SeltzerFontaine LLC

Whether you’re hoping for a headhunter’s call, or are the one making the call to a recruiter, have your ducks in a row beforehand. To get the most out of the relationship, clarify in your mind your career goals so you can tell the search consultant what kind of position, type and size of institution, level of responsibility, culture, and geographical preference you seek. On the other hand, keep an open mind in the event the recruiter is working on an unusual search that might be perfect for you. Always be ready in case the ideal next career opportunity comes your way. Update your résumé and gather supporting documentation. Put together a supplement listing of your representative accomplishments, such as projects in which you played an important role, if relevant to your current search. Give thought to your transferable skills if you’re seeking to change fields. Prepare a tentative list of references. Assemble any other required documentation such as academic transcripts, work samples, business development history, portable clients and annual revenues generated, and a business plan outlining any proposed client development activities. Be ready to discuss your compensation requirements. Your recruiter needs to know up front whether you fit within the range envisioned by the potential employer. Are you ready for that headhunter call? #jobsearchtips #legalrecruiting #lawjobs #jobsearching #careeradvancement For more insights into job search strategies, the legal industry, and the California legal job market, follow SeltzerFontaine LLC, and connect with me and ring the 🔔 at Valerie Fontaine.

How do you get a headhunter to notice you? Most recruiters start their searches online. Therefore, make sure you’re listed in all of the appropriate places, such as professional online records (if you’re a lawyer, state bar websites everywhere you’re admitted), your firm’s website, and directories of any professional or educational organizations to which you belong, and include your current contact information. Post and regularly update your profiles on online business-oriented social networking sites such as LinkedIn. Confirm that all information is accurate, complete, and professional everywhere you appear online. And don't forget to thoughtfully post content and comment on social media, as well. Other ways to catch a headhunter’s eye include: · Speak before professional and trade organizations, write for relevant trade publications, and blog regarding your area of specialization. Post about these activities and send program notices and articles to recruiters and professional contacts; · Get press coverage for your high-profile accomplishments, or be quoted as an expert in business publications; · Actively participate and seek leadership roles in professional associations, or charitable or civic activities; · Build a reputation in your current organization as the “go to” person for your area of expertise; and · Stay ahead of the curve regarding business developments to ensure that your expertise is cutting-edge and marketable. Note that these tips will help prospective clients find you, as well. What are you doing to raise your professional profile? #jobsearchtips #legalrecruiting #lawjobs #jobsearching #careeradvancement For more insights into job search strategies, the legal industry, and the California legal job market, follow SeltzerFontaine LLC, and connect with me and ring the 🔔 at Valerie Fontaine.

Mind the gap! A wise job-seeker waits until all conditions on a job offer have been satisfied before giving notice of resignation to the current employer. It’s common for offers to be contingent upon background and reference checks and, for those in the legal field, conflicts checks to be completed. Sometimes, conflicts clearance or reference and background checks take an inordinate amount of time. A thorough conflicts check is required before an attorney—or just about anybody moving within the legal field—can start a new job. Unfortunately, career moves can be thwarted by unexpected and irresolvable conflicts, or delayed while waivers are obtained. You don’t want to have an extended, awkward “lame duck” period, nor be caught in a “squeeze play,” having given notice to your current firm but unable to start work at the new one because a key reference was unavailable or a hiccough in the background check or irresolvable conflict arose at the last minute. There have been situations where lawyers have had to scramble to set up a sole practice while waiting for a conflict to clear, or find another job altogether. So, a word to the wise: Even though you’re eager to leave your old firm and start in your new role, wait until all potential conflicts and reference and background checks have been cleared or waived and you have an “thumbs up” from your new firm’s malpractice insurance carrier before you give notice. You don’t want to get caught betwixt and between, do you? #lawjobs #legalrecruiting #legaljobs #resignation #givingnotice For more insights into job search strategies, the legal industry, and the California legal job market, follow SeltzerFontaine LLC, and connect with me and ring the 🔔 at Valerie Fontaine.

