Career Center, Career Files, Lawyers

The Surprise Opportunity of This Moment

If you are unhappy and unfulfilled practicing law, now may actually be a great time to begin the process of determining what fits you. 

By Marc Luber  
on

Let’s face it. Law practice isn’t for everyone. 

But even if you wanted to make a change, with the current economic uncertainty, it might feel like now’s the time to hunker down and try to weather the storm. 

What’s surprising is that if you are unhappy and unfulfilled practicing law, now is actually a great time to begin the process of determining what fits you. 

While you may be discouraged by the pandemic’s still-developing impact on the job market, the reality is that finding the right fit takes time. 

If you approach the transition properly, you actually won’t be on the job market for a while. 

You’ll instead be doing a good deal of self-reflection followed by exploratory networking meetings. 

Since you’re likely working from home and not having to burn time commuting, you can take advantage of this socially-distanced era to check in with yourself.

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You can use this time to think about all of the things you have to offer the world, how you want to help the world and how you’ll communicate that to others.

You can then make use of tools like Zoom to meet with people who do work that interests you and are similarly working from home. 

They may even be excited to chat with you. Think about it – you might be serving as an escape from their feelings of isolation…or their family! 

Combining your self-reflection with those meetings can help you find your sense of direction and determine what career(s) fit you. 

Achieving this clarity will not only build the foundation for a successful transition, but will also lift the huge weight of the unknown off your shoulders. 

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You’ll find your old level of excitement return. You’ll have hope again!

After all of that, you can worry about getting hired.

Skipping these steps leaves you at risk of applying for jobs that may not fit you any better than the path you’re currently on, or not even moving forward with finding another path.

So don’t be distracted by whatever is happening with the job market in this moment. Instead, commit to taking action. 

As a legal recruiter in Los Angeles, I typically spoke to anywhere from 10-30 associates per day. 

When I’d call to see how things were going with their current jobs, a surprising number of associates would tell me they hated practicing law and wished they were doing something else (sound familiar?).

Since my clients were looking to hire practicing lawyers, the best I could do for the unfulfilled types was to express empathy, share some advice, and attempt to inspire them to take action. 

Too often, when I’d check in on them a year later, they were still in their same positions, expressing the same frustrations.  

When I’d ask why they hadn’t made a change, their answers ranged from risk-aversion to golden handcuffs, fear of what others will think, lack of information on what’s out there and lack of clarity on what they wanted to do next.

What were they accomplishing by sticking with the status quo?

Sure, their bank accounts were thriving…but they were miserable. Most of them told me they would gladly work for less money so that THEY could be thriving. 

So what was being accomplished, other than delaying the inevitable exploration of a career change?

The loss of valuable time. 

Every day spent in a career that’s dragging you down is a day not being spent in a career you’d find fulfilling.

Add to that the toll prolonged unhappiness can take on your mental health, physical health, and relationships. 

Life is too short to be stuck in a career that doesn’t fit.    

Taking the first step is the hardest. 

For many, the critical, foundation-building first step of self-reflection is too difficult to do alone. 

After all, we often don’t know what we sound, look or act like until an audio or video recording is played back to us. 

Working with someone can help you get a look at yourself that you can’t otherwise see. 

Whether you decide to work with someone or attempt to go it alone, the key is that you do something.  

You can start by checking out the Career Mirror self-assessment link in my author bio (below).

If you’re being honest with yourself and know that the status quo isn’t right for you, take action. Seize the opportunity of this crazy moment in time and take that first step.

Marc Luber, Esq. is the founder of JD Careers Out There. He helps unfulfilled lawyers explore and make career changes from the traditional practice of law. His Career Mirror self-reflection questionnaire helps you begin the process of determining what type of work fits you best.

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