Monthly Archives: December 2009

Sandra J. Bishop, president of Executive Solutions, is an executive coach and career strategist.

You have worked hard, aced all interviews and now you get the job offer and begin to think you are sitting in the “cat-bird’s seat.”  Not so fast!  If you have been engaged in the proactive job search, the urge is to accept the job offer right on the spot.  I would encourage you to not.

While the offer is being extended to you, your primary and only responsibility is to listen carefully and take notes.  Once all the details have been communicated, ask the HR person or hiring manager if you could repeat back the specifics of the offer as you heard them.  Be very clear.  Ask any questions that have come up for you.  If the compensation is in keeping with your expectations (because you have done all your research, and understand the value of the position you are interviewing for), thank the person for the offer   If the compensation is insulting, you can say, “the money is disappointing.”  Ask about signing bonuses, and relocation costs, if your new job is in another city – your new employer may be willing to pick up the tab.

As a coach, I recommend my clients weigh the pros and cons before accepting the offer. Think about the offer as a whole, and not just in a paycheck sense. If your prospective employer refuses and will not budge, see if you can live with the original offer.  If you can’t, you may need to start looking elsewhere.  If the company falls short in one area, see if there are areas that exceed your expectations.

Now ask if you can have two business days to review the offer.  If you are pushed to make a decision on the spot, do your best to avoid having to commit.  If your offer is complicated (i.e. stock options, variable vacation and benefits, etc.), you will need to take time to carefully review.

I offer this brief checklist

Job Offer Checklist –

• Job Content – What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
• Salary – Please note this is base.
• Benefits
• Compensation – This is the sum total of salary and benefits.
• Hours/ Schedule
• Flexibility
• Location – If you work from home, do you have an efficient set-up that is paid for by the company?
• Work Environment – Do you have an office or a cubicle?
• Company Culture
• Growth – Do they do succession planning?
• Travel – Will you have a company credit card or will you have to use your own?  If you use your own, how long before reimbursement?

When it comes time to accepting the position, please confirm the offer in writing, e-mail and hard cover, incorporating the following points:

• Thanks and appreciation for the opportunity
• Written acceptance of the job offer
• The terms and conditions of employment (salary, benefits)
• Starting date of employment

One last note:  No matter how long your job search has taken, care enough about yourself to take a couple of weeks off to clear the cob-webs out of your head, to re-energize your body, mind, heart and soul, and get excited about your new career opportunity!  Good luck!

Aurora Donnelly is a solo practitioner always looking forward to the next exciting transition.

I am focused on end-of-year thoughts.  Or, more accurately, on planning for the coming year.  Thinking about new directions, weighing options, considering what tasks I did not accomplish as planned last year, which of those I should continue to pursue and which no longer seem worthwhile.  One of the tasks that still seems very important is to find a need or a cause and give some of my time and energy to it.

Week to week, most of us become consumed by our own big and small personal challenges, the daily to do’s, getting from here to there, both literally and with the challenges presented by “making a living.”  Time flies by.

I give a passing thought to volunteering at a soup kitchen, helping out at a free legal aid clinic, sending money to animal rescues.  The list is long but I do not choose and so nothing happens.

So I am determined that this will change in the coming year.  We all have talents to contribute and causes to advance and we need to do so.  Whether the cause is law related, which makes the most sense, since we have our training and knowledge to contribute, or some non-legal cause, the needs are there, more than ever.  For those of you who are already actively contributing, congratulations, keep at it.  For those of you who, like me, have not begun to devote time and energy to a worthy cause, now is the time.

A wonderful side benefit of pro bono work or other types of volunteer work is that it helps the giver/doer as well.  The summer after I graduated law school I wanted to spend time with my son before he started high school and I became embroiled in my law career. I chose Habitat for Humanity as a part-time volunteer opportunity and began wielding a hammer and a paintbrush helping to build homes.

I loved the work and soon was also able to contribute with title work, property liens, closings, etc.  Because I am fluent in Spanish, I was able to help the families with their property purchases in a language they understood, which vastly eased the process.  The experience was rewarding and, as a fortuitous byproduct, provided many networking opportunities.

That event, among others, led to my career as a real estate attorney.  Not only did I acquire useful experience, but the administrative manager who orchestrated the closings for Habitat for Humanity became a lifelong friend and my brilliant and invaluable legal assistant when I opened my own law office.

Life is full of amazing and serendipitous twists and turns (in among the bad stuff) and getting on the “contribution” wagon may lead to more exciting opportunities along the road.

