Named by the ABA Journal as one of the “most compelling” and top blogs for legal professionals.
Career and life game changing information delivered personally to you.
I’ve been searching for 6 months to hire a lawyer, but haven’t found anyone yet. Is this length of time normal in today’s market? What am I doing wrong?
The state of a legal market carries with it different characteristics. When things are slow, employers possess greater leverage in the hiring process. In this situation, employers have a wider and deeper candidate pool from which to choose-and candidates have fewer opportunities to consider. Employers can drive a harder bargain when it comes to compensation and titles, which keeps these matters at bay. So filling an open legal slot can move at a good clip.
By contrast, an active market swings the pendulum – which often results in a “buyer’s market”. In this dynamic, leverage shifts to the candidates. And attorneys seeking new opportunities have a greater selection from which to choose – and from which multiple offers can, and usually do arise. These offers are more heavily negotiated as well, which drives market compensation…and titles up. Slowly, but surely. There also tends to be an increase of bad behavior among candidates during the process (particularly the offer stage), which can sour even the most understanding employer and cause them to pump the brakes. Finally, the hiring process can take longer due to rejected offers and strong market competition.
Today’s legal market is active. This means competition for the best legal talent is fierce. And landing a great candidate takes recruiting savvy…and time. How much time? Is six months too long to go without a successful hire – or is it commonplace?
If the practice area you seek to hire is niche, a six month search cycle is a bit on the long end, but isn’t an outlier. However, if your specifications call for a mainstream practice such as commercial, corporate, litigation, tech transactions, patent etc. the six month mark is too long to be without an “I do” – and there are likely other factors that might be compromising your search. Below are a few common culprits:
Conducting a successful search is not easy. And when the market is hot, challenges increase. But even in a hot market, a six-month process without results is too long – and requires examination into what isn’t working…and why. So peel the onion and determine what needs adjustment, and adjust. And you’ll be on your way to a quicker, easier finish.
Post a job for free! Take advantage of this promotion and advertise your job for 30 days. Use promo code LWJOBS
Receive our newsletter for latest trends, compensation info and secrets to a winning career strategy.
No Comments have been posted.
No Comments