Category Archives: Communication

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November 30, 2011

Workin’ 9 to 5. What a way to make a livin’.

Welcome back to Matinee Wednesday.

This month I reviewed a different movie each Wednesday and I shared a lesson you probably didn’t get the 1st time you watched it.

It has been a pleasure reviewing these movies with you and learning valuable job search and life lessons. I hope you enjoyed this series. Please let me know some of your favorites. I’ll see you back here soon.

November 2 we relived the suits-with-sneakers era with Working Girl.

November 9 we went Back to the Future.

November 16 we went to detention with The Breakfast Club.

November 23 we experimented with Weird Science.

This week we’re working Nine to Five (1980)

9 to 5 Movie PostedFrank Hart is a pig. He takes advantage in the grossest manner of the women who work with him. When his three assistants manage to trap him in his own house they assume control of his department and productivity leaps, but just how long can they keep Hart tied up? Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

LESSON: Do not take your assistants or support staff for granted, people you supervise can always be a reference. Teach and train others – it bolsters your skills and helps those on the ladder below you rise up. In this movie, 3 powerful women prove to everyone and themselves that they can do a better job than a man. Just like Working Girl, which we will get to at the end of the month but which you might recall (“I have a head for business and a bod for sin” is borderline inappropriate!), people took control of their career destinies. This is not a men versus women lesson but one about those in power and those that take it.

Catagories: Communication Job Search Training
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November 16, 2011

Don’t You Forget About Me

Welcome to Matinee Wednesday. 1980-1989 was the era of big hair, big dreams and great movies. Take a break from work and grab some Junior Mints.

Breakfast Club (1985)

Breakfast Club

imdb.com

They were five students with nothing in common, faced with spending a Saturday detention together in their high school library. At 7 a.m., they had nothing to say, but by 4 p.m., they had bared their souls to each other and become good friends. To the outside world they were simply the Jock, the Brain, the Criminal, the Princess and the Kook, but to each other, they would always be the Breakfast Club. Written by Anonymous

LESSON: You never know how the people you meet will change your life and affect your career. Every event you attend, whether you are forced to attend or choose to go, is an opportunity to meet someone who will change your life. Will they introduce you to your future spouse? to your future boss? Will they tell you about a trip they recently went on and inspire you to go as well. You have something in common with everyone in the room; you are all there. That is even more true if you are at a work related event.

Meeting new people, those outside your circles can change your life. After law school many of my friends married other lawyers. Yes, they were from the same circle, they understood each other. I recently met an archaeologist. It was thrilling to talk about something new and also have what I do be interesting to someone else. Everyone knows or needs a lawyer, it’s good for business development to talk about what you do in a positive way.

November 10, 2011

It Don’t Take $ and It Don’t Take Fame

Welcome to Matinee Wednesday. 1980-1989 was the era of big hair, big dreams and great movies. Take a break from work and grab some Milk Duds.

 

Back to the Future

http://live.drjays.com/

Back to the Future(1985)

Marty McFly, a typical American teenager of the Eighties, is accidentally sent back to 1955 in a plutonium-powered DeLorean “time machine” invented by slightly mad scientist. During his often hysterical, always amazing trip back in time, Marty must make certain his teenage parents-to-be meet and fall in love – so he can get back to the future. Written by Robert Lynch <docrlynch@yahoo.com>

LESSON: You can’t change your past but you can revisit it to make sure that your future is what you want it to be. Self-assessment, based on what you liked and didn’t like about your previous jobs, can help guide your career trajectory.

Going back to different points in time can bolster your career, don’t forget about the skills you learned as a life guard in high school, or as a student studying abroad in college. Saving lives is admirable and managing your time while being distracted by the lure of travel and learning your way around a new city, new currency, and new customs is a lot like starting a job in a new office. We won’t all be at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance with our parents, but learning from our own career successes and mistakes allows each of us to go back to the future.