By Rodney L. Abstone II and Susan G. Marlow

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin

With the emergence of social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and their user bases growing by the millions every few months, some people would think that a recruiter’s job just got much easier. Let’s face it, in a short amount of time, we usually can find anybody, whether it is on one of these social networking sites, a blog, discussion board, alumni list or elsewhere in cyberspace. In today’s world of information overload, talent is literally available in masses. Gone are the golden days of recruiting where we would hunt for days to find a suitable candidate, with a degree from a top university who worked in a niche field, for a top-notch law firm or company.

That needle in the haystack success that we celebrated after days or weeks of searching now will likely take us minutes, thanks to the rapid growth of social media and the hundreds (or thousands) of web sites. We must, however, take pause and ask ourselves – have our jobs gotten easier or much harder?

Never before in the history of recruiting have there been so many new tools for employers and recruiters to find and attract talent. Social media has taken the web by storm. To continue to be successful as recruiters, we must take notice. In this soft job market, employers are starting to sidestep recruiters and favor what they feel are faster and cheaper options. This change has become the emerging norm and it is unlikely to reverse itself.

Every once in awhile, something comes along that “threatens” to do away with recruiters. First, there were job boards. Now, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are supposedly the beginning of our demise. But hiring partners and managers still need recruiters to provide an invaluable service that no online technology can possibly provide. Managers need someone to sift through the junk they receive. While it is true that an assistant can visually screen through resumes and narrow down the selection process, it is also true that an experienced recruiter saves hiring personnel time by not just sorting resumes, but also by qualifying candidates through in-depth conversations and personal meetings.

Screening candidates goes far beyond the content of a resume. A good recruiter can disseminate what a hiring manager is really looking for and then find people who really are a fit. Although some social media can be useful, it does not replace the expertise of a seasoned recruiter. These are the benefits we must continually remind employers of through marketing and branding.

As employers capitalize on using social media, so should recruiters. The recruiting industry is often slow to take advantage of social media’s low-cost and free opportunities for recruiters to source candidates and brand themselves. Although more and more recruiters are starting to utilize social media, most still have not accepted this new (and likely permanent) wave of networking technology.  This is largely because they either do not have or are unwilling to make the time to understand how it works and can significantly benefit their business.

When you start connecting with candidates on websites such as LinkedIn, you reach a talent pool that your competitors do not. A good social media strategy also helps to build relationships by creating a dialogue with clients and candidates, and moves beyond the one-way conversation of traditional web sites. Recruiters should use the ever-growing social medium to build their brand (company and individual) and more effectively interact socially with potential candidates and clients.

When properly utilized, social media can create loyalty to your business and promote your brand through word-of-mouth and online networking. It is essential that you make the necessary effort to understand the different medias. Take note of how other businesses are using them effectively or ineffectively. And when you’re ready, know that it is okay to start small. But also know that it is imperative to start now. Change is inevitable and unless you are willing to adapt, your continued survival will change without you…but not for the better.

Rodney L. Abstone II is a Legal Executive & Staffing Consultant at CLS Legal Staffing in Chicago. He may be reached directly at (312) 251-2581 or at rabstone@clslegalstaffing.com.

Susan G. Marlow is in Enterprise Recruiting at Accenture HR BPO Services. She may be reached directly at (813) 265-9626 or at s.marlow@accenture.com.

Sandra J. Bishop, president of Executive Solutions, is an executive coach and career strategist.

Many of you never had to worry about managing anybody’s impression of you.  Many of you were hired into firms as a result of a successful internship or clerkship.  But now, the reality of your unemployment circumstance in many ways obliges you to pay attention to details in the past seemed unimportant.  Through the next couple of weeks, I will address a number of these issues which directly impact your job search.

Impression management – what is it?  Impression management is a process through which people try to control the impressions other people form of them. It is a goal-directed conscious or unconscious attempt to influence the perceptions of other people have about you, your qualifications, how you look, how you talk, how you dress, etc.

Please note:  the operative word here is control. You don’t have to worry about control if you are aware about general expectations during the interview process and prepare appropriately.  You will be good to go!

First impression is important; it can make the difference between job and no job.  Marketing experts use many effective techniques to get us to buy their client’s products.  You need to know these techniques so that you can apply them to yourself, which will enable to successfully sell yourself.

Consider yourself the product.  You are worth-while.  You know your strengths and weaknesses.  You have a great work ethic and you possess all the great qualities employers and firms are looking for in a new profession.

Package yourself as eye-pleasing as possible.  Yes, the uptown look probably gets the job every time.  Your competition also looks great, so it is imperative that you have the upper hand at all times.  Remember how vital that first impression is.

