With so much uncertainty out there at the moment and all of our lives being turned upside down, we know that there are many people who are worried about their jobs and whether or not they will even have a job in the coming weeks. 

With this, today I wanted to share with you some tips and things to consider if you are fearing that you may be affected by lay-offs at your work.

Keep focused on your work. 

This is not the time to be going through the motions or embroiling yourself in company gossip. If you have moved to a work from home set-up, make sure you are still being as productive as ever.  Now is not the time to be baking bread in the middle of the day. 

You will want to ensure that you are delivering quality work.  Further, if you see an opportunity to elevate the amount of value you bring to your employers, now is the time to do just that. You need to think, are there any initiatives that you can take, that can help increase revenue for your firm, or any problems you foresee that may come up with a file, which you can possibly get in front of?  If you do take on added work though, MAKE SURE that it does not take away from your main work, and that it will NOT cost your employer extra money. 

In doing all of this, it is also important to make sure that your hard work does not go unnoticed – make sure you mention what you have completed and accomplished.  You may not be the “braggy” type, but in situations like this, now is the time to vocally hammer home your value and your efficiency to your employer. 

Prepare yourself mentally for the worst-case scenario. 

These are challenging times for everyone, and the reality is, you may be affected by a lay-off. Don’t hide from this.  Know that it may be a possibility and prepare accordingly.  Control what you can at work, such as your performance, while also preparing what you can for the worst-case situation.

What does this preparation look like? 

It means updating your LinkedIn profile, re-connecting with other professionals in your line of work – this may be people you previously worked with or people you have never met before, but who work in your industry in your city.  Speak with industry professionals such as recruiters to see what is happening in the market.  What would your plan of attack be? If you have an opportunity to upgrade any of your skills at this time, that will help you in your line of work, do it. 

If you do find yourself in this situation, hopefully these tips will help. Thanks for reading!  If you have any questions around this or any other job searching or interview topics, be sure to contact us.

Happy Job Hunting and Good Luck!

Have you ever been in an interview and asked by the interviewer, “How do you handle stress?”.  If you have, how did you answer it?  Did you stumble? Were you happy with your answer?  If not, not to worry!  Today we’ll be talking about the best way to answer the “How do you handle stress?” interview question!

First, understand why you are being asked the question.  When asking this question, the interviewer wants to know a few things.  One, they want to see what you consider to be stressful. Two, they want to see how you react in stressful situations.  Three, if the role you are interviewing for has a higher than normal level of stress, they want to know if you will be able to succeed in the role. 

So, let’s look at the best way to answer the question.  When answering the question, you will want to provide an example that shows you handling and succeeding in a stressful situation. Keep this example work related. Focus on how you managed the stressful situation.   Don’t focus on the emotions you were feeling in the situation.  Rather, address what the situation was and what steps you took to overcome it.  Be sure to highlight the successful result.   For example, you can talk about juggling competing priorities within a specific deadline.  How did you decide what you did first, second, third?  What was the result?

A few additional tips.  When talking about how you handle stressful situations, be sure not to provide an example where you were the one that created the stressful situation.  For example, if you forgot to mail something out or follow up with a client on an important matter. Don’t say you never experience stress – it sounds fake. And, don’t emphasize the level of stress you felt – acknowledge that you felt stressed and then focus on how you addressed it.

So, these are our tips on how to best answer the stress question during an interview.  Thanks for reading!  If you have any questions around this or any other interview or job searching topics, be sure to contact us. 

Happy Job Hunting and Good Luck!

Over the past week, we have had a couple of law firms tell us about their frustrations of having someone accept a position at their firm, only to rescind their acceptance a week prior to starting. 

I can understand the firm’s frustration.  There is a lot of preparation that happens before a new hire joins a firm. Computers are set up, training is coordinated, internal conversations take place, schedules are re-arranged, etc.  Not to mention, after you have accepted your offer, your new firm has stopped considering other applicants.  That means that if you then rescind your offer, the firm has lost out on not only time and money, but also all the other candidates they were considering as those ones have most likely moved on and are off the market. 

But, at the same time, I can understand things from the Candidate’s perspective.  Life happens, people change their minds, and new opportunities arise and ultimately you the candidate, needs to make the best long-term decision for yourself. 

However, the legal community is small, people change firms and you do not want to burn a bridge and have it follow you.  So, how you rescind your offer is important!  If the situation arises, you should:

1. Let the firm know as soon as you have made up your mind. Don’t wait until the last minute. 
2. Give the firm the courtesy of knowing why you are rescinding the offer.  Now, you don’t need to get into the specifics of your “Why”, but you should give a reason.  They have just invested time and money preparing for your start.  The firm’s initial reaction will be to see if there is anything they can do to change your mind.  Further, the firm will wonder if it was something about them that caused the change of mind.  Is there anything they need to change moving forward, so this doesn’t happen again? They just need some closure. 

