Other Job Search Advice

Other Job Search Advice / The 6Ps of the BIG 3 Book — 5 Comments
1
Nov 12

What’s Your November Challenge?

If you are looking for one last challenge to accomplish a monumental task before the end of 2012, now is chance.  We all know that the month of December is crazy–holiday parties, family, vacation time (making it harder to transact business toward the end of the month), etc.  So, why not challenge yourself to accomplish (or at least start) one more big project in November, before the December madness arrives?

In the past week, I’ve learned about three November challenges.  Perhaps these will give you an idea on what you wish to accomplish.

  1. National Novel Writing Month. Melissa Sachs mentioned National Novel Writing Month (#NaNoWriMo) in several recent Facebook posts, so I had to learn more.  Participants in #NaNoWriMo attempt to write a 50,000 word novel (approximately 175 pages) in the month of November.  You can read more about the project here.
  2. Three Book Diet.  Chris Brogan introduced the Three Book Diet (#3bd) in a blog post last week.  As noted in the blog post, we read many books a year but implement very few ideas.  With the Three Book Diet, you select three books that you’ll read multiple times (at least twice) between 11/1/2012-11/1/2013 (so, this challenge would last beyond November 2012).  If you are like me and keep a running list of business books you want to read, participating in the Three Book Diet is a great way to commit to reading at least a few of those books and committing to implementing ideas shared in those books!  If you need ideas for books to select, review Cordell Parvin’s list of books he recommends to his coaching clients.
  3. Hard Core Turkey Challenge.  I’m a member of Exhale, the home of the original barre/core class known as Core Fusion, and the studio recently launched Hard Core Turkey Challenge.  With this challenge, members are encouraged to take 14 classes in 21 days (which is 14 classes between November 1 and Thanksgiving).

Still looking for an idea for your challenge?  Improve your LinkedIn network – here’s a post I wrote last year about a LinkedIn Challenge.

My November challenge is to spend time each day working on the 2nd edition of The 6Ps of the Big 3 for Job-Seeking JDs.  While speaking at law schools last month, I realized the book is now two years old and needs to be updated with the new tools available for job seekers.  My “writing time” will be from 6-7 am on weekdays and 10 hours on weekends.  Each Sunday in November, I’ll blog about my progress and preview a new tip or resource that will be included in the 2nd edition.  Stay tuned and good luck with your November challenge!

Other Job Search Advice — 1 Comment
18
Mar 12

Job Hopping: Turn A High Number to Your Advantage (#SXSWi 2012)

The SXSW session on job hopping, Job Hopping: Turn A High Number to Your Advantage, offered some interesting facts about job hopping:

  • As a general rule, 18 months is the magic timeframe – you must stay in a job longer than 18 months to avoid the label of job hopper.
  • However, the larger the company, the longer the magic timeframe.  Many larger companies view 3 years as the minimum amount of time you must stay in a job to avoid the label of job hopper.

Since the legal profession is not as forgiving of job hopping, many ideas shared in this session regarding overcoming the job hopping stigma would not work for lawyers.  However, I managed to find three takeaways for lawyers who have job hopped:

  1. Timebox your achievements. You resume should timebox your achievements in a particular position–quantify what you did in a specific timeframe to illustrate your accomplishments in a short period of time.  For example, “In my first 60 days at Miller Smith, LLP, I drafted a motion for summary judgment regarding ____  issue, argued the motion and obtained  ____ for my client. “
  2. Don’t say, “I was recruited away.” If you left a job to take a new job that a recruiter brought to your attention, don’t say that you were “recruited away.”  Recruited away is a red flag that you took a new position for more money.  Instead, discuss the challenges and opportunities that you are seeking and would make you stay in a position for the long term.
  3. You need outstanding references. Choose your references wisely.  If you left a position because of a bad experience, choose former colleagues who have first-hand knowledge of your experience and can speak about it.  Consider your mentors as well — especially if they have mentored you over a long period of time and witnessed your various career moves.
Other Job Search Advice / Performance — No Comments
9
Jun 11

Lessons for Unemployed Lawyers From Laid-Off Social Media Specialist/Fitness Blogger

I began following Theodora Blanchfield (@tblanchfield) on Twitter when I first joined the social networking site in August 2008.  At the time, Theodora was a reporter for Legal Technology News, and I was focused on following people in the legal industry.  Theodora eventually obtained a position as a social media specialist for a magazine company, but I continued to follow her because she published an interesting fitness blog, Losing Weight in the City (you can read Theodora’s fitness story here).

