Ways To Prepare For And Tackle Your Next General Counsel Job Search

// Technology in the handsAs an experienced general counsel, you’ve worked your way up the legal department ladder, advancing your responsibilities and oversight across the past five to 10 years (or longer) at your current company. With a hot legal market reminding you there’s no time like the present to explore a new growth opportunity, you begin putting your feelers out there for that next general counsel job search.

Suddenly, you find yourself spinning your wheels. You’re sending out your resume in response to job postings, but you’re not getting traction like you used to. To your shock and dismay, you simply hear crickets. You log into your LinkedIn profile and you’re not quite sure how to set yourself apart from the thousands of other general counsels on the platform.

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You quickly realize that the old ways of job searching are like trying to use the infamous Zack Morris brick phone from “Saved by the Bell” to dial out a call in 2022. Just as that phone from 1990 won’t work, you can’t job search the same way you did a decade ago with that outdated resume template you’ve been using since you graduated law school in 1995.

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Update Your Resume And LinkedIn Profile First

When it comes to tackling the general counsel job search or general counsel interview process, you must come in fully prepared with a resume that strategically markets you and your value, a LinkedIn profile that showcases your personal brand, and a job search strategy that emphasizes networking, outreach, and following up after sending off your resume.

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Today’s job search is like a pie: one-third is your resume, one-third is your LinkedIn, and the other third is your job search and networking strategy. You need all three components to be successful as a job seeker in the digital age.

As an experienced general counsel, your resume will be two to three pages in length (with the third page functioning as an addendum to include major speaking events, publications, board leadership, and ancillary items). The meat and potatoes of your resume will be on the first and second page. It will include a branding statement at the top, a professional summary with a roadmap into your highlights and leadership value, and an experience section that includes an overview of your leadership progression at the respective companies and accomplishments or contributions in major competency areas (governance, compliance, litigation, etc.). You’ll also need a modern font such as Calibri with headers that are centered to help guide the reader’s eyes through the page.

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Your LinkedIn profile will not be a dump of your resume contents; however, it will match up to the job titles and corresponding dates. You’ll want to create a powerful headline that’s keyword optimized and a first-person LinkedIn summary that showcases your career story. Other sections you won’t want to overlook: a professional headshot, cover photo, skills, certifications, and volunteer work.

Research The Company Before Applying

Once you’ve updated your legal resume and LinkedIn profile, you’ll want to perform as much due diligence and research prior to applying for a role that you see advertised on LinkedIn or goinhouse.com. The good news is that you have access to more company information than ever before to strategically approach the general counsel job search and subsequent general counsel interview process. Between websites, social media channels, blogs, and media insights, it’s easier than ever to learn all you need to know ahead of applying and meeting with company executives.

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As a first step, gather as much business and financial data as you can about the company, on and off the website — including earnings releases, quarterly earnings, financial news, annual reports, SEC filings, stock info, ESG insights, and replays of analyst meetings. If it’s a private company, you’ll still want to perform a deep-dive search on Google to find out as much information as you can.

Next, investigate the corporate governance structure, board members, and other pertinent leadership information. Make note of those individuals. You’ll want to research them for two reasons: they’re your target persons of interest for outreach and important conversations (especially for a subsequent general counsel interview).

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Head over to the company’s LinkedIn page. Click on “employees” and pay close attention to the C-suite team and other members of the legal department. Make a note of anything you see that you have in common (same law school, both started out at Am Law 100 firms, from the same hometown, etc.). These will help make for good icebreakers when you perform outreach. Look into how long the prior general counsel was there for, when the members of the legal team joined, and get an idea of how long the legal department has been on a hiring trend versus a consistency trend.

There’s much to be discovered just between the website details and LinkedIn query searches — unlike 10 years ago where you had to wait until an interview to ask about the internal growth patterns of the company, you now have everything you need to know at your fingertips.

Last, pay attention to any “news” about the company — look to see what initiatives the company and its leaders are passionate about, what the company posts on social media, and whether the members of the leadership team play an active role in sharing what the company is doing. Remember, you want to know as much as you can about the company’s mission, values, and culture before you decide you want to work there.

Prepare For Your Outreach

Once you have all the data you need on the company and its leadership team, it’s time to prepare your outreach and make a list of questions you’ll want to ask at the informational meeting or subsequent general counsel interview. The job posting will tell you precisely what areas of competency to focus on. I recommend creating an outline that has two columns: column A will have the main areas of competency from the job posting, and column B will be where you list examples of solutions you’ve brought in your current and prior general counsel roles in those competency areas.

Remember, as a general counsel, you find creative solutions to complex problems, establish new infrastructures, and keep the business engine oiled and moving. Be prepared to ask about the current problems the company is facing, how you would tackle those problems, and how you would advance the company’s goals or objectives.

Hopefully with these tips, you’re now better prepared to tackle your next general counsel job search.

Wendi Weiner is an attorney, career expert, and founder of The Writing Guru, an award-winning executive resume writing services company. Wendi creates powerful career and personal brands for attorneys, executives, and C-suite/Board leaders for their job search and digital footprint. She also writes for major publications about alternative careers for lawyers, personal branding, LinkedIn storytelling, career strategy, and the job search process. You can reach her by email at [email protected], connect with her on LinkedIn, and follow her on Twitter @thewritingguru.  

Topics

Career Coaching, General Counsel, In-House Counsel, Wendi Weiner


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Originally posted on: https://abovethelaw.com/2022/04/ways-to-prepare-for-and-tackle-your-next-general-counsel-job-search/