While we are on this topic, we also have candidates sometimes ask us why their new employer wants to know if they have handed in their resignation yet.  They tell us, that they have signed the offer letter, indicating they are coming on board, why does it matter when they resign. 

The firm wants to know you are fully committed to making the move.  Yes, you have signed the offer, but you still need to successfully resign. When you are leaving one job for another, a two-step process is involved.  The firm will want to know this for a) peace of mind, but b) they will also want to know that you are fully committed before investing the time and money in preparing for your start.   

So, if you do need to rescind your acceptance, make sure that at the very least you take these 2 steps. 

Thanks for reading!  If you have any questions about this or any other job or interview topics, be sure to contact us.

Happy Job Hunting and Good Luck!

We often hear about the importance of fit when companies are hiring.  Firms want to hire people that will best fit with their culture and environment.  But, do you the job seeker, ever stop and ask yourself what is the right fit for you?  What firm culture and environment do you want to be a part of?  What firm culture and environment do you think you will succeed best in?

When interviewing with prospective employers, what you’re looking for with regards to fit needs to be top of mind.  Culture fit matters and you will most likely be happier and more successful if there’s a good match.

So, what are some things you can do to best asses your prospective new firm’s culture?  You can:

• Go through the company’s social media and review their posts and activity to get an idea of what’s important to them. You can also look at certain members’ LinkedIn profiles and see what their recommendations say about them. 
• While you wait at reception, prior to your interview you can watch how employees interact with each other.  Do you like what you see or not like what you see?
• During the interview, listen for what aspects of the firm the interviewer talks about.  Companies who really live their values integrate them into a number of aspects of the business. So you should be able to pick up on this theme while listening to them describe the firm. 

Further, during your interview, you can ask questions such as:

• How would you describe your corporate culture in five words?
• What's the best part of working here that I wouldn't be able to see on a tour?
• What are some of the ways the firm celebrates success?
• How does the firm support your professional development and career growth?
• Why are you proud of this firm?
• Would you be willing to show me around the office?

The answers to this will help give you a better sense of what the firm values and how they treat their people. 

When determining whether or not a firm is the right fit for you, it’s important that you gather as much information as you can. Don’t necessarily make your judgement based on what one person you knew several years back said in passing on the firm.  Everyone is different.  Things change.  And you need to figure out what works best for you.    

Thanks for reading! As always, if you have any questions around this or any other topics, be sure to contact us!

Happy Job Hunting and Good Luck!

The beginning of a new year tends to see a lot of job movement! December was a busy month, people had planned vacations, company holiday parties were going on, and some people were waiting for their year-end bonuses.  Others come back from the holidays and make it their New Year's resolution to find a new job.  Whatever the reason, the reality is that there will be a lot of hiring and job movement going on to start the year which means a lot of opportunities will be available if you are looking to make a change. 

With this, here are some of our tips to ensure that you are starting your job search off on the right foot to start the new year!

1. Reflect and get a better understanding of what you want and don’t want in a new job.  Don’t get caught up in all of the excitement of a new year and want to change jobs for the sake of changing jobs.  Take a step back and think about what you want and where you want your career to go.  Figure out what steps you need to take to get there. What moves make sense?  Will you need to make any sacrifices to get there (i.e. taking a pay cut or flexing on the size of the company or location)?
2. Stay on top of what is happening in the market.  Explore job boards and speak with industry professionals to know what skills and jobs are in demand.  What do current salaries and opportunities look like?  How does this affect what you are looking to do?  You need to stay plugged in and keep your figure on the pulse. 
3. Focus more on networking.  Get involved in industry associations and make an effort to get out to as many events as you can. If you cannot get out to events, look at networking on social media.  Look at LinkedIn.  Don’t just have an account and think you are done with it.  Connect with others in your industry, join industry groups and engage with relevant content. The aim is to meet and build relationships with new people in your industry.  Follow companies within your industry and look them up regularly to see if they are hiring.
4. Update your Resume and LinkedIn profile.  The job market will move quickly at the start of the year.  Therefore, when you see something you like, you need to be able to move quickly and apply.  Further, you will want your LinkedIn up to date so that people looking to fill positions that match your skillset can reach out to you. 

Thanks for reading! 

If you have any questions around this or any other job searching or interview topic, be sure to contact us!

Happy Job Hunting and Good Luck!