own growth. Remember that the goal at this stage is alignment between their professional goals and the business needs, and the best way to achieve this is to have employee buy-in right from the start. Having them understand their perspective on where their competencies, capabilities and flaws lie, as well as how to build a training plan that addresses all aspects of their growth makes them more likely to be invested in an EDP. 

 3. Building Your Action Plan: 

  •  The next area of focus should be the training itself – what training courses, qualifications or knowledge the employee will need. The 70/20/10 rule can prove helpful in this regard – 70% of learning should come from experience on-the-job, 20% from other colleagues and 10% from training and courses. This is important as it helps the individual avoid viewing the training as separate to their daily work lives. Any training scheduled should be built into the role itself or based on already established relationships with others. 

 4. Why this needs to be done: 

  • Transparency and communication of long-term goals helps to instil a sense of belonging and ownership in the employee. Making them aware of how their learning and development will benefit not only their own career but also the wider business can provide them with clear guidelines and focus on how they can contribute in their role. It will also give them a sense of place – how they fit into the firm as a whole – and help them build a sense of pride in their work. T his in turn will fuel productivity and accountability for their own progress in their training.  

5. When is it needed? 

  •  It is advisable for managers and employees to have agreed achievement milestones put into place. These can reflect the overall aims of your legal firm where appropriate. Monitor progress regularly to encourage and provide direction to the individual, and to show support on their journey. 

 6. How can progress be measured? 

  •  Methods for measuring training and development can be in the form of formal appraisals, informal meetings and open discussions. The method chosen may depend on the goal(s) and the timeliness set. For short-term training it may be appropriate to have a 1:1 with the employee at an agreed time (for example, after completion of a training course). For more long-term goals, or where several employees require the same upgrading of knowledge, it might be more beneficial to have an open discussion on progress. 

 Staying Ahead to Stay on Course 

 A regular and thorough review of the latest and most relevant, procedural and practice development processes is paramount to the continuity and eventual success of the EDP. Ensure you do your due diligence in establishing where training needs to be updated, improved or changed and don’t forget to change training needs as the requirements of your firm develop and expand. Encourage your employee to offer suggestions on where development needs should be considered and where the training can improve. Regular meetings to discuss and record progress, as well as reflect on what is and isn’t going well should be conducted to ensure smooth and successful progression. 

EDPs present a fantastic opportunity to address longstanding needs of both employees and employers and ensure lasting success through a continuous alignment with individual and practice progression. The long-term benefits are undeniable, as the value of having employee satisfaction from a real sense of involvement, and employer commitment and satisfaction shows in the effect a that skilled, up-to-date workforce – who are committed to your firm and are future-proofed – can bring to your firm. 

Of course, the entire process can be made much less of a burden – and significantly more successful – by getting the right hire through the door first time. The best EDP is no substitute for effective recruitment and as a business your best shot at maximizing the value of your EDP is to recruit individuals whose career goals and aspirations run parallel to those of your firm’s from the get-go.

That’s why our team at Clayton Legal are on hand – we take the stress and complications out of recruitment for your firm so that you can focus on what really matters. If you feel that the time has come to make an important hiring decision regarding your team, get in touch with us here. 

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you would like to know more about recruiting trends in the legal sector this year, download our guide here.

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Posted By

Joel Okoye

Digital Marketing Apprentice

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The Inside Track With: Neil Williams | White Collar and Regulatory Solicitor

  • September 26, 2023

Every month we speak to prominent professionals working in, around, and for the legal sector in the UK, uncovering their greatest inspiration, what makes them tick in a work capacity and out, and their own career paths and journey to the top of their game.

Interview with: Neil Williams | White Collar and Regulatory Solicitor

WHAT HAS YOUR MORNING LOOKED LIKE?

As with many mornings, no matter how much has been planned, unexpected matters crop up which require priority, so it has been a case of triaging the most important items to get through first. Other days, things can run smoothly and the list of tasks which have been crafted can usually be completed.

HOW IS BUSINESS AT THE MOMENT?

The effects of the pandemic are still being felt in criminal law, as well as the strike by the Bar. Delays still pervade the court system, so uncertainty remains as to whether cases will be heard before the courts, no-matter what their history. That being said, progress is being made, both with resolution to long standing investigations, as well as trials waiting for a court to hear the case.

HAS IT ALWAYS BEEN ‘LAW’ AS A CHOSEN CAREER?

