Dana Hill is a large law firm attorney who is transitioning to an alternative legal career. Dana has practiced for 10 years and has been in transition since early 2009.
When I first found myself on the job market and was telling friends and colleagues about my situation, many people expressed to me the fear that their job was in jeopardy. After a number of these conversations, I figured out an appropriate response to their concerns. I would suggest that they should think about the people they would call to ask for help in finding a new job and if there were people on this list who they had not spoken with for a long time, then they should call them up now to say hi or get together. My thinking was that it is much easier to ask for help from someone with whom you have had recent contact than from someone you haven’t spoken to in years. This activity would also provide the fearful jobholder with a sense that they were doing something about a situation that was otherwise out of their control.
Initially in my job search, one of the hardest things to do was reaching out to people for help. I quickly realized that pride and embarrassment would hinder me. I also realized that nearly all of the people I encountered who found out about my situation wanted to help me – I just had to tell them how.
One effective method I used for requesting help from colleagues, particularly ones with whom I had not had regular or recent contact, was to send them an email stating the following: my position was recently eliminated; I wanted them to have my new contact information; a description of the type of job I was looking for; I was interested in meeting people in this type of job; and thanking them for any help. I also attached my resume. While meeting with people face-to-face is best, this email communication was effective for me in getting the message out to a large number of people. As my job search continued, I could contact them again to ask more specific questions. It also provided a great template email for sending to new contacts that I made.
In sending out this email to old friends, I had a very good response rate. In one instance, an attorney who represented a co-defendant in a case I handled let me know that she was leaving her in-house position to transfer to another division. She suggested I applied for the job and put in a good word for me. I applied and interviewed before the job was posted. I would not have found out about this opportunity if not for contacting her and letting her know how she could help me.
Attorneys in Transition Event on May 8, 2009
