Matt Ritter
Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts from Lateral Link’s team of expert contributors. Matt Ritter is Director of Legal Recruiting focusing on law firm and in-house placements in California and New York. He went to Penn Law (’05), worked at Mayer Brown and Kirkland as a corporate associate, then toured as a comedian, wrote and produced a few hit TV shows…and is now trying to help lawyers find their dream jobs! You could say he’s not your typical recruiter. He can be reached at [email protected] or 917-576-0049.
It’s a common refrain recruiters hear from candidates who think that all things being equal, they may as well just have their friend submit them. After all, that friend might even get a referral bonus. Who doesn’t want to hook their friends up with free money, right?
Unfortunately, this isn’t giving your friend $50 for referring you to Equinox. This is your career. Your entire future in law is dependent on the choices you make in shaping your career. So why is it a bad idea to be introduced through an associate friend?
For starters, good recruiters don’t just recruit for one opportunity, we focus on finding you the best of all of the available opportunities out there.
Frequently, the right fit is far removed from the initial thoughts.
But don’t recruiters only care about their own compensation? Not quite. Good recruiters want to find the best match for both the candidate and firm and we know that not all firms are right for certain candidates and vice versa. Good recruiters actually tell candidates not to take opportunities and therefore pass up their own financial gain all the time. Good recruiters are not in it for the short term, and care about their reputations. We know that it benefits us to give our candidates the best advice, even if that means turning down an offer and foregoing our fee. We also tell them to apply directly when that’s the best method in a certain circumstance. Is that true? Absolutely. A satisfied candidate will work with us for the rest of his or her career and potentially give us many referrals. It’s not worth steering them into a decision unless we think it’s the best one for his career. We are your number one advocate. Ask yourself: is that really what you consider your law school buddy?
Your friend also may not be the superstar at the firm he or she claims to be. Does he or she truly have any idea how you are viewed by partners or HR at your firm… of course not. Why would you take it on faith when your career is on the line? Even if he or she is an outstanding lawyer, and they very well may be, how do you know his or her opinions are so valued that the firm would look to them and respect their opinion on a critical decision like hiring (especially if they are a junior associate)? The fact is, one cannot know that.
Here is just a quick list of other questions to help guide your decision:
Will your friend spend hours helping to revise and/or tailor your resume to a number of different openings?
Will your friend spend hours doing interview prep?
Will your friend weigh multiple job offers in an unbiased way and lay out all the pros and cons?
Will your friend tell you to stay put if that’s in your best interest?
Does your friend have decades of market research, insider intel from an entire team of trained professionals who have worked with hundreds of similarly situated candidates?
Can your friend negotiate salary? Signing bonus? Placement bonus? Relocation? Special circumstances? Extra time before start date? Flex time?
Starting to get the picture?
For these and so many other reasons, you should not be relying on your friend to help you submit to a firm. So next time your friend tells you they can get a referral bonus, tell them you will take them up that next time you join a gym.
Lateral Link is one of the top-rated international legal recruiting firms. With over 14 offices world-wide, Lateral Link specializes in placing attorneys at the most prestigious law firms and companies in the world. Managed by former practicing attorneys from top law schools, Lateral Link has a tradition of hiring lawyers to execute the lateral leaps of practicing attorneys. Click ::here:: to find out more about us.