I suppose law was always going to be something which I was going to be a career path I was going to tread, as a number of my relatives are police officers. I nearly followed the same route into law, but a last minute change of heart meant I decided to pursue a degree and qualification as a solicitor. I didn’t think criminal law would be the area where I would focus and specialise, however given my family history, it was perhaps inevitable.

WHAT IS THE GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT IN YOUR CAREER SO FAR?

There have been quite a few successes over the years, each of which have their own highlights in terms of accomplishments. Some will have attracted main stream media interest, others would be viewed as low level, but all will have equal importance to the client. I am fairly tenacious when I am dealing with a case where I feel a defendant is being let down by the prosecution investigation and evidence gathering, so I will leave no stone unturned to present the defence case as accurately as possible. This has helped to secure acquittals where the outcome has looked bleak from the outset.

WHO WOULD YOU SAY IS YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATION?

Aside from close family members, I don’t really have a single inspiration figure. That being said however, I will always take inspiration from individuals who overcome adversity to succeed, or overcome a life defining challenge. I enjoy reading about the lives of historical figures as well as individuals who appear in contemporary news who fit that mould.

WHAT ARE YOU READING AT THE MOMENT?

I’ve just started to re-read the DI Thorne series by Mark Billingham, so Sleepyhead accompanies my bedtime cup of tea.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOURSELF IF YOU COULD GO BACK TO THE START OF YOUR CAREER IN THE LEGAL SECTOR?

Always stay true to your principles, and don’t allow yourself to be swayed by others to make decisions which you don’t think are right. I have luckily been able to stay close to these throughout my career, and it is advice I provide to junior colleagues as I have moved into supervision and management.

HOW HAS THE LEGAL SECTOR CHANGED IN RECENT YEARS?

In criminal law, there is a stark reduction in newly qualified lawyers embarking on that as a chosen career path, which will be a concern in years to come. More generally, there has been a marked increase in lawyers from very different backgrounds, which is a trend I welcome, to ensure the legal profession is as diverse as the society it represents, to ensure fair representation for all.

OUTSIDE OF WORK, WHAT MAKES YOU TICK?

I enjoy watching a varied diet of sports, but rugby and football are the staples. I like to travel as much as possible, and am happy with a typical tourist break, as long as I can balance it with a very untypical adventurous trip.

AND FINALLY, YOUR GO-TO PODCAST?

Anything by Peter Crouch, a true man of the people….

 

Neil Williams is an experienced White Collar Lawyer with extensive experience in fraud cases involving individuals and corporates. Most recently head of the Complex Crime team at Reeds Solicitors, Neil is frequently instructed on large scale cases being investigated by the SFO, HMRC, NCA and other investigative bodies, and regularly represents those facing allegations of fraud across the energy sector and financial services.

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The (Real) Cost Of Getting Your Hiring Wrong

  • September 26, 2023

In the last few years, and notably since the pandemic, the hiring landscape across the legal sector has presented a number of challenges.

Some firms were forced down a redundancy route, whilst others, despite the appetite and budget to grow, were met with an apathetic talent pool and skills shortage.

What is a common challenge for all businesses, almost irrespective of market conditions, is the importance of getting hiring decisions right – the first time.

That said, with competition for the best legal talent on the market the fiercest it’s ever been, the time, resources and money spent on training a new hire make the investment stakes in recruitment & onboarding far too high for the hire in question to underperform. Not only does this put your firm in the awkward position of restarting that recruitment process to look for a replacement, but it also means that possibly more time & resources will need to be spent to avoid such an issue the second time round.  

 Here we look at the real cost of a bad hire in the current market and what you as an employer can do to mitigate any risks in your recruitment process. 

The Consequences of a ‘Bad’ Hire

Fact – making the wrong hiring decision costs your firm money. 

What is shocking is not only the number of poor hiring decisions that are made but how little hiring managers are aware of the true cost involved, especially considering how cut-throat the legal market has become in a post-pandemic era. According to a study done by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, 85% of HR decision-makers admitted their company had hired someone who was not right for the job and despite 33% of businesses not believing it to cost their business anything, it was found in the same report that a poor hire at manager-level with a salary of £42k can cost a business over £132k – more than 3 times the person’s annual salary – when factoring in costs for training, onboarding and more. 

Due to the growth of the legal sector in certain areas, some law firms have struggled to find the right talent to meet their needs – which has led to a lot of rushed hiring decisions and consequently, an uphill struggle to adequately replace them. When considering how much time & resources are wasted on a bad hire, how much it takes to find and recruit a new one and the risk factor that virtual interviews and onboarding processes now bring into the equation, having to replace a bad hire is far too costly a venture for firms to make in 2024. 

