For one reason or another, some legal professionals are hesitant to work with recruiters. But when you are a candidate, a seasoned recruiter can streamline the job search process and introduce you to fresh career opportunities you might have otherwise overlooked. If you are still unsure as to why you should work with a legal recruiter, here are nine ways they can help you gain the upper hand when “swimming with the sharks” in the highly competitive legal industry.
Recruiters Have a Keen Insight into the Legal Job Market
Better headhunters can accurately read current market conditions, access job openings before they are posted, and seamlessly navigate candidates through good economic markets and bad.
As a trusted job search partner, a top-level recruiter anticipates and adapts to change in lockstep with client needs. Notably, when you are seeking relocation opportunities in an unfamiliar market, a legal recruiter can be an invaluable resource that helps elevate your career to the next level.
Recruiters Can Help You Network on a Larger Scale
Searching for a job when you’re up against numerous equally qualified candidates is never easy. Good legal recruiters maintain a vast network of industry insiders that spans law school campuses to corporate boardrooms and professional organizations.
Recruiters generally spend a good deal of time making beneficial connections through various databases, professional organizations, phone calls, and in-person networking interactions. As a trusted career-enrichment source, using a recruiter throughout your job search allows you to grow your professional network exponentially.
Recruiters Can Assist in Updating and Improving Your Resume
In addition to being a poor reflection of your skills and experience, a boring, outdated resume can easily get lost in the job application shuffle – if and only if it even reaches the hiring manager’s desk. To top it off, on average, employers look at resumes for six to seven seconds.
To rise above the pack, you need a freshly updated, professional resume that clearly and impactfully lets the law firm or company you want to work for know who you are and why you are the best candidate for the job.
A “placement-tested” legal recruiter can help you freshen up that stale resume and transform it into a powerful marketing tool that gives you a decided callback edge over the competition. They will also proactively ensure that your resume reaches the right person at just the right time, and they are there to advocate for your candidacy.
Recruiters Can Assist You in Preparing for Interview
As the saying goes: “You only get one chance to make a first impression.” Whether done virtually or face to face, one small job interview faux pas can be a real deal-breaker when your career weighs in the balance.
A legal recruiter can help ensure that you’ve got all your bases covered while providing you with professional insight on how to perfect your interviewing skills. An experienced headhunter will sit down and discuss what questions you can expect, along with interviewing tips that you might otherwise miss when preparing on your own.
Recruiters Can Save You Time in Your Job Search
In today’s fast-paced digital world, time is the most valuable commodity for the average person. Perusing countless job boards and websites isn’t practical for most attorneys or paralegals – notably those who are currently employed.
When every precious second counts, a knowledgeable recruiter can be a real time-saver by streamlining the interview-to-placement process for you. From scheduling interviews to following up with potential employers, a good legal recruiter is much like having a personal assistant.
Recruiters Value Your Confidentiality
Because legal communities can be very small – even within a major metropolitan area – confidentiality is the key to a legal recruiter’s success. Any lawyer who’s been at the same practice for a while and is seeking a job in the same city or town will no doubt know some of the attorneys with that firm – or know someone who does.
As a result, it’s vital to manage the job search while keeping it contained until mutual interest is established. Good legal recruiters can confidentially facilitate the entire process, from resume submission to face-to-face interviews and follow-up meetings.
Recruiters Give You Access to More Job Opportunities
Some companies and firms only post available jobs on their own websites, while others may use job boards or rely exclusively on third-party sourcing agencies in order to find candidates. As a candidate, you could potentially be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime by only relying on job-search websites.
Recruiters can guide you towards difficult to find openings while giving you access to jobs that are quietly and confidentially advertised or have yet to be posted online. The more options at your disposal, the greater the odds of landing that dream offer that you’ve always wanted.
An experienced legal recruiter that’s in tune with the local market has long-term relationships with hiring managers, allowing them to hear about jobs that may never “hit the streets” for one reason or another.
Recruiters Guide You Through the Process
Getting your foot in the door at a prestigious law firm or corporation can often be the hardest part of landing your dream job. A reputable recruiter will seamlessly guide you through the process by helping you polish your resume, coaching you through interviews, optimizing references, facilitating offer negotiations, and other ways.
When the recruiter has a good relationship with the employer, they can provide you with offer tips and other valuable inside scoops such as the law firm’s or company’s culture, the type of candidate that’s been successful there, and other details that the “average Joe” isn’t privy to.
Recruiters Understand Your Worth in the Marketplace
When it comes to compensation and what you should ask for, recruiters are able to bring a wealth of information to the table – most importantly, how much someone with your skills and experience should be making in that position.
A good recruiter can be an invaluable resource as they orchestrate offer negotiations to ensure that you get the compensation that you deserve. Whether it’s a lateral move within the same city or a relocation opportunity in another market, a reputable headhunter can greatly lower your risk of being offered or accepting a below-average compensation package.
Looking for that Dream Job? We Can Help.
Whether you are actively looking for a job or merely testing the job market waters, the excitement of a new career is often overshadowed by the formidable task of job searching. To make the process easier and more rewarding, consider working with a legal recruiting firm such as Momentum Search Partners. When working with Momentum, you’ll be offered opportunities that flawlessly align with your experience, abilities, and interest.
And although partnering with a legal search firm like Momentum doesn’t prohibit you from exploring other resources on your own, it will undoubtedly put the “ball in your court” for landing the perfect job. Find out what you’re truly worth in the Austin, Dallas, or Houston legal marketplace by contacting us today!