Kevin Lewis | Hiring, Growth, and Board Expectations: Executive Insights

Hiring, Growth, and Board Expectation: Executive Insights

Are you curious about building teams, thriving in high-growth environments, and board collaboration??

Listen to THIS EPISODE of Hiring Insights hosted by Mosah Fernandez Goodman and presented by Top Talent Advocates. Kevin Lewis is the Chief Financial Officer at Hudl. Kevin draws from a diverse career spanning finance, technology, and agriculture. Kevin also has global experience, private equity exposure, and a background that includes both fast-growing startups and established companies.

At some point in our careers, we all encounter opportunities to pivot, and how we navigate those moments can profoundly shape our trajectory. While the allure of higher pay may make the decision seem straightforward, shortsighted choices don't always align with our broader career aspirations. Embracing a pivot with a focus on long-term growth requires a willingness to learn, adapt, and take on new challenges. By approaching these transitions thoughtfully, we can set ourselves up for a more rewarding and fulfilling future. Kevin reflects on his challenges and lessons learned from successfully navigating a variety of roles. LISTEN HERE

How Do You Navigate Diverse Career Paths?

At Top Talent Advocates, our clients rarely have linear career paths, and we view that as a strength. Diverse experiences foster adaptability, innovation, and resilience, all traits essential for effective leaders. By reframing career pivots as intentional growth opportunities, our clients showcase their ability to thrive in dynamic environments and lead with vision.

Define Your Career Narrative: Embrace your career path as a unique story, not a rigid timeline. Consider how your varied experiences, whether they involve pivots, career breaks, or role transitions, have shaped your skills and adaptability. Frame these transitions as strategic decisions that align with your broader goals. Reflect this narrative in your resume, LinkedIn profile, and networking conversations, emphasizing how each experience has contributed to your professional growth.

Leverage Your Transferable Skills: Diverse career paths often develop a wide range of skills that can be applied across industries. Take inventory of these skills and identify how they align with your target roles. For instance:

• Leadership skills gained in one sector may translate seamlessly to managing teams in another.

• Project management experience can apply to roles requiring organization and strategic oversight.

Take Ownership of Your Choices: Kevin reminds us: "The most successful professionals don’t apologize for pivots—they own them." Approach your career journey with confidence. When discussing your path, focus on the intentionality behind your decisions, the challenges you overcame, and the value you brought to each role. This positions you as resilient, resourceful, and forward-thinking.

Reflect on Your Goals: Career paths are rarely static. Periodically assess where you are and where you want to go. Are you gaining the skills and experiences necessary to move toward your long-term aspirations? Use your reflections as a roadmap to steer your next steps with intention and purpose.

How Do You Thrive in Dynamic, High-Growth Industries?

In industries marked by rapid change and ambiguity, success depends not just on technical skills but on adaptability, collaboration, and the ability to thrive in fluid team dynamics. Professionals navigating these environments need to showcase their capacity to excel in fast-paced, evolving sectors, even when the path isn’t always clear.

Define And Leverage Your Roles and Skills: In high-growth industries, ambiguity is a constant. Reflect on moments in your career where you've had to adapt quickly or solve problems with incomplete information. Collaboration is critical in environments like tech, where teams often span different departments and expertise. Your ability to communicate effectively and work towards shared goals can make all the difference. Inventory your experiences leading or participating in cross-functional projects. These examples will show your capacity to manage diverse teams and navigate complex challenges, a trait essential for success in fast-paced industries.

Take Ownership of Your Adaptability: Kevin reminds us: “In high-growth tech environments, we look for people who aren’t just skilled but also comfortable with ambiguity and ready to collaborate across disciplines. It’s less about rigid hierarchies and more about team dynamics.” Take ownership of your adaptability. Highlight how you've thrived in environments that required flexibility and cross-functional collaboration. This positions you as someone who can lead and succeed in evolving, high-growth industries.

COMING UP NEXT...

Stay tuned for our next episode featuring Heather Stevenson, Jonah Perlin, and Matt Schwartz, three attorneys, united by the The Legal Mentor Network work, who share a strong commitment to building community through social media, networking, and mentoring. Drawing on their diverse backgrounds, they leverage their experiences to foster meaningful connections and support fellow legal professionals. We heard from another founder of the Legal Mentor Network, Brian H. Potts on a previous episode of Hiring Insights. Listen to Brian's episode HERE.