If you’re a lawyer hankering to change your area of practice, your best bet is to try to make that switch without changing jobs. This is true especially if you’re well respected at your current firm and like the people and the atmosphere there. You’re a known commodity and, thus, are less of a risk for your employer than an outside candidate. As you become more experienced as a lawyer, and continue to practice in a particular area of law, it becomes more difficult to change. Your firm has invested significant time and training to get you to your current high level of expertise. Unless market forces dictate that you must retool to maintain profitability (i.e., there is little work to be done in your area, or the practice has become obsolete), or you wish to fill a strong need that your firm wants to fill, your firm probably won’t look favorably upon your desire to make a change. In that case, you may need to move to another firm that has a need for your preferred area of practice and is willing to train. However, it may be difficult for a legal recruiter to assist you in making such a move. Recruiters are engaged to find attorneys with a specific level of experience and expertise. If you’re essentially abandoning your existing expertise for an area in which you’re relatively inexperienced, you’re a more difficult “sell.” Prospective employers may not only be hesitant to take the risk of hiring you for an untried area of practice, they also aren’t likely to want to pay a recruiter’s fee as part of the bargain. Employers are more willing to take a risk on an attorney who has a proven track record—in other words, who poses very little risk. Were you able to change practice areas within your own firm, or did you have to move firms to make the change? Please share your experience. #lawjobs #lawpractice #retooling #legaljobs #legalrecruiting For more insights into job search strategies, the legal industry, and the California legal job market, follow SeltzerFontaine LLC, and connect with me and ring the 🔔 at Valerie Fontaine.

Are you a square peg in a round hole? Many lawyers just fell into or were assigned by an employer to an area of practice without really thinking it through as a long term career path. Or were you switched to an area of practice that you don’t really enjoy because there’s less need for your desired area of practice right now? You don’t want to get stuck in an undesired practice area, but you may need to bide your time until conditions change. In the meantime, to avoid getting marooned in a less desired area of practice, here are a few strategies you can employ: · Let your employer know that you’re a team player and are willing to engage in the practice they most need right now, but be clear that you would prefer to be in your desired department just as soon as practicable. · Introduce yourself and develop relationships with the head and key players in your desired department and find a mentor who is experienced in that practice. · Request to be given assignments in that area when and if possible. · Demonstrate your initiative and commitment to your desired practice by reading up on relevant subjects, attending training and MCLE sessions in that practice area, and joining specialized bar associations, committees, and related trade associations—all on your own time. · Develop skills in your current practice that will be transferable to your preferred practice as much as possible. · Do your best in your present department to demonstrate that you have the ability to excel wherever you may be assigned. · Ask for a time limit on your tenure in the less-desired department, or ask for periodic reviews of your assignments. If, after a year or so, reassignment doesn’t look likely, consider a move to another firm. You don’t want to get pigeonholed as a litigator, for example, if you’re a transactional attorney at heart. The longer you stay in a particular area, the more difficult it will be to change others’ perception of you. Have you ever gotten "stuck" in an undesired assignment? How were you able to move on? #lawjobs #lawpractice #retooling #legaljobs #legalrecruiting For more insights into job search strategies, the legal industry, and the California legal job market, follow SeltzerFontaine LLC, and connect with me and ring the 🔔 at Valerie Fontaine.

Social media is an important weapon to add to your job search arsenal. Utilize LinkedIn, especially, to extend your reach. Complete and polish your professional bio on each social media channel you choose to use and work at growing your networks. Keep your image businesslike and consistent throughout these platforms. Indicate you’re interested in hearing about new opportunities and, if you’re not concerned about keeping your search confidential, use the status function to keep your contacts current with your job search activities. Check each platform’s job listings and follow law firms and companies that interest you so you can get their updates. Connect with people in your extended network who work at your target employers. Don’t ask for a job; rather, say something like “I’m interested in breaking into [type of employment]. Is there someone you can refer me to?” Join job hunting, alumni, and lawyer groups on each social media channel. Post and comment appropriately, and share and forward interesting items to keep yourself on readers’ radar screens. When looking for a new job, even your email signature can serve as a billboard. Include your firm name and links to your website, LinkedIn profile, and other social media accounts. Perhaps add a tagline with your expertise such as, “Effective business litigator.” That way, every email you send out reminds your contacts what you do and where to find more information about your expertise. In the interconnected world we live in, the next person who crosses your path might know someone who has the opportunity you seek. What was the most unusual way you found a new job lead? #lawjobs #legaljobs #jobsearchtips #legalcareers #legalrecruiting For more insights into job search strategies, the legal industry, and the California legal job market, follow SeltzerFontaine LLC, and connect with me and ring the 🔔 at Valerie Fontaine.