As an Executive Coach for professionals of all types, I can not tell you how often I see clients who have ill-fitting clothing; shoes that are not polished; dress shirts that are not starched with buttons missing; ties with spots; and women who have way too much jewelry, make-up or poorly groomed, unstylish hair.

I know too many of you, these things are not important.  The law is important and you are a good lawyer.  But, you can not get the job if you are not invited to the second round interview.  It is just that simple.  Even if you are invited for a firm or corporation that proclaims it is business casual, please show up in a suit and tie; or for women:  in a good looking business suit or a dress with a jacket.

I can not stress to you the importance of you making a good impression at every step of the interview process.  Years from now, as you have worked your way up the corporate ladder, and are a senior partner in an uptown firm — you can dress any way you want!  Until then, play the game and play to win!

Aurora Donnelly is a solo practitioner always looking forward to the next exciting transition.

Every few months the conversation among colleagues and friends turns to speculating about opportunities that presented themselves in the past, that we decided not to pursue. It’s a little like “The Christmas Carol,” looking backward at past events and then wondering how differently our future might have turned out had we opted to follow those alternate career paths.

Some of the people with whom I have had this discussion go all the way back to their choice of college discipline.  Others think out loud about what it would have been like to actually hold out for practicing, for example, entertainment law, or some other area of law that is notoriously difficult to break into.  Yet others wonder if having completed that JD/LLM program they dropped would have made a difference to their professional standing today.  Or whether they should not have quit that job that seemed so onerous at the time, but now doesn’t seem that bad.

Everyone I talk to has a story about what might have been, or where they might be now had they chosen another path.  Sometimes they are confident that a decision they made was a good decision, other times they lament not having taken a different road.

As this year ends, it is natural to think about these things.  The year that was cannot be changed. The coming year may seem full of possibilities for some of us, but not for others.

The start of a new year is a great time to think positively about opportunities we passed up or career ideas we gave up on.  There may be a little time during the holidays when you can sit quietly and assess your career situation, look at what has been, what still may have appeal for you and what yet could be.

There are many career guides that offer lists and other tools to evaluate your skills and work desires and advice on how to develop ways to achieve a more satisfying work life. And those are very useful.  But I am talking about looking back at your career and at your future in a more visceral way and asking yourself what you really want to do.  What immediately comes to mind when you ask yourself that question?  What path not taken holds the greatest allure for you today?

I do understand that the sky is not the limit; that to a significant degree your particular circumstances and the job market limit your options and that some ships may have sailed, never to return to port.  But it is possible that you might be able to fashion a more thrilling work life for yourself if you reexamine your past and envision your future taking into account your old aspirations, in a new way.

In the coming weeks I will tell you the stories of some people who have done just that.

Aurora Donnelly is a solo practitioner always looking forward to the next exciting transition.

Holiday joy can come in the form of a job offer.  But if you don’t get that offer this month, don’t slack off on your job search or on making plans to open your own office, or otherwise working on your personal transition plan.

There is a tendency to set aside some tasks over the holidays, to give ourselves a break. And sometimes you really need to.  You may have numerous family obligations in December, or maybe you are traveling.  Understandably, you may just be sick and tired of the job search.

Cut back on the weekly job search chores if you have to, but I wouldn’t stop altogether for the holiday month.  I am trying to come back from taking a week off from the gym around the Thanksgiving holiday and I am having a terrible time of it.  I was used to getting up at 5:30 a.m., going to the gym and then heading off to work, it was an established and unthinking routine.

But then I started working on an assignment at the far north side of the Loop and could not find a quick or easy way to get from the gym to the office without wasting almost an hour every day.  Plus, it was Thanksgiving, so what the heck.

Now we are well into December and I still haven’t managed to get back on track, even though I am again working two blocks from the gym.  My visits with the elliptical trainer have been sporadic, brief, and unsatisfying.  I am finding it a dreadful chore to get up early.

Don’t let this happen to you with your career work.  This month, two colleagues are starting new jobs, one next Monday and another on December 21.  Another good friend had an interview earlier this week.  They didn’t get there by taking holidays off!  In all cases they have been at it relentlessly for quite some time.

And don’t believe that the whole recruiting business comes to a stop during the holidays and that no one is interviewing.  If a hiring manager has a position to fill, the holidays can be the best time of the year to do it, for many reasons.  Having a position open in his or her organization is a problem to be solved as quickly as possible, never mind what else is going on in the world.

So, indulge in some holiday joy.  Go get that cup of eggnog, bring it right back to your computer and stay on task until you get what you want and need!