Thank you to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website, by following us on our LinkedIn page HERE, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe HERE. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights HERE.

If you are thinking about a career move or want support on your executive branding and social media management, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

As always, thanks to Lindsay Hofbauer and our previous guests!

This episode of Hiring Insights is sponsored by Job Lasso -- unlocking hidden talent and revolutionizing how top professionals and employers connect.

Michelle Comella | Redefining Success: Navigating Career Path Journeys

Are you curious about navigating a dynamic legal career? Listen to THIS EPISODE of Hiring Insights hosted by Mosah Fernandez Goodman and presented by Top Talent Advocates. Michelle M. Comella - JD, CPC and ELI-MP has been the Global Director of Career Services at McDermott Will & Emery for the past 4 years. Nearly four years before that, Michelle was dedicated to practicing law, that is, until she realized that the responsibilities of a general counsel did not motivate her in the way she felt the right career would. Drawing from experience in previous roles at Kirkland & Ellis , and companies such as Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments, her broad legal experience made her a good resource for career guidance within law firms.

Everyone experiences bouts of indecisiveness and anxiety. Especially when it comes to matters as crucial as our career path, making the right moves comes with immense pressure. If I had to guess the percentage of folks who correctly anticipated what they wanted to do in life from the start, I would throw out a relatively low number.  Kudos to those who got it right the first time, but for the rest of us, embracing uncertainty has become routine. Changing career paths can be a positive step, especially when it leads to a more fulfilling outcome. Michelle treats us to a fresh take on career transitions and shows us why there is no need for embarrassment. LISTEN HERE

Michelle's take:

1. Don’t stay in one place for too long if it doesn’t continuously bring you joy, motivation, or satisfaction. Michelle knew it was time for her to leave her general counsel role when her boss approached her about the prospect of offering REITs to the firm’s clients. Michelle was not excited by this prospect, and she knew this would likely become a burden to bear, both for herself and for the company. At the time, Michelle was working with an executive coach, who inspired her to investigate coaching and, ultimately, pursue coach training.

2. Always be attuned to what you need, regardless of what others say you should need, want, or do, and the rest will fall into place. During this new stage of her career, Michelle’s primary focus became herself– what skills or interests hadn’t she tapped into, and what more was there to learn about herself? After achieving a certification in executive coaching, a major law firm approached her about an in-house opportunity, and this was the role that would define the next three years of her career.

3. Be on the lookout for opportunity and check in with yourself often and proactively. Life is short, and you should spend it doing something that motivates you. It’s never too late to discover that you don’t want to do something or that you don’t enjoy your work. Showing yourself the care that you deserve is the first step to realizing that perhaps what you need most is to take charge, change course, and educate yourself.

How do you foster a supportive network?

Define Your Personal Brand: When building a professional network, think about how you want others to view you beyond just a job title. Are you recognized for your expertise in a particular field, your ability to mentor and support others, or for your willingness to share valuable insights? Make sure your LinkedIn profile, resume, and shared content reflect these qualities, helping to establish a clear and authentic personal brand that communicates your strengths and professional identity.

Organize Your Network Thoughtfully: Categorize these connections based on influence and willingness to help:

• Close Connections: Trusted contacts you can directly ask for assistance.

• Super Connectors: People who instinctively connect you with others, even without being asked.

• Influential Contacts: Those who can provide powerful introductions or advice at a higher level.

Michelle advises that when reaching out to networking partners, if you have a specific ask, ask it. “People want to help. So go to them with a homework assignment. Hey, I see you know somebody at this company for which I will be interviewing, could you introduce me so that I can get a little bit of information in advance of that conversation? Hey, you and I worked together 5 years ago. I'd love it if you could look at my resume because I want to make sure I'm accurately representing some of the things that we worked on, or maybe I'm missing something. Go to them with an assignment. They're happy to respond and they may even come up with other things that they want to do as a result.”