What motivates and inspires you? Are you living a purpose-driven life? Most people don’t ask themselves why they work, or even why they get up in the morning. They do it just because almost everyone else does so. Besides, they probably need to earn money to pay bills and survive. People who work at least part of the time from home may not be tethered to the strict commuting schedule that previously got them up and into the office at a specific time each day. Without that externally enforced discipline, we might be tempted to stay snuggled in bed just a little bit longer each morning—I know I am! Ideally, you’ve pondered these questions and identified a few sources of inspiration that motivate you to get up in the morning and keep you moving forward both on the job and in your life. What’s your passion and what makes the effort worth it? Often, inspiration is found in something that goes beyond one’s individual life. Many people find purpose in seeking to make a positive impact on the world somehow, possibly by helping other people grow and thrive. Others are inspired by the challenge of finding something new to explore, learn, or experience. Perhaps less lofty and more practical motivations are a sense of responsibility to our team at work, or the need to care for our families or pets. What’s worth getting out of bed to accomplish? #LegalRecruiting #inspiration #motivation #purposedriven I usually post about job search strategies, the legal industry, and the California legal job market. For information on those topics, follow SeltzerFontaine LLC, and connect with me and ring the 🔔 at Valerie Fontaine.

How can volunteering or pro bono work help you advance in your career? It's truly a case of doing well by doing good. Not only do you make the world a better place, but you also gain career development benefits including the opportunity to: · Gain hands-on experience and develop valuable new skills that are transferrable to the private sector; · See how other organizations operate and learn management skills; · Demonstrate your leadership abilities in a setting outside of work; · Become known as one who cares, which is attractive to colleagues and superiors as well as to current and potential clients; · Achieve visibility in a wider arena and meet people of influence in the larger community, thereby enlarging your sphere of contacts for possible mentoring or business development, or even friendships; · Gain new perspectives and become more well-rounded by developing interests outside of your work; · Follow your passion, nourish your soul, and maintain a sense of who you are as a person, not just as a professional; · And, of course, give back and make a real difference in the community. Over all, pro bono work can energize you and build your enthusiasm and self-confidence, all of which spills over into your work in the private arena. Furthermore, if your volunteer work is visible to your employer, it not only provides you additional opportunities demonstrate your skills and dedication but also gives them another avenue to review and evaluate you. Pro tip: Public interest work is even more valuable in terms of career development if it is in support of a cause that your firm or company, or—even better—your clients, support. What career development benefits have you reaped as a result of your volunteerism? #probono #volunteering #healtheworld #publicinterest #purposedriven I usually post about job search strategies, the legal industry, and the California legal job market. For information on those topics, follow SeltzerFontaine LLC, and connect with me and ring the 🔔 at Valerie Fontaine.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” Pro bono work is done voluntarily and without payment and usually is for the benefit of people, groups, or interests that are traditionally underrepresented in our justice system. It can be done in a variety of settings: public interest law firms such as Public Counsel in Los Angeles, civic organizations, legal aid offices, “cause” organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund, international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch, charities, medical research support groups, or educational organizations, among others. In addition to the full-time attorneys and professionals employed by these organizations, most of them depend on a cadre of volunteers, as well. The American Bar Association “strongly encourages” lawyers to perform at least 50 hours of pro bono work each year and many other professions promote similar good works. Most large law firms and businesses have pro bono programs that match their employees with public interest opportunities (and some law firms will allow you to count some pro bono time towards your billable hours requirement). Of course, if your organization doesn’t have a formal program, you can contact the programs directly if you wish to volunteer. What kind of volunteer work are you doing to help heal the world? #probono #volunteering #healtheworld #publicinterest #purposedriven I usually post about job search strategies, the legal industry, and the California legal job market. For information on those topics, follow SeltzerFontaine LLC, and connect with me and ring the 🔔 at Valerie Fontaine.

Today is Martin Luther King Day. Did you know that this is the only U.S. Federal holiday named for an individual? With Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthday commemorations now observed as Presidents Day, and Columbus Day renamed Indigenous Peoples Day, MLK Day is the sole remaining national observance named for an individual and the only one ever honoring a private citizen. We are encouraged to dedicate today as a day of service to our local communities, doing voluntary work in the spirit of Dr. King, a Baptist pastor and civil rights leader, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance. Let’s take this opportunity to reflect on the ongoing struggle for civil rights, equality, and justice and to seek ways to continue his work for a more inclusive and just society. How are you observing the day? #MLKDay2025 #MartinLutherKing #CivilRights #Equality #IHaveADream I usually post about job search strategies, the legal industry, and the California legal job market. For information on those topics, follow SeltzerFontaine LLC, and connect with me and ring the 🔔 at Valerie Fontaine.