How Long to Budget for a New Job? & What 3 Things Everyone Should (Whether Actively Seeking a Job or Not)

Lawyers often ask me how long they should budget to get a new job in-house. The Department of Labor estimates the average job search is 4.6 months. The fastest for lawyers, if you are hitting the market at the right time (hiring peaks spring and fall), are at the right level (3-8 years), in the right space (transactional ideally), and have the right skills for the market (technology, life sciences) without weird things that would take a lot of explaining, would be 4-6 weeks. But if you are missing any of the above factors, then it can indeed take months.

Luck and timing are significant factors, so I do recommend lawyers always do the following even if they are not actively looking:

1. Identify their top few companies they would work for and jobs they’d love to do.
2. Network with those companies and jobs in mind. Follow those employers and hot issues in your space so when you meet relevant people, you can speak knowledgeably and then keep in touch. Cultivate good relationships with insiders and recruiters. Hopefully when a job opens, they will reach out to you directly.
3. Always have a resume handy. I’ve seen good candidates miss out on small windows of employer interest when the candidates are scrambling to pull together a resume.