Catagories: Communication History Job Search
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November 2, 2011

We’re Gonna Make It Happen

Welcome to Matinee Wednesday. 1980-1989 was the era of big hair, big dreams and great movies. Take a break from work and grab some leftover Halloween candy.

Working Girl (1988)

Working Girl

imdb.com

Tess McGill is a frustrated secretary, struggling to forge ahead in the world of big business in New York. She gets her chance when her boss breaks her leg on a skiing holiday. McGill takes advantage of her absence to push ahead with her career. She teams up with investment broker Jack Trainer to work on a big deal. The situation is complicated after the return of her boss. Written by Sami Al-Taher <staher2000@yahoo.com>

LESSON: A few of the most important business lessons are in this movie. Don’t lie, dress the part and do not let those in power take your ideas.

  • Lying is never a good idea, as we learned from another classic movie, but taking advantage of opportunities as they arise is often good business practice. It is important to prove yourself at work, however, the sexual harassment and fashion crimes in this movie can not be excused.
  • One of the most important business lessons is to stand up for yourself and not allow yourself to be taken advantage of. As Katherine, the boss, says, “You make it happen.” What she didn’t mention was that she thought “you” meant her and not anyone else. There will inevitably be someone ready to knock you down and take credit for your work. Be smart and as quickly as possible take steps to remedy the situation.
  • Tess knew that if she didn’t dress the part she would not be taken seriously. Literally wearing your boss’s clothes is not the best idea but dressing and acting like you deserve the respect the boss is due can change your career.
Catagories: Communication Job Search Training
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November 1, 2011

Everything You Need to Know to Find a Job, You Learned in Law School

Blacks Law Dictionary Are you a lawyer? You CAN find a job. You already know how. Your legal skills are the tools you need.

Lawyers are taught to Research, Think Critically, Ask Questions and Argue Both Sides of an issue.

Research:
Know yourself, your target industry and any specific firm or company to which you are applying.

Think Critically:
How will you best serve the needs of your potential employer while also ensuring your work-life goals are reached.

Ask Questions:
Ask thoughtful questions to make clear you are interested in learning more about a person and job opportunity. Ask yourself what you enjoyed about past positions and how you can find a new position doing similar work.

Argue Both Sides:
Are there reasons why you are not the ideal candidate? It is OK, be honest. Now sell yourself. What do you offer that enables you to overcome what you lack.

This post gives examples of what you may consider a negative about your candidacy that are in fact a positive for your potential employer.

October 25, 2011

Don’t Be So Negative…It Could be a GOOD Thing.

Positive Job SearchThink about your current or most recent job. What did you hate most?

  • You didn’t make enough money.
  • You didn’t gain the experience you hoped for.
  • You did too many different things and didn’t focus on one.
  • Your hours were too long.

To a potential employer those are all GOOD THINGS!

You didn’t make enough money. You are more likely to be hired than others with the same level of experience making more money. Your skills are the reason you will be hired, not your salary. If you come “cheap” you are a bargain! There is nothing wrong with a good deal! Just make sure you live up to it!

You didn’t gain the experience you hoped for. Your new employer can train you to be their perfect employee instead of having to undo what you already learned elsewhere. There are certain positions that require on-the-job training and you are perfect for those.

You did too many different things and didn’t focus on one. You are a renaissance person! You can tell them what you are best at, what you enjoyed most, and where you can improve. All great things to know when you are in an interview. Someone who has been trusted to do many things is often a quick learner, efficient, and is often a “people person.” You should use concrete examples on your resume, not the empty filler language.

Your hours were too long.  You are dedicated. While you may not want to work long hours again, you put in your time, learned a lot and can now use what you learned during all those hours to help your future employer.

Don’t be negative, use your past experience to your advantage.

Catagories: Communication Job Search
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October 18, 2011

Confession: I judge a book by its cover.

