Social Media
Everyone is jumping on board the social networking bandwagon – should you as a lawyer be doing the same? Legal recruitment today is not all about advertising in the legal press and hoping for a C.V. to be posted in the snail mail!
Recruitment, in the now, is all about using all means possible and this includes maximising the services and tools available in the digital space, particularly when I’m recruiting for clients in the media, telecoms, or IT sectors.
As a recruiter, I proactively seek out candidates and clients from LinkedIn and use Twitter, our website www.ejlegal.co.uk and online publications such as Legal Week.com and The Lawyer.com to attract top tier candidates.
Social media allows for easier and faster delivery of recruitment and can assist recruitment by gaining referrals from clients, candidates as well as friends. The major law firms, as well as some of the smaller outfits and companies alike, have some presence online and use it to various degrees to search for their new talent.
As a legal job seeker you should definitely be taking advantage of all this information being streamed, posted or tweeted daily!
You might just find that perfect job!
What can you do to raise your profile in social media and how to be smart doing so?
LinkedIn is the main player for lawyers when you are job hunting or wanting to passively keep an eye on the job market.
A few brief tips for when you sign up:
The key thing is to have your profile open or public; and
Have a profile that is 100% complete!
LinkedIn walks you through step by step on completing your profile.
List your most recent legal roles and include the dates and definitely fill in the summary section. This is great for highlighting your experience and also an opportunity to put a few lines about what you’re looking for (especially if you’re actively job hunting).
Add key skills and expertise so you appear in key word searches.
Have a professional photograph on your profile – not one taken down the local watering hole with a drink in your hand (you’d be surprised!).
Ensure you check the option in ‘Settings’ that shows on your profile that you are open to hearing about new opportunities.
Follow relevant companies and forums, such as The Law Lounge or The In-House Lawyer, where you will find plenty of insightful information relevant to you. It’s a great way to check salary levels and find out what advantages an in-house move can be or how you will benefit by a jump to a new firm.
Lastly, connect with colleagues, friends and clients to widen the scope of your network.
It really is the ultimate networking site!
Extra Reading: The Complete Guide to Linkedin for Lawyers & Law Job Seekers
Have a twitter account but be careful if you are using it for dual purposes (for both work and personal). You do not want to post views or a comment that reflects negatively on the company or law firm you work for.
It is all about raising your profile.
Tweet about legal updates relevant to your specialism and industry – it’s a great way of finding new clients!
Keep your account active by tweeting at least several times a week if you can.
Follow relevant people for whom you want your audience to be, a good start are your current clients and competitors!
Follow back wherever possible and appropriate – it’s good Twitter etiquette.
Interact and build relationships with your followers by clicking to ‘favourite’ a tweet, re-tweeting or replying.
Search for legal recruiters online and follow them.
Reply when you see a role that is of interest or re-tweet it to one of your friends.
Search and follow companies or firms of interest to get all the latest updates on recruiting, business ventures and clients.
The more you interact the more advantages you will get from Twitter.
Facebook is a less commonly used channel when it comes to looking for a job. But think about it, how many people do you know that have a Facebook account? Facebook is where we all so commonly share our daily activities, thoughts and photos.
However, I’d strongly recommend that you keep your profile as private as possible, particularly as a job seeker when you’re actively submitting applications. It is not uncommon for a prospective employer to run a search on Facebook - you have been warned!
A way to gain access to information is by posting links onto friends’ walls and also ‘liking’ companies that are of interest to you and also for following recruitment agencies or legal groups online, such as The Law Lounge.
You can manage your newsfeed so you can see all posts from companies as well as recruitment agencies you have ‘liked’. This is perfect for seeing updates and new innovations that are coming out as well as job postings.
I think you will continue to see an increase in the use of Facebook for recruitment and job advertisement over the next year or two. Watch this space!
Jump on the bandwagon!
Whether you are an NQ or a Partner, if you’re not on these networks then you might just be missing out on being one of the first to hear about exciting new career opportunities in the in-house or private practice legal market. You will gain insight on internal moves, promotions and get information about companies to watch. Sign up and get on board and see if it can help you with that next career move.
