As an attorney or paralegal working with a legal recruiter to change jobs, it is essential that you are transparent with your recruiter at all stages of the process. Remember that the recruiter is acting on your behalf, and thus should always be armed with all of the relevant information to effectively assist with your search and placement process.
To that end, there are 6 THINGS you should ALWAYS tell your recruiter as soon as you begin working together:
1. Specific Reasons For Your Desired Move
Recruiters need to know the aspects of your current position that you like and, more importantly, what you do not like (i.e., what is your pain). For example, you may love working with your clients but not like the pressure to bring in business or perhaps you do not like the ratio of partners to associates. To that end, if there are particular aspects of your current role that you want to avoid in your next position, you must tell your recruiter so that they present you with the appropriate roles.
2. Places You Already Have Been Submitted or Interviewed
Employers do not like double submissions (i.e., when you are submitted multiple times through different sources for the same position.) If they see your resume from more than one source it can reflect badly on you, making you seem disorganized and not in control of your job search process. For that reason, it is always best to disclose to your recruiter any and all firms/companies you have already approached or interviewed with.
3. Prior Positions
You should always tell your recruiter about all of your prior positions (post-college), even those that you had for a short period of time. To that end, you also should not omit any positions on your resume. If a recruiter or a prospective employer becomes aware of a job that you did not disclose on your resume, it could appear that you are being misleading – and a prospective employer may be concerned that there are other omissions that they did not discover.
4. Compensation Expectations
It is helpful to tell your recruiter if you won’t move unless you make a certain salary. While recruiters and prospective employers in some states, including Illinois, can no longer ask about your current compensation, it is important to let your recruiter know if you have a target salary range for a particular position, or a compensation level which you must meet to make a move. There is no need to waste your or a prospective employer’s time if their stated salary range for a position is below what you will consider.
5. Target Locations
Let your recruiter know if there are specific locations where you want to be employed or others you would be willing to relocate to or perhaps commute. Of course, if there are locations that you would never consider you should disclose that to your recruiter as well.
6. Desired Timing to Make a Move
Armed with the timing that works best for you, your recruiter is better able to make sure that the opportunities raised are suitable and that your process moves at an appropriate pace. To that end, a recruiter can often interface with a prospective employer to help to control the timing of the interview process – including speeding it up if needed.
Bottom line: Be transparent with your recruiter! By sharing the above information, your recruiter will be better able to suggest pertinent positions and facilitate the job search and interview process toward your ultimate goal — to find and secure your target position!
McCormack Schreiber Legal Search is Chicago’s premier attorney search firm. Since 1998, we have been placing experienced attorneys of all levels in a full range of exciting law firm and in-house positions. We are committed to providing the highest level of service and results, and we welcome you to contact us in confidence at info@thelawrecruiters.com.
