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Tips to create a career plan in law

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Law is an area that covers many specialties. It also requires many steps up the ladder when you finally finish your Law Degree. So, after you have burnt the candle at both ends, spent hours studying and getting some work experience, you should have a good understanding of what working in law entails.

But have you thought about what your Career Plan looks like? Think of your Career Plan just like a business strategy. You need to look at where you are now, where you’d like to end up in 30 years and then work out how you are going to get there. It will increase your odds of a happy & fulfilling career.

You need to ask yourself the following questions as a starting point. Then the next step is the actual career plan.

What type of law are you interest in?

Criminal law? Family Law? Corporate Law? The list goes on ….. Each specialty requires different knowledge and skillsets and some are more competitive than others. You can also think about what niche you might like to work in. EG: As a family lawyer you might like to specialise in mediation or helping children through divorce.

What are your career goals?

You should have a vision or end goal in mind for your law career. What specific goals do you have?

  • Work in Fortune 500 company?
  • Become a judge or Barrister?
  • Travel the world using your degree?
  • Help social cases or the less fortunate?

Defining your career goals will help you work out the steps you need to take to get the experience to take you to the next level.

What type of firms should you be applying to?

Depending on the type of law you want to practice and your end goals, you will need to consider what type of firm you want to work with. Large? Boutique? Specialist? Family-Friendly? Flexible?

Every firm has its own unique culture & values so do some research and find out more from the people working there. Then you can create a list of the firms that might be a good fit for you.

What are you passionate about?

Has there been a personal experience that has impacted your life and made you want to be a lawyer?

Is there a particular area of law that you are really passionate about and love? Understanding what drives you, can help you to work out what area of law is right for you.

Are you planning on having children?

If you plan to have children, you need to factor time out of your career into the overall plan. Taking a 1-5 year break to raise a child will impact your career trajectory so you need to be OK with that and consider what impact this will have on your career.

How will technology impact?

We are already seeing disrupters and technology impacting the types of new firms being set up. Innovation will continue to move at warp speed so consider what impact it might have in the future. Will it mean more contract roles in law? More remote work? More passive work? There is no doubt that technology will impact the jobs & opportunities available.

What if I need to change course?

There is no guarantee that you will love working in law. You might get burnt out,  lose the passion or find another area you want to transition into. Is there a complimentary area or industry that would suit the skills you have built? Think about what these types of roles might be and be open to such opportunities when the time comes.

If we skipped ahead, where would you like to see yourself in 20-30 years’ time?

If you think about the end of your career, where do you see yourself? Do you want to be working in law in 20-30 years? What does your life look like? Are you working full time or part-time? It can help your plan if you skip forward then work back from that.

In what skills do you excel?

Do a skills audit. Be honest with the skills you are good at and what you might need to work on. This will also help to determine what sort of additional training or work experience you will need to take on over the coming years

 

Your career is something that you have invested a lot of time, money, blood, sweat & tears in. Don’t take an ad hoc approach to it and consider that some moves will be up the ladder and some sideways (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing).

Spend time creating a Law Career Plan. Not only will you feel prepared for what’s ahead, but it will also help you make the right career steps.

If you need help, please reach out and we can help you map out your PERSONAL career plan.

[email protected]

 

It is not always about ‘Showing me the money’

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Money makes the world go around. Fact! But as human beings we need more than money to sustain us, particularly when it comes to our job and our working environment. So, if you don’t have large budgets to buy the best staff you need to look for other incentives to get them on board. Examples of non-monetary compensation include flex-time, time off, free or discounted parking, gym membership discounts, professional development, tuition for further education and childcare.

How can you win top talent without ‘showing them the money?’

Find out what drives them

What non-monetary incentives would appeal to them? We all need money to put a shelter over our heads and food in our plate, however there are often other benefits that can make up for a lower salary. If you can find out what drives a potential new team member you’d be surprised how creative you can get when it comes to ways to get them across the line. The better you know them the easier this process will be.

Be flexible

Don’t just stick with “this is the way we have always done it”. As the war on talent heats up you need to be flexible. This will be different for everyone but could include ability to work from home some days, time in lieu, roster days off, professional development, working a 4 day week etc. Don’t lose a great new asset because you cannot be flexible.

Offer personal development

Provide in house training, the ability to do additional study to get more accreditation and allocate personal development budgets each year that they can allocate to further learning outside the company are incentives that not only have a positive impact for you while the person is employed with you, but also for their career as they acquire new skills.

Personalised incentives

Everyone is different and what appeals to one person will not appeal to another. Personalise non-monetary rewards accordingly. The gym junkie would likely love a gym membership but the coach potato would hate it and prefer a membership to a theatre company. Do what works for each individual.

Passion project time

Offer time out of normal work commitments to work on projects which your staff may be passionate about but are not necessarily related to your core business. This is was pioneered by Google and also something that Facebook do and has launched some successful & very profitable new products. Allocating a few hours a week for them to work on a passion project helps keep them more fulfilled and likely to stay with you longer.

