Has the time come for you to make a new move in your legal career? 

While it’s advisable to give the idea of leaving your current job some thought before coming to a decision – there are certainly red flags that when present in your work life, signal an immediate need for a fresh start in pastures new.

These could include signs of burnout, difficulty in maintaining the same level of interest and engagement you once had in your job, or frustration borne of the lack of opportunities afforded to you to grow and develop as a legal professional.

If you find yourself grappling with any of the above, you might have already begun your job search either online or by asking peers, and have come up short. That is where you can benefit greatly from the support of a specialist legal recruiter, and in such cases, we highly recommend giving us a call – however, bear in mind that you are not the only candidate that will have contacted a legal recruiter like us.  

It’s not unusual at all for consultants to receive many candidates for each job vacancy, and their reputation (as well as yours) is on the line with each placement recommendation they make. So how do you sell your value to legal recruiters and give them a reason to recommend you to employers looking for nothing but the best legal talent available? 

In short… how can you ensure that they become your advocate and help to ‘sell’ your worth and fit for the role(s) in question?

Getting The Basics Down

Here at Clayton Legal, we have been receiving candidate CVs for over 25 years, and we can (still) say with confidence that this document remains an essential part of how legal candidates get their profile noticed and progressed to the interview stage. 

Whether you’re in the early stages or more into the twilight years of your career, your CV is a document that both employers and legal recruiters will expect to be crafted and polished to perfection. A standout CV creates a compelling case for you to be considered as the ideal candidate not only by backing up your (relevant) list of skills and experience with tangible results but also by doing so without being peppered with unnecessary and overused CV cliches and with a clear structure and format to keep it easily digestible. If CV writing is proving to be a challenge for you, check out our blog here on how to craft a CV that catches the eye of employers. If you can write one capable of grabbing their attention, you can be sure it’ll grab ours. 

All of which bodes well for you, the candidate. So how do you get on the radar of a great legal recruiter and maximise your chances of securing that dream job? 

Conduct An Online Health Check

You will likely be well aware by now of the importance of having an online presence that underscores your suitability to prospective employers, but if you haven’t yet done due diligence in this particular area, then now is the time to take it seriously.

It is well known by hiring experts that a first impression of a candidate usually comes before the interview, and with social media screening becoming increasingly popular as a prerequisite amongst employers to progress candidates’ applications to the interview stage, giving your digital footprint a thorough examination (especially if you have a strong online presence) should be a must if you want to appear as the top candidate for selection by a legal recruiter. 

This is especially pertinent when it comes to LinkedIn, as it is the go-to social media platform for prospective employers, and consequently legal recruiters for potential candidates. It’s therefore vital to make the most of the opportunities your LinkedIn profile provides to help you in legal career progression and opportunity. Tidy up your profile, ensuring that keywords & key phrases relevant to roles you might be on the lookout for are present in your skills experience section and make sure your interaction on the platform – both past and present – reflect the professional image your profile is trying to portray. Get rid of anything you don’t want potential employers or any legal recruiter to see, (pictures, bio, comments).

We go into further detail on how to create a LinkedIn profile that stands out to employers here. 

Both employers and legal recruiters will be looking for certain skills that highlight how well a candidate meets the criteria of the role in question. While you will naturally have ones acquired from your qualifications present on your CV and LinkedIn profile, you should also be paying equal attention to transferable skills, as they are not only always applied across roles, but they also highlight how you work in terms of communication, integrity and experience. If you have gained four, six or eight years PQE since you were last on the job market, you will have extended your skillset considerably and so now is an appropriate time to review them and ensure you use them to sell yourself as much as possible. Make sure to back up each skill mentioned with an example of how you demonstrated it. 

Are You Spotlighting Your Skillset?

Both employers and legal recruiters will be looking for certain skills that highlight how well a candidate meets the criteria of the role in question. While you will naturally have ones acquired from your qualifications present on your CV and LinkedIn profile, you should also be paying equal attention to transferable skills, as they are not only always applied across roles, but they also highlight how you work in terms of communication, integrity and experience. If you have gained four, six or eight years PQE since you were last on the job market, you will have extended your skillset considerably and so now is an appropriate time to review them and ensure you use them to sell yourself as much as possible. Make sure to back up each skill mentioned with an example of how you demonstrated it. 

Could you talk about any of the following perhaps?

Teamwork – Show you can work effectively within a team towards mutual goals.

Time Management – Demonstrate how you prioritise and manage your workload (and potentially that of others). Include examples of taking responsibility for your own work, balancing tasks and hitting deadlines.

Leadership – Indicate initiative and motivation. Examples of how you have built rapport with clients, colleagues and influenced decisions. How have you inspired others?

Technology – Knowing how to use the latest software and technology is essential. Additional skills such as being able to troubleshoot complex problems, or understand data security, will provide an added benefit.

Adaptability – Nothing stays the same forever. Everyone has to adapt, adjust and change. Showing you are versatile and agile indicates a willingness to move forward and embrace change. This sort of positivity is crucial to progress your legal career.

Problem-Solving – Offering solution-orientated answers indicates your ability to use emotional intelligence, manage risk and make decisions.

Communication – As well as being able to communicate your own ideas to others verbally or on paper, being able to listen is a great skill, and developing listening skills can help alleviate potential misunderstandings and costly mistakes.

Does The Shoe Fit?

It might sound obvious, but working with a legal recruiter is a two-way street and meant to benefit both parties, meaning that decision of which recruiter to work with is just as vital as their decision to collaborate with you. 

Therefore, before making the decision to partner with a particular recruiter, do your homework to ensure their values align with yours. How long have they been in business? Do they put the needs of their clients and candidates at the heart of everything they do, striving to nurture and build relationships? Are they trustworthy and transparent? Do they highlight ethical recruitment practices?