Share naturally and authentically: Not everyone is comfortable with traditional networking and it should never feel forced. At Top Talent Advocates we recommend to start by reaching out to contacts in a genuine way, such as asking if they would consider serving as a reference. This approach can naturally lead to more in-depth career conversations without any pressure or formality.

Overcoming Networking Anxiety: For those who feel uneasy about networking, remember that it’s simply about nurturing relationships. Reflect on what networking means to you, and find a style that aligns with your personality and comfort level.

COMING UP NEXT...

Stay tuned for our next episode featuring Kevin Lewis , Chief Financial Officer at Hudl. With a wealth of experience spanning finance, technology, and agriculture, Kevin offers valuable insights into building successful teams, navigating high-growth environments, and aligning with board expectations.

Thank you to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website, by following us on our LinkedIn page HERE, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe HERE. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights HERE.

If you are thinking about a career move or want support on your executive branding and social media management, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

As always, thanks to Lindsay Hofbauer and our previous guests!

This episode of Hiring Insights is sponsored by Job Lasso Unlocking hidden talent and revolutionizing how top professionals and employers connect.

Stewart Hirsch | Unlocking Your Potential: Referral Power, Networking Confidence, Leadership Skills, Career Advancement

It is no secret that the corporate landscape functions, at times, like a labyrinth, offering up what seem like a thousand different avenues, many of them enticing, yet only one leading to a fruitful destination. The question of how to navigate such a maze elicits various answers, fears, and even excitement. Some say the key lies in one’s commitment to self-aggrandizement, while others contend that the power of hard work is all that matters in getting ahead. For Stewart Hirsch, Managing Director of Strategic Relationships LLC, the secret has to do with embracing the virtue of relationship building.

Stewart started his journey in a large law firm as a litigator, then moving into a smaller firm practicing business and real estate law.  He moved to an in-house position in a large box retailer.    Within three years, a devastating recession hit the retail market in 1990, forcing Stewart to seek alternative opportunities. He formed In-House Attorney Services, where he functioned as an independent contractor for in-house legal departments.  To find work, Stewart did a lot of networking.  Using this crucial skill, he networked his way into organizations such as TJ Maxx & HomeGoods, Staples , Welch's, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Waters Corporation, and Boston University.

Stewart Hirsch On Hiring Insights Presented By Top Talent Advocates

After a few years, he recognized another need. Lawyers in firms weren’t very strong at developing business.  He started coaching lawyers on networking and business development as early as 1994. His first coaching client was “really uncomfortable with business development.” One of the major things he realized was …, that “many people . . . were uncomfortable with networking.” For many professionals seeking business or jobs, networking may seem intimidating or unnatural.

What is the point of getting to know someone just to use them to get a job or business if all you’re after is a job, or business? Similarly, those who view networking as a means to those ends are approaching it all wrong.

Even the highest-earning CEOs at the country’s largest companies are still regular people like you and me. So, to help move his first client’s outlook on networking in the right direction, Stewart advised him to “go to various events and he was not to ask or look for business. All he was to do was listen and learn about other people.” I agree.  This strategy reorients our view of networking from a mandated ritual to genuine relationship building. At the end of the day, people are people, and although they might be the key to a coveted opportunity, separating our professional motives from the relationship-building process is the only way to make connections that last.

This point of view is held by many others. Stewart stands in the company of like-minded professionals like Scott Love, host of NALP Talk, a podcast focused on the legal recruiting industry.

Scott shares, “Relationships are dynamic and should be looked at with context, always being mindful of where one is situated in the lifecycle of a relationship with a client." For example, when I have spoken on this at conferences, I have shared that “Your new prospect does not need another friend. They need solutions. You earn the right to build a relationship with them by demonstrating your value.”  Once you have achieved a few ‘wins’ professionally with them, then you can learn more about them on a personal level, but not too personal, and also share with them what is going on in your life such as vacations, hobbies, and other common interests. But at its core, you always need to demonstrate your value as your relationship grows. This is beyond just doing good work, but expanding your value to them in other areas that may be outside your immediate scope of business such as introducing them to others in your network who can solve their problems, bringing opportunities that can be beneficial to them, and expanding your influence with them in a positive way.”