The key is finding the right candidate for your vacancy who not only ticks the boxes in relation to the role, but who will also fit in with the existing team, who can envisage a long-term future with you, and who has room (and the desire) to grow professionally. 

Hiring In The New World – What to Hire for Now?

It starts with establishing what you are looking for in your legal hire, what they are looking for from you and how you are going to find a sizeable overlap between the two. Only when this occurs will you get the right ‘fit’ – the ideal candidate that wants to stay and build their career at your firm. 

However, as you will likely have noticed by now, what legal candidates are looking for has changed somewhat. Flexible and hybrid working now sits near the top of their priority lists as the value of an employer that can offer such arrangements is now very apparent, considering the positive impact it has been shown to have on employee performance due to a greater work-life balance.   

Additionally, with candidates now in a time where they are always connected enough to express as well as access a range of opinions however and whenever they wish, they are now increasingly looking for firms with a strong employer brand. Thus, in an industry where reputation rules, how your firm comes across on a cultural level to the average candidate is now more important than ever. With increased importance placed on DEI and an imperative now placed on employers to support candidates on all sides of the neurodiversity spectrum, how your employer brand positions your firm to compete beyond things like remuneration and job titles and offer such candidates something more, now becomes the difference between a great hire and a bad one. 

If you aren’t making the ‘right’ offer to legal talent, you will find your applicant shortlists filled with candidates who don’t meet your expectations. When the time comes to make a hiring decision, the chance of you making the ‘wrong’ recruitment decision will then be significantly higher due to your reduced talent pool both in terms of volume and ‘quality’. 

If you want to know what turns heads amongst candidates, and how to rework your hiring practices to better bridge that gap between what candidates want and what you offer, check out our guide on how to tap into what legal candidates today are looking for.

The Importance of Head-Turning Job Ads to Do The Heavy Lifting

When it comes to your hiring requirements, and the importance of getting the attention of the right legal talent the first time around, how your job descriptions are written is key. Despite how much the hiring landscape has evolved in recent years, legal candidates still rely on engaging and effective job descriptions to determine which role is the best fit for them personally and professionally.  

 Your job descriptions should not only be informative about the role but should also be easily accessible, communicate your EVP clearly, be transparent about the candidate experience during and after hiring and ensure inclusivity in all stages of the hiring process. It’s also important to consider whether the skills and personality traits you usually look for in your employees have changed. Many legal specialisms have exploded since the pandemic, you may want to ensure your job adverts aren’t alienating the right legal talent with hyperbolic language or setting rigid and unnecessary requirements that can deter otherwise well-suited candidates. 

Mitigating The Risk By Enlisting The Help Of Experts

Whilst the hire/no-hire decision ultimately comes down to the firm in question, using the services of a specialist legal recruiter will also help to ensure that only the right candidates are short-listed from the get-go. Not only will using a 3rd party save time – especially in the early stages of reviewing CVs and applications, you will also have access to passive talent; widening the net and ensuring that the role(s) in question are visible to a much larger talent pool.

What’s more, many agencies also offer retained services as well as contingency, with additional features designed to impact the likelihood of a successful outcome.

This model is often more rigorous in nature and may include additional features such as:

  • Bespoke market mapping
  • Salary benchmarking intel
  • Psychometric testing
  • Video interviews and candidate profiling
  • Dedicated Account Manager or team of specialist consultants<
  • Regular face-to-face updates and reporting/analysis
  • Strategic headhunting
  • Integrated marketing campaigns including advertising

Whilst there is no absolute guarantee that your new hire won’t leave through utilising a recruitment agency, the belt-and-braces approach and additional screening will undoubtedly help to mitigate that risk.

Finally

Often, we hear responses of 70-75% retention said with pride but we’d ask you to turn this statistic upside down – and consider the direct impact that 25-30% is actually having on your bottom line. Therefore, we’d encourage you to make use of our True Cost of Hiring Calculator, particularly if you have hired legal professionals in the last 12 months, and have unfortunately found that some have left before their 1-year anniversary. The presentation of your results and accompanying report contains a wealth of information to further demonstrate why getting that fit right first time is imperative. 

Remember that if you want to avoid making the wrong hire, you need to find candidates who are truly a great fit, not someone who will be looking for a new role in a few months. 

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or perhaps have had your fingers burnt by a bad hire in the past, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

 

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How to Excel In Your Virtual Interview

  • September 17, 2023

The practice of virtual interviewing has become far more commonplace across the legal industry, especially since the pandemic when it was largely the only option on the table. Forbes highlighted recently that rather than a systematic return to face-to-face, virtual interviews are now providing hirers with a sometimes additional step in their hiring process, helping to screen candidates using tech that is now familiar to all parties.

