Bare Minimum Action Items for Jan Job Search!

It’s a hot legal market. January is the perfect time to join the fray. Employers have emerged from the holidays ready to hire. Get your resume into their hands now, at the beginning of their search; otherwise, your resume will be relegated to the bottom of the pile, possibly revived only if a top candidate drops out.  

The bare minimum you should do for your resume: 
1. Think through the top three things about yourself that an employer would care about. Then make sure these points jump out (so formatting must be clean and tight). 
2. Include details, especially statistics, to show the successes you’ve achieved for clients. 
3. Tell a story. Can the reader skim your resume to get the gist of your relevant experience? Does your resume make clear why it makes sense for you to join the prospective employer? 

The minimum for your interview: 
1. What you say in your interview should dovetail your resume. Articulate (confidently and simply) the top points about yourself and how you can help the employer right away, with relevant examples. You’ve already identified these points when you tailored your resume for this job, so now work on delivery. 
2. Explain your motivation. Why are you passionate about the space, the job, the company? The employer is wondering if you are good fit and if you’d stay long-term, so allay those fears. 
3. Show how easy it is to work with you. Make the interview a conversation (the onus is on you for the interview to flow). Be interesting – tell short and relevant war stories. 

Pro tip: Get a good introduction from someone in the hiring manager’s network. But to execute on this action item, you need to have been cultivating relationships beforehand (so start doing that now!).