Change

How to Change Industries or Practice Areas

  • On November 1, 2015
Take advantage of the hot labor market to switch industries or practice areas now! When faced with a shortage, employers are more willing to consider candidates looking to transition, provided their value is clear. Tips on how to pitch a transition:  Get the necessary skills before applying. Volunteer if necessary, and pass any tests (USPTO, CIPP, etc.). Make […]
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Interview

How to Interview with the CEO

  • On November 1, 2015
Senior attorneys often interview with the CEO in the final round. This article by the CEO of Russell Reynolds lays out what to do.  Identify what the CEO should learn about you. The CEO can’t read your mind, and you need to tell your story to buttress why should you get the job. Prepare to be asked about who has […]
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Job Search

Time is of the Essence to Avoid Holiday Slowdown

  • On October 18, 2015
It’s mid-October, but I am already concerned that slow-moving job seekers will get stuck in the Thanksgiving and Christmas slowdown if resumes are not in the hiring managers’ hands this week! Let’s do the math: hiring managers take 2 weeks to pick their top 5-7 candidates. So at the end of October, they might start […]
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Networking

What if You Hate Networking? 

  • On October 11, 2015
Networking is essential for your career, but what if you hate networking? Here’s a great article listing ways to be authentic yet effective: Prepare. Find out who is attending an event so you are not surprised. At a minimum, when you check in, look at the table containing name tags of attendees. Prepare some ice breaking topics or […]
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Networking

How to Network and Ask for Professional Advice (Including Mine) 

  • On October 4, 2015
Are you networking in a helpful or annoying way when you seek professional advice? I love this recent NYT article “How Not to Be a Networking Leech,” written by a management consultant and career advisor. Like me, she receives numerous requests from strangers asking for free advice and introductions. Her top tips on how NOT […]
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Networking

Top 5 Networking Tips from the Masters!

  • On September 27, 2015
I just spoke on a panel with Allen Lo (DGC at Google), Ines Gonzalez (Director at LinkedIn), and Suchitra Narayen (AGC/VP at Oracle) on effective networking to advance your career. The top 5 tips: Network with people live, not just online. Personal relationships are built over time. When you network with people, be authentic, find […]
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Job Search

Managers Reveal What NOT to Do in a Job Search

  • On September 20, 2015
I recently spoke on a career panel hosted by Women in Technology and the Women’s IP Lawyers Association. My fellow panelists were hiring managers from technology companies. Although they came from different departments (Legal, Engineering, HR), and their companies ranged from pre-IPO to public and global, their advice to job seekers on what not to do remained consistent: Don’t have […]
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Career Management

Top 5 Things to Do Now for Your Career

  • On September 13, 2015
The top 5 things you need to do while the market is still hot: Build a professional presence on LinkedIn. Your profile needs to succinctly describe your skill set and include a professional-looking picture. Increase your connections so you have higher odds of knowing someone at a potential employer. Self-assess. What sets you apart from […]
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Career Tips

How’s the Legal Job Market Doing?

  • On September 7, 2015
As the stock market can’t decide what to do, you may be worried about the legal job market. How’s it doing? It’s still strong. Legal job hiring usually lags the economy and tech market; so, you won’t be surprised by an inevitable slowdown in the legal market. For example, after both the dotcom bust and […]
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Interview, Presentation

The Most Critical Part of Presentation

  • On August 30, 2015
You may think the most critical part of presenting yourself professionally is dressing the part or speaking with confidence. While all that is helpful, telling a clear story about yourself is most important. For example, in an interview context, do you explain why you are interested and how your past naturally leads you to this point? Or is your story a complicated […]
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