 Make sure they strive to provide the best possible fit for candidates (and clients) alongside ongoing support, pertinent information, ability to evaluate a candidate’s potential fit into the company culture, and a great retention rate for placements. Take the time to thoroughly research their credentials and check that they are respected in the recruiting world – online testimonials are a good indication of this. 

Be Proactive

Showing commitment and enthusiasm goes a long way to putting you ahead of the pack. Once you’ve chosen your recruiter, don’t sit waiting for them to contact you (even though they are likely to). Becoming proactive in building a relationship with your recruiter is a great way to get on their radar. 

Reach out to them via email, LinkedIn or telephone. Many recruiters have a page where you can upload your CV, getting you in the system quickly. 

Whatever method you use, a proactive response will enable you to engage with the recruiter, brief them on your skills, requirements and PQE experience, and allow them to quickly identify the best opportunities for you in your practice area, or discuss exploring a change of direction and what that entails for you. 

They will have also valuable tips and advice to offer you during your search. For best results, treat your communication with your recruiter rather like how they treat theirs with a candidate – check in regularly and demonstrate your enthusiasm and commitment to securing a new role. The more you do so, the clearer the picture they can get of where the next chapter of your legal career lies and the better their advice will be. 

Next Steps

If you’re here because you believe a move is on the cards at this stage of your career, you’ve come to the right place. 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 want to finally take the uncertainty out of your job search, give our team a call on 01772 259 121 or email us here. 

As a legal professional, you take your career seriously.

You may well already have a personal brand that you’ve spent time developing. Mapping it out will have made you more self-aware and knowledgeable, as well as signalling to Senior Partners and Managers that you are the ideal candidate for the next promotion opportunity.

Establishing yourself as a go-to for specialist legal knowledge has made you the person everyone looks to for advice. Your brand indicates your strengths, capabilities and enables you to stand out above the competition.

In short, few things are more critical to building a successful legal career than having a strong personal brand.

So, what could go wrong?

Sometimes, your personal brand can slip and work against you, preventing you from moving forward in your career. So, it’s wise to look out for these tell-tale signs that your brand is failing – and how you can rectify it before any damage occurs.

1. Your Goals Are Too Vague

Why are you building your brand? What are your end goals?

A vague “I want to become a leader” isn’t clear enough. You need to have a definite goal in mind. Be it achieving a Senior Partnership, Managerial role or Senior Solicitor within your Law Firm, having a clear objective will help you focus and plan on how exactly you’re going to get there.

And understanding why you want to develop your personal brand will keep you on track too.

2. You’re Neglecting ‘Real’ Interactions

Blogging and vlogging may be all the rage, but are you neglecting the more traditional channels of communication?

It’s tempting to follow the herd, and there’s nothing wrong with having an online presence it’s essential (more on this later), but it’s also worth considering other ways to get your brand across.

Keynote speaking at law events, networking at conferences or writing a guest piece for a legal publication – all these can help establish your personal legal profile. Face to face interactions have a lot more impact than online relationships – so make sure you utilise both well for maximum impact.

3. You Don’t Practice What You Preach

While we’re talking about interactions, considering your interactions with your team in the workplace is crucial to maintaining your personal brand. Having one persona for the outside world and another in the office isn’t going to cut it.

How you treat your legal team is going to directly affect how they view you. Consistency in your communication, from important meetings to casual chats in the hallway, is crucial.

Be aware of your communication style, actively listen and make time for your staff. They are the ones who will bolster your position and recommend you to others, thus building your credibility.

4. It’s All About You

Hopefully, you don’t have any controversial tweeting habits, but when online it’s ideal to mix promotion of yourself with legal industry knowledge that conveys your expertise without it seeming as though you are endlessly indulging in ‘over the top’ self-promotion. In other words, the Goldilocks effect: not too much, not too little.

Ideally, 10 per cent of your posts should be about you (for example, recent achievements or awards) and the rest should highlight current legal news and trends, provoking discussion and sharing your perspective on things that are happening in the legal world.

And it goes without saying – keep your private life private, and your professional life professional online. Mixing the two is inviting trouble.

Be mindful that it may not be something you write on your personal feed that will damage your reputation, but it could be a controversial response from a friend; from political comments to excessive personal information – keep it off your professional profile.

5. You Don’t Stick to Your Promises

If you promised to appear as a speaker at an event, you wouldn’t not show up, would you?

Similarly, if you guarantee an in-depth article to your online followers every week, you need to ensure its there. If you fail to keep your promises, even at this level, you will lose the trust of followers and damage your brand.

So, think carefully before you promise articles, videos and twitter posts and ensure that you can fit them into your schedule.

6. You Don’t Follow Up

Credibility is built on consistency, so being constantly mindful of behaviour is critical.

Putting your brand ‘out there’ but failing to keep consistency is going to damage your brand. You’ve got your LinkedIn profile updated and your articles written for your blog posts – what else can you do?

Just as you would if you were marketing your law firm, you need a marketing strategy for your brand (remember the goals we talked about earlier?) Consistent messages and actions keep your sense of identity and credibility going and help power you towards those goals.

Maintaining your identity online and in-person will add value to your propositions and opinions.

That way, you will establish your professionalism and earn the trust of peers, colleagues and industry professionals to build authenticity and make the most of your personal brand.

Next Steps

If you’re reading this article because you are looking for the next move in your legal career, call one of the Clayton Legal team on 01772 259 121 and let’s have a conversation to explore your options. With our help, your transition can be smoother and quicker.

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 latest guide here.