Despite lacking the obvious physical elements, most legal candidates will agree that any interview, virtual or physical, can be the most daunting aspect of the application process and as such, need thorough preparation. While there are notable upsides to the former that can help ease the nerves, there are also challenges to contend with, such as the added difficulty of figuring out how to make a great first impression without some of the reliable methods a face-to-face interview offers (such as a firm handshake and positive body language), and from an interviewee perspective – assessing whether the firm you’ve applied to is a good cultural fit.  

That said, nailing a virtual interview needn’t be as daunting as it may appear.

1. Do Your Homework

Whether an interview is virtual or physical, its fundamental goal is the same – it is an opportunity for candidates and employers to meet, ask questions of each other and demonstrate why you as a candidate will be an ideal hire for the firm in question, while you test their compatibility with your skillset & ability to help you develop your legal career. 

As such, there will always be constants present in the interview process and consequently, your preparation for them. Virtual or not, you can absolutely expect to be asked a number of questions about your professional profile, such as your background, career ambitions, reasons for moving into a new role and suitability for the role and firm.  

You can and should start by researching the hiring firm, getting to know how it operates and what values and principles guide the business. The best places to get a good idea of these are the firm’s website and social media channels, as well as the kind of content the business posts online. 

Remember that the firm will want to be absolutely sure the candidate they’re interviewing is meeting the bare minimum standards at the very least by doing their homework, and will be paying attention to how you tie your answers to questions about your suitability to their own core values, ambitions and culture, as well as your general knowledge of your practice area.  

As this largely all boils down to having the basics covered, the hiring manager will be even more interested in what you can do to set yourself apart from the competition and so will be looking for how you can use the opportunity to add to what you’ve said in the interview. This means now is the time to ensure you have up-to-date knowledge of your practice area and the industry in general, and go beyond what is commonly found on the internet, bearing in mind other legal candidates will be thinking along the same lines. 

This will often come in the form of the hiring manager asking you if you have any questions for them and this is where preparing questions of your own for the interviewer becomes crucial to making as strong an overall impression as possible. A useful tip for candidates is to spend a bit of into the background of the person you will be interviewed by on LinkedIn.  

Although you can’t predict every single question, you can certainly make your answers to ones that you do prepare for foolproof, especially when it comes to competency-based questions. These are questions asked in order to see if the candidate can demonstrate their knowledge and skill in a specific area. Say that is client management for example. You would be asked to describe a situation or scenario where you demonstrated excellent client management skills, and be expected to back it up with the measurable result you achieved. Other competency-based questions to expect include:  

  • How do you deal with an X, Y or Z situation? 
  • How would you handle a difficult client? Can you share an example? 
  • Give an example of a time you handled conflict in the workplace? 

2. Have Your Notes Handy (But Don’t Rely on Them)

It will be standard for the interviewer to ask for the best examples of your work, and so a digital document with bullet points highlighting what you wish to share, along with supporting notes should suffice and should be brought with you to the interview to refer to.

It is common for candidates to make the mistake of writing several pages of notes and then during the interview become overwhelmed by them when fishing around for the answer to a question. This misses the point of bringing notes to a virtual interview – they aren’t meant to be a crutch or a ‘cheat sheet’ to rely on, but rather a supplementary document to use only minimally.

Use them to refresh your memory of points you’ve already looked over and need a reminder on.

3. Practice Makes Perfect  

General preparation for any interview should involve some element of practising your responses to anticipated questions, verbally and non-verbally.

Although what you say in an interview certainly matters, how you say it is also important– as your tone of voice and inflection should convey an air of confidence & enthusiasm for the role. Despite how much focus is often given to the words spoken in a virtual interview and how little body language is thought to be perceived, the majority of information about a person’s attitude, confidence level and interest in the topic will still come from your nonverbal communication. Just like in a face-to-face interview, this is what hiring managers will be paying close attention to when gauging if you are the right cultural fit for the firm. 

Are you eyes darting about as you look at your notes off screen, or worse – your phone? Do you move about a lot on screen or appear agitated? Body language still matters even if you’re not there in person, so be mindful of how you conduct yourself. 

