4 Lessons I Learned Changing Jobs In A Pandemic

Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts on motherhood in the legal profession, in partnership with our friends at MothersEsquire. Welcome Laura Chipman back to our pages. Click here if you’d like to donate to MothersEsquire.

In the past year, I quit a job I loved to take on a new challenge in a new in-house role. It was a huge decision, with many twists and turns, and a lot to learn along the way. But the lessons from my job search have informed the way I approach my work in this new chapter. And they’ve helped me guide other women lawyers through the process to search and learn, share a vision, advocate for themselves, and ultimately choose the next best step.

In Job Searching, Gather Information — About Them And About Yourself

Job searching has never been just about applying to open postings. Even before the pandemic, we knew that our network could help us create, uncover, or maximize opportunities. Two years in, our digitally engaged virtual network is even more powerful. Zoom calls with strangers are no longer strange. Talking about compensation, titles, and firm or department structure is more open.  Recruiters find us more easily. There’s a wealth of information available more readily than ever before.

Your search might include different forms of information gathering through interviews, recruiter conversations, applying to postings, interviewing prospective customers/clients about their needs, or making offers of your own.

The key is to gather information not just externally, but also internally. Learn as much as you can about opportunities, people, and work that interest you. In parallel, learn even more about yourself. Notice how you feel in your research or conversation. What is lighting you up? When do you lose track of time? What feels most exciting? What is disappointing or dull? What surprises you? Your reactions to that external information provide important feedback to guide your next steps.  Those are the clues to follow in job searching and ongoing professional development.

In Your Application, Share A Vision Supported By Experience

Your application, including your resume and early interview experiences, should never just rattle off your past experience. A more effective approach is to share your vision for what you will create and accomplish in the role you desire. Use words that tie to your personal values, your strengths, and the way you like to work. Tell a story about the experience of working with you and the results you will create.

In turn, use your experience to support that vision. Offer thoughtfully curated evidence from your past experience in your resume. Share selected stories in your interviews that illustrate what you’re all about.

Don’t just list what you have done — persuade them of what you will do, using truthful and authentic information. You may find it’s helpful to customize a resume or storytelling to the specific job. But don’t be tempted to get off track.  You want to be honest with them — and yourself — about what you really want and are capable of. If you’re telling the truth and using words that inspire and motivate you, but you think it might be a miss with them, consider whether you would be happy and successful in that organization in the long run.

In Negotiations, Know What You Want (And Ask For It)

In this stage, some lawyers worry about asking for too much, or appearing weak if they ask for too little, or they obsessively compare with the market. Again, external information is important, but so is internal information.

Knowing what you want is about setting yourself up for success. If it feels overwhelming to declare what you want, try asking yourself, “What do I need to be successful in this role?” Examine your experiences with compensation, recognition, collaboration, supervision, training, vacation, benefits — all of the elements that help you feel rewarded and supported at work. Will you have everything you need to be successful?

If there’s something missing from the offer, you might be more willing to ask for it from that refreshed perspective.

In Considering An Offer, You Are Allowed To Say No.    

Throughout the interview process, you are still gathering information — about them and about yourself. Lawyers are often competitive and people-pleasers, so it’s tempting to want to win. We want to win them over. We want to win the negotiation for the offer. But there’s a simple truth that just because we receive an offer doesn’t mean we have to say yes. We still have a choice. We always have a choice.

Despite the hype about the Great Resignation, and the undeniable value in reassessing our professional situations, many lawyers are finding plenty of reasons to stay right where they are. They’re choosing to stay to spend their capital, to deepen their expertise, to try on a new skill, to invest in relationships, to build or improve a process they care about, to make more money, or to rest and recover. These are all valid reasons to stay or go.

There’s probably no perfect job, and there’s never a perfect decision. But there are lots of good ones. If you’re undertaking a job search this season, I hope you will set out to learn as much as you can and trust yourself to make a great decision based on the information you gather.

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Laura Chipman is a marketing & privacy attorney and life coach for lawyers.  As a coach, she helps women lawyers live and practice intentionally.  As a lawyer, she takes pride in empowering her clients with practical and creative solutions to legal challenges.  Laura is also a mom to two boys and lives with her family in a 200-year-old farmhouse in rural North Carolina.  You can find more about her story at her website www.essentiallychip.com and chat with her on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraschipman.