Career Center

Career Center: How to Thrive in a Difficult Work Environment

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You detest your boss. You can’t stand your coworkers. You want to die if you have to work another 100-hour week. If that sounds familiar, then you’re in good company with many other attorneys who hate their job. Unfortunately, you’re not going anywhere anytime soon. Maybe you’ve only been at your job for a year or less, or you have no other job prospects at the moment.

When you’re stuck at a job you loathe, what can you do to not only survive, but even thrive in it? Try these tips, provided to you by the experienced recruiters at Lateral Link….

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Career Center: Tips to Improve Your Network

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Networking isn’t just for job seekers. And it isn’t even just for the rainmakers who bring in business. It’s what every attorney (and attorney-to-be) should be doing right now — whether you’re a first-year associate at a Biglaw firm or a senior attorney at a small regional firm. Too often, attorneys wait until they need something before they start networking. But by then, it’s too late to build an effective network from scratch. If you really want to make a go of having any kind of a long and successful legal career, learning how to network early on and effectively is key.

If you already have a network in place, don’t assume you are done because you keep in touch with a few friends from law school and attend MCLE seminars once every three years. Today’s tips, brought to you by the experienced recruiters at Lateral Link, will give you ways to improve your network….

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Career Center: How to Evaluate a Job Offer

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It’s that time of year again when associates will cash in their bonus checks and start mentally and/or physically packing their bags for their next move. Some are looking to lateral to another Biglaw firm, while others want to make a more dramatic change by going in-house, downshifting to a smaller firm or a government job, or moving to another city.

With lateral hiring picking up in various areas, there’s a decent chance that all the hard work you put into the job-hunting process will pay off with a job offer. But before you rush into accepting an offer, the experienced recruiters at Lateral Link have come up with the top three factors to consider when deciding whether a new job is right for you….

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Career Center: Saddle Up and Hitch a Ride to Texas

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In the 19th century, Americans immigrated to Texas to escape debt incurred during the Panic of 1819, leaving “Gone To Texas” or “GTT” on their doors. In the 21st century, lawyers are immigrating to Texas for much different reasons. Or are they?

Why move to Texas? In honor of Texas Independence Day, held every March 2, Lateral Link Director Sara Gail, a third-generation Texan, explains why you should consider the Texas legal market….

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Career Center: Tips For Promoting Diversity in the Workplace

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Although your office may have more Asians than the NBA, it may be far off from being a truly diverse workplace. But as long as your firm can count some minorities on its attorney roster, who really cares about increasing diversity anyway?

Clients, for one. As companies become more diverse, they expect their outside counsel to reflect a similar diversity. A firm that can’t demonstrate a real commitment to boosting its diversity is in danger of getting dumped or passed over by clients. In the long run, that may translate into no work, or even no job, for you. So how can you (minority or not) actively do your part to encourage diversity in your workplace? Here are the Career Center’s top three tips:

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Career Center: Steps to Take in Order to Make an Effective Elevator Pitch

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In the age of texts, tweets, and emails, people want their information brief, fast, and in 100 characters or less. With such constraints, many law firm lawyers feel overwhelmed at the prospect of trying to elicit business without sounding like a cattle auctioneer.

While we are competing with thousands of sound bites of information on a daily basis, an effective tool is available to cut through this web of data overload — the elevator pitch. Below, we highlight five easy tips lawyers can follow to execute an effective elevator pitch….

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ATL Survey Update: Student Favorites and the Ghosts of Layoffs Past

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... to take a survey.

The ATL School and Firm Insiders Survey continues to roll along at a nice clip: we expect our 3,000th respondent any minute now. While we’re pleased with this response, of course we encourage all of you who haven’t yet to take 3-5 minutes and head over here to take our absolutely confidential survey. Thanks in advance.

Last week, we shared a few broad trends we’re seeing, and today, we’ll get a little more specific and name some names.

Among other things, the survey asks law students for their perceptions of a select group of firms as potential employers. In our analysis, we’ll look at which firms are considered the most (and least) attractive by law students. We’ll also consider how these perceptions jibe with what lawyers at these firms are telling us….

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Career Center: Is It Time to Go? Four Signs You Aren’t Where You Should Be

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If you’ve ever been miserable at your job, you’re in good company. But a little job misery doesn’t necessarily mean that you should make a beeline for the door. Many people have compelling reasons to stay put.

So how do you know when it’s time to go? The Career Center, brought to you by Lateral Link, gives you some of the tell-tale signs that it’s time to move on.

1. Your job makes you physically ill. We’re not talking about an occasional headache, or a few sleepless nights in order to meet a critical deadline. Developing chronic conditions like migraines, stomach pains, sleep issues, depression, or anxiety due to work may indicate a serious problem for which you should see a doctor. If your health issues are caused by stressors that you can’t remove from your job, like the billable hour requirement, clients’ expectations, or partnership prospects, it’s probably time to change jobs or consider downshifting to a less demanding environment. No job is worth making yourself sick over — or worse, dying over….

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Career Center: Don’t Waste Your Year-End Bonus

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Unless you work for Kirkland, Cahill, Irell or Boies Schiller, who all shattered the 2011 Cravath bonus scale, you may be feeling a little underwhelmed with your year-end bonus.

But don’t just go blowing it all away on a whim –- especially since that spring bonus check isn’t in the mail yet. Here are some ideas from the Career Center, brought to you by Lateral Link, on how to spend your bonus money wisely…

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Career Center: Finding Your Work-Life Balance

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Maintaining a good work-life balance can, in some cases, determine your longevity at your current job. Whether you’re a second year or a partner, the fact is everyone needs to balance work and life. This also means both parents and non-parents can take note of some of the tips we have in mind for you. If you plan to make a career out of Biglaw, it’s important to stay happy, healthy, and optimistic.

Speaking of optimism, it’s important to have a positive outlook, even when you might have to work around the clock on a big case. So what can you do to make sure you keep your head above water, and still manage to be on top of your game at work?

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