Get Ahead of a Recession!

The American Lawyer recently reported that demand for legal services in 2018 set records, but that a “reckoning” may await us. Indeed, a majority of economists polled by the Wall Street Journal foresee a recession by 2020, and CFOs polled by Duke’s business school believe it’ll come even sooner.

We lawyers are trained to mitigate risk. Now do it for yourself! Take stock of your current situation, and ask yourself:

• What is your employer’s revenue now, and what do forecasts look like?
• Are your company’s offerings strong? Will people continue to pay for them in a downturn?
• Is senior management contemplating all scenarios, including taking steps to protect against a downturn?
• Can your manager protect you? What is his or her track record?
• Do your clients need you? Will they vouch for you?

Think hard on these factors, and if you’re feeling doubtful on any, position yourself better:

•  Assess which of your skills the market most and least values. You can get a snapshot of what the hot jobs are through job search engines (Indeed.com, LinkedIn).
• Network to find out what kind of pay is standard for these skills. Strengthen the skills that the market appreciates.
• Follow companies that have a need for them. Connect with people there now, and have them understand your expertise (e.g., through talks you give, papers you write, etc.). That way you are top of mind if a job opens up there.
• Build out a robust network now before you need to call in any favors. Share information and help people so when you need them to walk in your resume to a hiring manager in the future, they will be happy to do so.