Judge a book by its cover

Photo Credit: Jane Mount of Ideal Bookshelf

I often judge a book by its cover. If the images on the cover don’t appeal to me I may not be the intended audience. The work above is the most perfect gift for me (hint hint). As an English major I read the classics and then fell in love with historical fiction. I have so many categories of favorite books the gorgeous work by artist Jane Mount as featured in In Style’s Valentine’s Day Gift Guide is almost too overwhelming to imagine. Relax, calm down, they are “just” book covers! Yes, but the covers are the first introduction to the characters I’ve fallen in love with and grown up with. Nothing is just a book cover!

If the author doesn’t take ownership (personally, not legally) of the cover of their book their readers may not be the group they originally intended. Similarly, if you accept a client they undoubtedly know people like themselves and will refer more of the same. It is therefore important to focus on your ideal client to get more ideal clients. If your resume doesn’t target the job you want you won’t get the job you want.

You need to be the person you want to be in life, in appearance, online and on paper. It is important to be consistent everywhere so that others who make judgments based on the 1st handshake, the 1st glance, the 1st few lines of an email and the 1st few lines of your resume will judge you the way you intend to be judged. We all judge others even if we try to be fair and impartial. There goes the law, sneaking into everything!
October 11, 2011

Business & Pleasure, Friends & Colleagues

Friends and Colleagues using social media

Image courtesy of Mashable

Do you consider your law school classmates your professional colleagues? Just that shift in language and attitude can make a difference. I wish that I had realized that when I was in law school. However, it is a different world now with the advent of social media. Facebook, LinkedIn and niche professional networking sites did not exist when I was in law school. Certainly not the way they do today.

Today I know that my law school friends are my colleagues and that we can work together to move our careers forward and discuss common issues. Had I known how valuable these relationships would be after graduation, had I really understood the power of networking at the time, I would worked harder at fostering relationships with people with similar interests. It is always easier to look back, to realize you were in the right place at the right time after all.

I do consider many friends colleagues and colleagues friends but I also recognize the important distinction between the two. Some of my closest friends are those I met in law school and they were friends long before they became colleagues. Being social and open to meeting people is crucial to success in life and law school. Understanding the difference between groups of people in your life is just as important. Just see how quickly people took to Google+ circles .

It is a small legal community so all connections should be treated with the respect you would give professional colleagues.

October 4, 2011

Resume Language is More than Action Verbs

Job Search Communication

“Tea for two, and two for tea
Just me for you and you for me”
—Irving Caesar

Here, using the same words in a different order changed the meaning of the sentence. First, one order of tea for two people and second, two people are ordering tea.

“You like potato and I like potahto, You like tomato and I like tomahto Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto, Let’s call the whole thing off”
—Louis Armstrong

Here, it is suggested that if people disagree on how to pronounce something, it is worth breaking up. My husband is from Brooklyn, where ordering Italian food is like speaking another language….and I don’t mean Italian. We haven’t broken up yet.

Semantics, the study of linguistic development by classifying and examining changes in meaning and form, exists to show that words can mean everything. For example, The Butcher of Cadiz. Is it a profession? Is it an infamous title? That misunderstanding, from a scene in the movie Hitch, ended a date abruptly. The same words can have different interpretations depending upon who says them, the time and place in which they are spoken, and who hears them. For example, a friend was impressed that her boyfriend’s uncle was a conductor. “Wow, how interesting. Have you seen him conduct before?” she asked, already looking forward to attending a concert. “Umm, no. A conductor. Like on the 6 train.” “What? I thought you said he was a conductor.” “Yes, I did. He is a train conductor.” Same word, same time, different meanings, different people speaking and listening.

What words mean and the words people choose to say can lead to different outcomes based on different interpretations. This is especially true in the law and is just as important in resume writing.

There are lists of strong action verbs to include and lists of words to avoid. But those lists are not enough. You have to speak the same language as your audience. Every job has its own lingo. Know your target audience and speak to them. Use your words in the same way they do.

