5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Wait For Your Bonus To Keep Looking
Instead, you can leave like a boss… on your own terms.
It’s almost the end of the year, you’re barely holding on, but a $25,000 bonus looms on the horizon. You should delay your lateral search and collect your bonus, right? Absolutely not; now is the best time to initiate a lateral search, especially if you are unhappy with your firm. That yearly windfall may make you temporarily complacent, but here’s why you should not leave your lateral search until after you collect your bonus.
1) All of your colleagues are already looking. Yes, every time you knock on their door and your hear them say, “I’m gonna have to call you back,” or, “Let me circle back up with you later,” they were on the phone with a recruiter (probably me) discussing your dream job. By the time you start ramping up your search, they could be finishing their callback. Stay ahead of your peers by prepping as soon as possible for a lateral move.
2) If you feel that you are ready to explore other opportunities, your bonus should not change your mind. No matter how large that number is, it should not sway a decision you have been thinking about for a long time. In the long run, a better fitting firm will pay dividends in multiples of any potentially lost bonus.
3) Take a look at these numbers: The conventional wisdom is that associates don’t move until they get their bonuses, and then positions open up. While this is true to a degree, the numbers don’t lie. Here, we can see that firms are continually opening positions based on needs, and the “bonus musical chairs” may not affect firm hiring as much as we all think. More positions were opened in January and February than were opened in April-May. The numbers show that demand is relatively stable throughout the year, contrary to conventional wisdom.
4) On average, it takes about two to three months from search to hire for an associate lateral. However, it can take up to six months for more difficult searches. You don’t want to be stuck in a miserable job for an entire year longer. The end of the year was time to take stock of your career, but if you didn’t do that while you were home with friends and family complaining about your job, it’s not too late. By the time you finally summon the will to respond to my email, you may be sitting at your desk, ordering on Postmates thinking, “If I can only make it till my bonus in 2020.” This may seem like it’s not that far away, but by that time, you could have easily integrated yourself into a new firm or in-house position.
5) You’ll get to leave like a boss… on your own terms. What’s better than pocketing a five-figure bonus check and dropping the mic briefcase on the way out. If you plan properly, you can ensure that there is little lag time between receiving your bonus and starting at your new firm. Or if you feel a little burned out, ask your new firm for a few weeks off before you start and spend the bonus on a trip to Australia, or the next Fyre Festival if you feel like you have cash to burn. They are usually pretty accommodating about lateral start dates.
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 a Principal based in California where he focuses on moving partners and associates into prominent positions with elite firms and companies throughout the U.S., with a focus on the California and New York markets. Matt has a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and was a corporate associate at both Kirkland & Ellis and Mayer Brown in NYC. Matt has also toured as a comedian, and wrote and produced a few hit TV shows…now he’s trying to help lawyers find their dream jobs! I guess you could say he’s not your typical recruiter.
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.