Stewart got to where he is today through networking, helping others and finding opportunities, both as a lawyer and a coach, including  through  introductions made on his behalf. Here are some of his secrets to success, informed by his faith in the power of interpersonal relationships:

• Be patient and get to know the person with whom you’d like to work with. It will be worthwhile in the long run to have developed a deeper relationship with this person.

• Network connections are a form of investment.

• Be nice to people, and treat them with respect.

• Exercise genuine caring for others, and find ways to let them know you care

• Listen before jumping into a pitch.

Understand who it is you are talking to, what they value, and what is in it for them–not just what is in it for you. The lessons learned from Stewart on THIS EPISODE are applicable to a wide-array of situations including career management and job seeking. You might appreciate it.

For anyone wanting to learn more about coaching or business development planning, I highly encourage you to reach out to Stewart. I know many of readers already have a connection to him, but I know Stewart to be accessible and generous with his time. You can reach Stewart here: S.Hirsch@StrategicRelationships.com.

Lisa Lang | Connecting the Dots: Navigating Career Growth, Building Relationships, Harnessing Social Media

Wouldn’t it be nice to have our careers fully planned out, to know what to expect at every turn, and to rest assured that job stability and satisfaction are guaranteed in the future? Well, yes, that would be nice. Perfect, even.

We all know that person who always strives for perfection, whether sitting with their hand raised in the lecture hall, typing away at their cubicle after hours, or ruminating inside their heads, constantly questioning the value of choices. The perfectionist believes they must be in control of their destiny. Every decision is a deliberate means to an end—the end being, well, success. But what is it that constitutes success?

For the perfectionist, success is seeing their plans come to fruition as imagined. For Lisa ⚖️ Lang , current Vice President and General Counsel at Ohio Northern University, success comes from trusting the process, having faith in the power of challenging herself, and remaining open to new opportunities whenever they cross her path. Listen to our conversation with Lisa HERE.

For the perfectionist, adopting this go-with-the-flow mindset may be easier said than done, especially in the context of something as daunting as a job search or career shift. In the recent Hiring Insights Podcast episode, Connecting the Dots: Navigating Career Growth, Building Relationships, and Harnessing Social Media, Lisa Lang offers her take on letting go of the perfectionist point of view and learning to call upon your present values, interests, and desires when moving through your career journey.

1. Everything happens in due time. Each experience has an exponential purpose that contributes to reaching your end goal - even if you don’t necessarily know what your end goal is yet.

On her path to securing the role of Vice President and General Counsel at Ohio Northern University, Lisa made many choices that “didn’t always make sense to me or others,” yet she doubts she would be where she is today had she acted differently. Having received an undergraduate degree in English, Lisa experienced a change of heart that made her consider a career in the legal field. Lisa’s entry into law came from a serendipitous encounter with a U.S. Army recruiter during one of her paralegal night courses. It was then that Lisa decided to become a military paralegal, a position she held for six years.

2. View every circumstance life throws at you as an opportunity for learning and growth. Normalize taking missteps and realize that the practice of law is practice.

Attending night school while working as a full-time civilian paralegal gave Lisa a more foundational understanding of the practice of law, helping her grasp more fully just how and why things were done at her firm. “I’ve learned how to do not just the thing, but all the things that surround the thing, and it makes me understand what I do and why I do it better.”

3. Be wary of adopting tunnel vision.

Lisa finds that people tend to become “so fixated on a specific goal that they lose sight of opportunities that may exist right before their eyes.” Although she notes that “I never set out to do what I’m doing now,” she always felt comfortable knowing her career trajectory could shift in unexpected ways because she knew how to leverage the skills she gained from each new experience. Moreover, even if a project does not automatically align with your long-term career goals, it is worth allowing yourself the space to try new things.

4. It’s not just knowing how to do the work, but knowing who people are, and how they work, and establishing mutual trust.

When Lisa worked at the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, she was assigned to the Department of Education. Through working with this client, she learned from both perspectives what each organization did, why they did it, how they did it, and what they both wanted as a result. Eventually, the DOE created an in-house role with Lisa in mind. “I didn’t go seek it, I got it because I built relationships with this one client and got to the point where this one client would come to the AG’s office and say, ‘I want Lisa Lang to handle all my cases.’”