Try practising with a friend or colleague, and keep an eye on things like your posture (which should be upright and not slumped forward or lax), eye contact (maintained when you or the interviewer is speaking), hands (gesturing when speaking but not overdoing it or fidgeting) and facial expressions (smiling regularly). Practice active listening when listening to your friend/colleague’s responses, nodding your head to give affirmation of your attention and understanding to them, and asking questions for clarification when necessary. 

 The practice you put in will be the foundation of your confidence when you hop on camera or send that recording to the hiring manager, and will be your biggest help in keeping the nerves at bay both during and after the video interview. 

4. Get Comfortable – And Competent – On Camera 

Whilst you may be asked to have a virtual interview on screen as part of the general hiring process, many firms now ask for a piece-to-camera as part of the initial screening process too. This may be to simply introduce yourself and highlight your skills and suitability for the role, or more often than not, to answer pre-set questions by the firm itself.

The obvious advantage here is the opportunity to record and retake as necessary to ensure you present yourself in the best possible light. 

Two common cameras used for this purpose are webcams and smartphones but regardless of whichever you prefer, there are a few things to note about both:  

When it comes to video technology in general, smartphones do a far better job, but will need to be used in conjunction with other accessories (such as a stand to avoid any shaking when recording, and a lav microphone to better capture your voice and avoid choppy audio) – in order to improve the overall quality of the video. With the use of video technology now widespread, they are a relatively inexpensive investment.  

Another thing to note – and this applies whether you’re using a smartphone or webcam – is your background and lighting. Make sure you’re recording in a well-lit room with a plain, clutter-free and fairly quiet background that doesn’t have a window behind you in the frame. If you’re struggling to find a room that ticks the above boxes, you can use virtual or custom backgrounds instead.  

Similar principles to the above apply when opting for a webcam, as these can often be plugged onto a monitor screen or already be part of your computer, should the video quality be good enough. Audio quality should be tested ahead of time, whether you’re using wired earphones, wireless ones or a lav microphone. Try to avoid using headphones or gaming headsets if possible, as they don’t give the most flattering impression and can be restrictive when you’re moving.  

If it hasn’t been emphasised enough, practice is crucial, prerecorded video or not, as your first video recording is unlikely to be your best version and a rushed or poorly prepared video is easily noticeable. Apply the same tips mentioned above when recording, maintaining eye contact, and adjust your gaze when either you or someone else is speaking to get a good view of the body language they’re sharing. If they seem bored or look like they’re waiting for you to finish, chances are they are, so it’s best to avoid waffling when giving lengthy answers. 

5. Don’t Neglect Your Appearance 

Treat your appearance as you would in a physical interview and dress to impress, while keeping it polished, tidy and professional. While you can be a bit more relaxed with bottom wear – considering your top half is very likely what will be seen by the interviewer the whole time – avoid wearing anything informal or inappropriate – in case you’ll need to get up to adjust a cable quickly – as you may not be aware at that moment that it will be visible to the interviewer.  

6. Sort Out the Technical Details – And Master Your Platform 

Lastly, the software you’re using is also something you should be confident in using on the day of the interview, so be sure to verify what that will be with the hiring manager, and familiarize yourself with the platform ahead of time by practising the features you will be using, such as receiving calls, turning on your camera, setting up the virtual background (if you’ll be using one), sharing documents through the chat feature and screen sharing.

Be sure to double-check that your internet connection quality is working perfectly in advance, and notify the interviewer well ahead of time if you anticipate any issues. A thorough quality check can go a long way in calming the nerves before the video interview and minimise tardiness due to any technical difficulties.  

That said, the best way of ensuring you show up on time and avoid letting the nerves take over, is to simply arrive early, like you would at a face-to-face interview, about 10 minutes before the set time. That way, any issues you do run into technical-wise, you will encounter while waiting, with enough time to resolve it, rather than at the very minute you’re expected to already be ready to start the interview. 

In Conclusion

The shift towards virtual interviewing in the industry has brought with it a new and unique set of challenges for candidates to navigate and regardless of the format, interviews remain a crucial and often nerve-wracking part of the job application process. But a confident, well-thought-out and well-practised approach can make them work to your advantage.

If you are using the services of a specialist recruiter as part of your job search, the likelihood is that you will also get the chance to ‘meet’ them on camera too as part of your introduction and registration. Use this as practice for your interview with the firm in question – and don’t be afraid of asking your recruitment consultant for help, advice, and constructive criticism – or even a mock-interview on screen so you can ensure you are fully ready and prepared. 

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability during that time. We have made over 5,000 placements from Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal I.T. personnel to Practice Managers.

If you are looking for your next career move, are unsure of opportunities in the market, or need a hand brushing up on your interview skills – we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

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