While I don’t read Theodora’s blog daily, I do pay attention to the headlines of her posts when she tweets them.  This headline last week caught my attention:

THE NEXT CHAPTER:  MY LAYOFF STORY

My immediate response was, “oh no!”  But, I was comforted after reading the post, and I think unemployed lawyers can learn at least three lessons from Theodora’s layoff story.  Consider the following quotes from Theodora’s post:

“I have some freelance work lined up and lots of leads for both projects and positions.”

Lawyers can also freelance.  I’ve referred to freelance lawyering as an option for laid-off lawyers in this past newsletter with resources for laid-off lawyers and in #LawJobChat No. 2 with Lisa Solomon, a veteran freelance lawyer.  Refer to Lisa’s site for more information about the freelance lawyering process and tips for getting started.

“If you have or know of any job or project leads in NYC (or telecommuting), I’d love to hear about them.”

Theodora immediately reached out to her network asking for job and project leads.  She shared her layoff story on her blog and sought help.  Based on a subsequent post, many of Theodora’s loyal readers responded with tips and leads.

More importantly, Theodora cultivated a strong following over several years by blogging and using other social media sites consistently. Theodora’s efforts paid off on the day she was laid off because she had assembled a strong network to provide leads and encouragement.

“I also plan on blogging a lot more … partially because it’s such a good release.”

I mentioned in this video clip that one of the biggest mistakes job seekers make is sounding desperate.  Note the tone of Theodora’s layoff story — it’s filled with positive thoughts and optimism.  She doesn’t sound desperate at all.

Finally, as I suggest in my book, remember to follow people outside the legal industry on Twitter and other social networking sites.  You’ll gain new ideas by following professionals in other industries who may be experiencing similar challenges.

Other Job Search Advice — No Comments
25
Mar 11

Preferred Fonts for Résumés & Pleadings

My January newsletter, Typography Trends to Abandon in 2011, generated significant comments from readers.typog In this newsletter, I introduced readers to Matthew Butterick, author of Typography for Lawyers. In his book and on his website, Butterick outlines why Times New Roman is a bad font for résumés and documents. I was not too surprised to receive comments from lawyers, students and career counselors since most (all?) law schools instruct students to use Times New Roman in their résumés.

I wanted to learn more from Butterick—specifically, which fonts are preferred if Times New Roman is a bad font for résumés.  I ordered Butterick’s book and invited him to participate in a webinar I hosted for my readers who also wanted to learn more about fonts and typography.

The following system fonts are among the preferred fonts Butterick identified in the webinar:

  1. Baskerville
  2. Goudy Old Style
  3. Century Schoolbook
  4. Californian
  5. Calisto
  6. Bell
  7. Book Antiqua
  8. Garamond
  9. Palatino

Note to practicing lawyers: Check a court’s rules to see if the court specifies a font to use or bans certain fonts. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court specifically bans Times New Roman.

I invite you to view the full webinar with Butterick to learn answers to additional typography questions, such as:

  1. Is it okay to underline headings?
  2. One or two spaces after each sentence?
  3. When is it appropriate to use italics?
  4. What is the appropriate leading for a document?
  5. What are the appropriate margins for a résumé?

Click here to view the webinar.  The webinar is approximately 54 minutes in length.  The comparison of sample résumés begins around the 17 minute mark of the webinar.  The Q&A section (including answers to questions 1-4 above) begins around the 26 minute mark of the webinar.  If you have additional typography questions, you may contact Butterick at mb@typographyforlawyers.com.  You may also follow Butterick on Twitter – @typogforlawyers.