5. Do not approach anything you do as a transaction. Be prepared to give freely without expecting anything in return.

Part of being successful is being authentic, building relationships, and expecting nothing in return, because the fact of the matter is, the more you give, the more you get back. Additionally, treat choosing a job as an investment; you spend more time and energy building up expertise in a less impressive role initially so that you can accumulate your experience and achieve a higher position later on.

The path to achieving one’s ideal career is never perfect. Start in your comfort zone, taking small leaps consistently over time, and you might just find yourself covering more height as you go.

Listen to Lisa Lang’s full account on the Top Talent Advocates Hiring Insights Podcast.

Brian Davis | Advancing Careers: Insights for Outside Counsel From a Legal Recruiter

Do you know how to manage your career as outside counsel? What are the expectations for you to grow your book of business? How should you evaluate your career path within a firm? How do you know if you are being compensated fairly? Brian Davis, a seasoned recruiter with Major, Lindsey & Africa, graciously shared his insights into managing your career as outside counsel.

Listen to Brian's insights HERE!

UNDERSTAND THE MARKET

There are a myriad of tools that candidates can utilize as they contemplate a search, but training yourself to be alert and aware of the competition can provide key insights.  Often this entails utilizing LinkedIn or other news sources, but as Brian emphasizes in this episode of Hiring Insights, it's also part of practice development and you really should know what's going on in the market.

At Top Talent Advocates, we speak with our recruiting contacts across industries on a regular basis, striving to ensure that we are providing the best and most current information and data to our clients.

WHEN SHOULD SOMEONE CONSIDER MAKING A SWITCH TO A NEW FIRM?

When we’re approached by clients, they generally come to us ready to look for opportunities. They might be ready to move now, or they might be preparing for 6-12 months down the road. Prior to starting an actual search, we do a career assessment.

• What are your short-term vs. long-term goals? Do you have a 5-year plan?

• What is your breadth of experience?

• What does the market look like currently... is it the right time to make a move?

Clients come to us with a variety of questions about a potential career change -- including what their present value in the market might be.

Brian said it best, “Nobody is worried about your career. So, YOU need to worry about your career. Floating along, thinking that there's somebody in your firm who's worried about you is just unrealistic. So, I always suggest developing a relationship with one or two or three recruiters, do background checks, try to find out who you think would match up with what you want to accomplish out of life, and then check-in with that person once a year, once every six months.”

RECRUITERS MANAGE EXPECTATIONS

There are myths and fallacies surrounding recruiters, but a well-experienced recruiter understands the delicate balance of aligning the aspirations and capabilities of candidates with the needs and objectives of hiring firms or companies. A search can last from three months to a year or more, but the most recent survey by Major, Lindsey & Africa showed 50% of people said their search took three months.

As with most initiatives, having good communication is paramount. A recruiter manages communication between both parties and navigates complexities of the hiring process, providing guidance and support to candidates while ensuring that the client's expectations are met in terms of candidate quality and fit for the organization.

Recognizing that a recruiter's primary objective is to facilitate successful placements rather than securing a specific position for an individual candidate is crucial, but fostering a relationship with a reputable recruiter goes beyond immediate job placement. It can serve as a strategic partnership offering ongoing guidance and valuable insights into career management. A trusted recruiter can offer advice on market trends, skill development, and potential career paths, helping candidates make informed decisions that align with their long-term goals.

We previously interviewed another world-class recruiter from MLA, Dimitri Mastrocola. Dimitri tends to focus on in-house legal positions. You can listen to Dimitri's incredible insights HERE.

COMING UP NEXT...

Stay tuned for our next episode featuring Lisa Lang Vice President and General Counsel at Ohio Northern University. As a seasoned and respected attorney, Lisa’s varied experiences will shed light on navigating opportunities and advancing one’s legal career.

Thank you to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page HERE, or by emailing us at

TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe here. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights HERE.

If you are thinking about a career move or want support on your executive branding and social media management, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

As always, thanks to Lindsay Hofbauer and our previous guests!