Volunteer program

How are you giving back to society? Offering staff 1 day every 3-6 months to volunteer at the charity of their choice, puts your brand directly into the community in a positive way, engages the individual with something they are passionate about, increases morale and builds a positive company culture.

Opportunities to work interstate or overseas office

If you have interstate or overseas offices the opportunity to work in another location, can be very appealing and a positive program you can put in place that is a big point of difference over competitors.

Having small hiring budgets forces you to get creative but is also means you win top talent for exactly that reason. Plus, non-monetary or intangible benefits can often be the most powerful.

 

 

How to attract and win top talent

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We live in a competitive world and when there is a shortage of talent, finding top talent becomes harder to do.

You have heard the phrase “the war for talent” which was derived from a late-90’s McKinsey and Co. study that surveyed 77 companies and almost 6,000 executives. From compiling the data, analysts gathered that the most important corporate resource over the next 20 years would be talent.

Build an attractive company culture that makes people want to work with your business.

We’ve all heard about the amazing office environment at Google right? The cool space, the free food, bikes around campus and the many other free perks that employees get. You likely don’t have the budget of Google but you can create an inviting & fun culture without fancy slides or gadgets. Listen to what your staff want and often it is the little things that matter.

Share your why and your vision for the company

Many of the talented people you are looking for now want to work somewhere that is not just another company. They want to know what is your why, your purpose, your vision. How do you contribute to society? How do you give back? Are you values aligned with theirs? A big packet doesn’t always help if their values do not align with yours as they are bound to leave pretty quickly.

Build a talent community

Having your own talent community is a great way to build a relationship with potential hires before you need them, making the hiring process simple and faster.

Find out what drives them

What non-monetary incentives would appeal to them? We all need money to put a shelter over our heads and food in our plate, however there are often other benefits that can make up for a lower salary. If you can find out what drives a potential new team member you’d be surprised how creative you can get when it comes to ways to get them across the line. The better you know them the easier this process will be.

Be flexible

Don’t just stick with “this is the way we have always done it”. As the war on talent heats up you need to be flexible. This will be different for everyone but could include ability to work from home some days, time in lieu, roster days off, professional development, working a 4 day week etc. Don’t lose a great new asset because you cannot be flexible.

Prioritise wellbeing

Workplace wellness is becoming very popular for a reason. It improves productivity, helps with mental health and minimises time off work, to name a few benefits. Top talent wants to know their employer truly cares about their health and well being  and creating a holistically healthful environment ultimately pays off in the form of company success.

Considerations when working with a recruiter

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Recruiters can unfortunately get a bad rap, mainly caused by cowboys/cowgirls  in the industry that were not professional and had no idea on how to deliver the solution they were hired for.

What does a recruiter do? In its most basic form their role is to bring together two parties – employer and employee. However, it goes deeper than this and in essence it’s is about finding the perfect match of employer and employee. This is hopefully going to be a long-term relationship so matching the right people is important, just like any relationship.

So, let’s consider what you need to look for in a great recruiter.

Great reputation

Reputation is everything. Do your research! Sure, you can read testimonials on a website but dive deeper. Ask people in your industry or network if they know of this recruiter or have used them in the past. What do they think of them? Search online for reviews or comments on their LinkedIn profile or Facebook page. A great reputation is hard to fake.

Years of experience
How long as the recruiter been in the industry or related industries? If they have been on your side as a client, then they have a good understanding of the issues you face. Experience matters as they have connections, networks, and they have refined the best ways to get results for you.

Size of company
Are you just a number at a large agency? With high targets, there can be a lot of churn and burn, and it can be all about numbers and just filling roles, regardless of if they are the right person for the job. Boutique firms live and die by their reputation and are only as good as their last hire. They have a vested role in making sure the match works. Consider your needs and if a smaller agency is better suited to your needs.


Recruiters have connections and often know about jobs before they are advertised
They have a solid network and good recruiters build long-term relationships and have talent pools to draw from. They have great industry contacts and can hand-pick professionals who may be looking for a change.

Recruiters have different specialties
No two recruiters are the same. Everyone has different industries specialties, networks, levels of relationships and ways of working. You might use different recruiters for different roles in your company because one person is an expert in legal and another an expert in retail. You cannot be everything to all people so work with a recruiter that specialises in what you need for a particular role.

Do you have chemistry?
This might not sound important, but people do business with people they like. That is human nature. Do you have some sort of chemistry with the recruiter? I am not talking about physical attraction. I am referring to that positive first impression. Do you like them? Do you get a good feeling from them?

Trust your gut
Gut instinct is important in all areas of business and this is the same when choosing a recruiter. Ask yourself, does this feel right? Do you I think this person is the right person for the job? Trust your instinct – it matters.