A key to success in marketing is to have a clear brand strategy — to create an understanding in the marketplace about how your product is different from, and a better value than, another similar product. Without a clear brand strategy, you will not be successful in the marketplace. This holds just as true for job seekers as it does for consumer product marketers.
Back the day, when General Motors was the leading car company not only in America, but in the world, each product line had a unique brand strategy. Chevrolet was the budget model. Pontiac was the fun, sporty model. Oldsmobile was the conservative model for our parents. Cadillac was for the rich. Over time, GM amalgamated all of its models, and you couldn’t tell a Chevy from a Pontiac or an Olds, and even Cadillac dabbled with less expensive models (remember the Cadillac Cimmaron? It was just a re-badged Chevrolet!). They were all parity products build on the same platforms, with the same look and same engines.
The result? Market confusion and a loss of brand identity. So what happened? GM lost its supremacy in the world market. It is not even America’s #1car maker anymore. Pontiac and Oldsmobile have disappeared. GM simply couldn’t compete against the other car makers whose products were easier to define and whose value was more apparent. The same concept holds true for attorney job seekers. How is an employer supposed to tell the difference between legal job applicants who have the same experience in the same practice areas? They can’t. This makes it much tougher for an attorney to prevail against the competition in the job market.
I have spoken with literally 20,000 attorneys over the last 20 years. That’s about 20 per week, week-in and week-out. They all claim to have the same core skills. What are you good at? Write down 5 or 6 things on a sheet of paper, then come back to this blog article. (roll theme music from “Jeopardy) … OK, ready? Here’s what many of you will have said are your core talents:
1. research
2. writing
3. analyzing
4. problem-solving
5. advising
6. learning new things quickly
7. negotiating
If this is the best you can come up with, you need to do better. There is hardly a lawyer out there who cannot say that they lack any of the talents listed above. You can’t triumph against your competitors if you are making the same claims as they are.
I am not saying that these are not valuable skills. But you need to offer more. A Chevy and a BMW both have four tires and a steering wheel, and both will get you to work in the morning — but which would you rather drive? If you think you are a BMW-level attorney, are you positioning yourself in the market as a Chevy? If so, start doing some serious thinking about your brand strategy so you can gain a competitive edge in the hunt for a new job.
So, you’ve done the hard part already. You worked your tail off through law school, managed to pass the bar and are ready for the next step: applying for as many attorney jobs as you can find. But is there more to life after a law degree than just being a lawyer? What if you’ve recently discovered that maybe you’re not interested in using your law degree to actually land one of the attorney jobs you’ve been applying for? What then?
To start, don’t freak out. A lot of people who have law degrees have made an attorney career change, and you can, too! If you spend enough time working on your career planning goals, almost anything is possible. Below are three alternatives to the standard attorney jobs:
1. Become a consultant. In this economy, lots of businesses are looking for ways to save cash wherever they can. For some, this translates to outsourcing their staff attorney positions to freelance consultants. As a legal consultant, you can use your law degree to give great advice, without having to step foot in a courtroom.
2. Take up freelance writing. You know all of those briefs you wrote in law school? It could be time to put your writing skills to the test and apply for some freelance writing work. There are a variety of websites online that you can use to get started, and you’ll be able to work on your own schedule (and from the comfort of your own home…in your pajamas!). This kind of career planning move could be just what you’re looking for, and is quite lucrative over time.
3. Change your legal specialty. If you haven’t been impressed with the attorney jobs from legal placement services that you’ve some across so far, maybe you should broaden your search to include attorney jobs that are outside of your specialty. Sometimes, a little change is all you need!
For a lawyer, taking the leap and making a career change can be a scary proposition. If you stop practicing law, are you throwing away all of your years of experience (and hard work!) and all of that training in law school? Is it ludicrous for an attorney to want to make a career change? The answer to both questions is not necessarily. There are all kinds of ways that you can leverage your education and work experience to land a job that is fulfilling and pays the bills. Here are a few steps on how to navigate such a career move:
1. Talk to employers about your overall experience. Did you write a compelling, persuasive brief? Did you negotiate a big deal? Did you manage a team of paralegals or other attorneys? Did you use your creative problem solving skills to produce results for your clients? Lawyers tend to think in terms of their practice areas. This kind of thinking short-sells their abilities. Your knowledge of your practice area can be obtained through studying. Your abilities to manage projects, supervise others, write effectively, analyze issues and negotiate deals are inherent talents upon which you can base a career change.
2. Consider becoming a consultant. Becoming a consultant is one of the easier way of making a career change. You can even start out on a freelance or ad hoc basis to gain some non-lawyer experience, all while keeping your regular job. This is a great way to test the waters and see what kind of positions are out there. It is also a way for potential employers to see the value you can bring to them. A recent “graduate” of our program wanted to transition into the computer industry. He offered to take on some non-legal projects for a technology company, and did the work on nights and weekends. They were so pleased with the results that they hired him full-time as Director of Special Projects. FYI — set your fees high – companies are much more willing to pay contractors a higher per-hour rate than hire somebody full time, so you should take advantage.
3. Expand your practice areas. Sometimes making a career change is more about getting away from a particular segment of law. One of our clients, a solo with a general practice, was very interested in financial planning. He took some courses and began studying for his CFP (Certified Financial Planner) designation. After a time, he was able to add financial planning to his practice. This new area involves making presentations before investors, typically in small groups, and this satisfied our client’s love of public speaking. Eventually, he was doing more financial planning for clients than he was lawyering! Expanding your practice area involves the excitement of learning new disciplines, and can also be a great additional revenue stream!
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