With the economy being what it is these days, more and more lawyers and law firms are feeling the pinch. Business in many segments has simply dried up. This may mean seeking a new position or career somewhere else, or it may mean you’ll need to pick up some additional income. Here are three of the easier ways to accomplish this:
1. Freelance legal work. If you’ve just been laid off from your big firm, or if you have a lot of extra time on your hands, and you do not want to make an actual career change, try doing freelance legal work. You can get in touch with the contract legal staffing or legal temp agencies and get on the list for document review or other short term assignments. You can also contact law firms that do not provide services in your practice area and work out a split for business that they can refer to you. You can also approach law firms to take on some of their over flow work.
2. Freelance writing. There are all kinds of journals, papers and magazines that could use a fresh legal perspective – your legal knowledge could earn you money, without having to do any actual legal work. Write up some query letters and send them off to as many editors as you can find. Publications like Writers Digest and Editor & Publisher will have names of companies. You can also do a Google search for publications. Lawyers doing freelance writing work can command a high per-word fee.
3. Consulting work. This is one of the easiest moves for a lawyer to make. There are lots of businesses, both large and small, that are in need of legal consultants. This work can often be rewarding, and is a fantastic way to break up the monotony of day-to-day legal work. As an added bonus, contracted consultants usually are able to charge significantly more per hour than their salaried counterparts. The hardest part of making this kind of career change is finding the actual consulting gigs, so having above average networking skills are important.
Are you ready to switch industries? Have you reworked your cover letter and created an effective career change resume? With the economy being what it is these days, many people have been laid off or forced to take dead-end jobs to make ends meet – and now, the job market is more competitive than ever. When you have dozens of people applying for the same position, it can be difficult to land your dream job.
Still, it’s important to remain hopeful and keep trying. Here are some tips that will help you make your big New York career change:
1. If you are not happy with your current situation, don’t be afraid to make a switch. If you’re working as a lawyer, are burned out and don’t have a positive attitude, it may be time to change fields. That doesn’t mean that your J.D. has to go to waste, though: there are all kinds of things you can do with a law degree!
2. Create a career change resume. You will need to completely refocus your old resume to show why you are qualified for a new type of position. You should focus on the skills and experiences that are beneficial to the jobs for which you are applying. If you are seeking a managerial position, talk about how you manage associates and paralegals, not your ligation experience. If you are looking for a PR or corporate communications job, focus on your writing and presentation skills, not your knowledge of civil procedure or regulatory statutes. If your plans include working for a nonprofit, make sure you include any volunteer work that you have done.
3. Don’t get discouraged. Making a career change isn’t easy; in fact, it can be harder in the metro New York region than it is in many other places. The key is to not give up. If you didn’t get hired after nailing an interview, keep applying and going out on other interviews. Also, tweak your career change resume and cover letter until you find the right formula that hiring managers get excited about.
In a recent survey conducted by Monster.com, 90 percent of job seekers said that they would consider a career change – and 49 percent said that they were actively seeking to change industries. Looking to make a move of your own, but aren’t sure if a career change is right for you? Below is a list of the top four reasons most people consider a career change::
1. To secure employment and a source of income. With the job market being so competitive these days, more and more people change industries just to keep some sort of income flowing in. If given the choice between waiting for a job in your own industry for an indefinite period of time or taking a lower level position like a contract legal temp job just to pay the bills, many people choose the latter.
2. To move up the ladder. Because so many companies and law firms are cutting jobs, fewer positions are available to enable employees to move people up the ladder. As a result, some are opting to make a career change instead of wallowing forever in stagnant law firm and corporate waters.
3. There’s too much competition. Sure, you might have spent the last 15 years doing real estate law, but if there aren’t any real estate law jobs in your area, what are you going to do? Some choose to go back to get an LL.M or MBA to enhance their competitive edge, while others opt to move into different practice areas; taking the proper CLE courses can provide the basic knowledge, which can be supplemented by independent reading and study.
4. To become happier. This is the big one. Sometimes, a career choice turns out to be a nightmare. When you are just not happy with your current position at all, it’s not likely that a change in employer will make you happier. We have seen people move to “lifestyle” law firms only to find out that they still need to put in 2000 hours or more. If you are a litigator but hate the constantly adversarial nature of your work, a change in law firms won’t make a fundamental difference in your happiness. Oftentimes, the best thing to do is make a bold career change move. It might be challenging at first, but if it makes you happier for the rest of your working days, it will be worth it. You can enjoy your job and be well compensated all at the same time!
In a recent survey conducted by Monster.com, 90 percent of job seekers said that they would consider a career change – and 49 percent said that they were actively seeking to change industries. Looking to make a move of your own, but aren’t sure if a career change is right for you? Below is a list of the top four reasons most people consider a career change:
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