An interview is the last place you want to be left arguing over semantics.

September 29, 2011

Alternative Legal Careers

Alternative Legal Career

Tara Kachaturoff of TeachMeLaw Radio and I spoke recently about alternative legal careers, what that means, ways to determine what you want to do and what you can look forward to.

Read the bolded language in the interview transcript below to see if an alternative legal career is right for you and let me know if you have any follow-up questions.

 

 

Tara: What are some examples, maybe two or three non-traditional legal careers that a student could possibly consider once they graduate?

…

Jessica: …Basically anyone who is a lawyer working at a law firm not practicing law has an alternative legal career. Alternative legal career, quasi-legal career, non-legal career, it’s a gray area. Either working with lawyers or using your law degree in a non-legal way…

I don’t think that someone that has stopped using their degree altogether, and is doing something entirely different has an alternative legal career. They just have a different career, not to exclude them from the group. But anyone at a law firm in a recruiting department that’s a lawyer and more JDs required for those positions.

Since there are fewer outside hires, a lawyer that maybe been a partner or a high level associate, they might transition into a non-legal role after a firm because they’re already inside. They know the people and the organization.

Tara: They could easily get into doing the recruiting and things like that…

Jessica: Yeah, exactly.

Tara: Even in compliance with the firm and there are a lot of other positions that don’t require you to be billing all those hours that you have to bill.

[laughter]

Jessica: Exactly. There are a lot of financial professionals with their law degree. Really, you can make it up. Really knowing what you enjoy doing will enable you to help you to know what to pursue. If you don’t love people, then being a legal recruiter isn’t the ideal position for you.

Tara: Exactly.

Jessica: Really knowing yourself, knowing what industry you want to go into. And that’s so crucial. Because if you’re pursuing an alternative legal career, you can’t fake it. If you’re going to an interview for a position or for informational interview you have to know what you’re talking about because the first question they’re going to ask is, “Why don’t you want to practice anymore and why do you want to do this?” You have to know why.

Tara: Definitely do your homework on those questions. Talking a little bit more about that, I know we talked about people making transitions from being an attorney to an alternative legal career. What are some things they need to consider like if somebody was at a large firm right now and they’re thinking of jumping into something else? I know you said they can go and interview people from those different areas that they’re interested in. They could take CLE, which is Continuing Legal Education.

Jessica: Right.

Tara: What are some things that they have to consider on the personal side like looking at themselves introspectively to handle that transition? For instance, I know how much I had to change in the things I had to deal with transitioning from corporate position in finance to starting my own business.

There are a lot of things you go through especially when you had a long career in the prior employ. What are your thoughts on that?

Jessica: One of the things that was most helpful when I was doing my informational interviews. And I wish I could remember who said this. He said, “If you can put your ego aside, if you are OK. Plan it with a legal recruiter in a firm. If you are OK planning the party at the partner’s house and not being invited to stay for dinner, then you can do this job. But if you cannot put your ego aside, if you’re not OK not being the lawyer and being the help, then you’ll be OK.”

If you can’t put your ego aside, then this isn’t the job for you. Also know especially if you’re at a big firm and you leave, the salary will not be the same. It’s nearly impossible to find that in any other type of legal or non-legal positions so you have to be prepared for that.

Tara: Meaning it will be lower.

[laughter]

Jessica: Yes. Sorry, that wasn’t clear. Yes, it will be lower.

Tara: No, it was clear. I assume that some attorneys are making especially if they’re part of the partnership. And you’re leaving that. You’re leaving your equity behind.

Jessica: Exactly. The largest part of leaving the practice of law to become a non-lawyer, especially if you’re planning to stay within a legal world and work with lawyers, is knowing that you’re always an attorney. And I do always introduce myself first as an attorney. You may not always be as respected as you once had been, right or wrong.

Thank you Casting Words for this transcript.