Bryan Krajeski | Behind the Scenes With a Recruiter: Utilizing Your Career Tools, Networking, Searching for a Job

SOURCING TALENT

If you know how recruiters work, you can better focus your job search efforts... which is exactly why we took a behind-the-scenes look at a recruiter's job during our conversation with Bryan Krajeski, a seasoned recruitment leader. Listen to Bryan's insights HERE!

A recruiter's primary focus is to understand the specific needs for each of their clients – the intricacies of a role, the planned responsibilities within a team, what drives an organization's culture, etc. Once a recruiter has done their deep-dive into the requirements for a role and a job description has been developed, they move on to sourcing talent. Often this entails utilizing LinkedIn or other resources, but as Bryan Krajeski emphasizes in this episode of Hiring Insights, he often draws on the network he has built.

www.TopTalentAdvocates.com

At Top Talent Advocates, we speak with with our recruiting contacts across industries on a regular basis, striving to ensure that our clients are considered for their searches.

UTILIZING YOUR TOOLS: LINKEDIN, RESUME, COVER LETTER

LinkedIn

Thoughtful strategies behind crafting your professional tools is one of the best ways to support and optimize your job search. You need a job search strategy, but don’t forget about the other tools that will help you land the interview.

LinkedIn is no longer a negotiable, it’s a must-have. Your profile should be filled out completely. Have a professional photo, craft a headline that tells what you do and the value you bring, and use the 'About Me' section to tell your professional story with more detail than your resume.

“One of the worst things that I think a candidate can do is just have a very incomplete profile, because if you have someone who's going to have to make assumptions on, are you the right candidate or not?” Bryan told us.

Resume

We’ve looked at hundreds of resumes over the years and have seen photos, colored graphics, and oddly segmented formats. We echo exactly what Bryan looks for in a resume: a clean resume with easy-to-read formatting and proper use of white space. Utilize the STAR method (situation, task, action, result) to show your value, and as Bryan mentions, don’t forget the action you took to get those results.

Cover Letters

The great cover letter debate... do you need one? Always, YES. There are no guarantees it will get read, BUT it could be the deciding factor between yourself and another candidate getting the interview. Take the time to write a good one.

NETWORKING FOR SUCCESS

Beyond talking to recruiters, job seekers should be reaching out to their network, because if no one knows you are looking, how can they help you? Work to build a network that supports your career strategy.

As you climb your career ladder, the significance of networking amplifies. The higher the role, the more likely you are to have success by networking yourself into an opportunity. By proactively building relationships and engaging with decision-makers, you position yourself for success and your network becomes a strategic asset.

One of the things that we do with our clients when they have applied for jobs or have target companies in mind, is to help them find the right decision makers. People hire people. It allows them to personalize their approach, craft tailored communication, and direct their efforts toward those who possess the power to make hiring decisions.

At any level, when a candidate can reach out to someone directly, it’s a chance to showcase your passion, dedication, and personality that doesn’t come across in a resume.

COMING UP NEXT...

Stay tuned for our next episode featuring Brian Davis of Major, Lindsey & Africa. As a seasoned and respected recruiter, Brian's perspective on the legal market, and particularly the needs of law firms, is certain to add value to our listeners.

Thank you to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at

TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe here. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights here.

If you are thinking about a career move or want support on your executive branding and social media management, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

As always, thanks to Lindsay Hofbauer and our previous guests!

Tom O'Connor, George Zaharatos, Lem Montgomery | Navigating an Executive Career Path

What has guided your career? Have you focused on intentionality? Benefited from luck? Maybe a little of both?

PHASES OF A CAREER

What phase of your career are you in? When our clients come to us seeking their next opportunity, it’s always beneficial to have a conversation about where they are coming from and where they want to go.

Everyone is in a discovery phase early in their career, regardless of one's field of choice. Perhaps you have been passionate about one particular path and then something catches your eye that you hadn’t thought of.

For Tom, that was law school. Tom pivoted to law after already securing his master’s degree and starting his journey in a different field.

“Having that opportunity to take a chance, take a chance on yourself, find what it is that you are passionate about and then pursue it and jump in to pursue it. That's what I think sets individuals apart who really want to succeed and want to get ahead.”

Ultimately, becoming more intentional about where you want to go and how you need to grow, should become a priority. You may want to start asking yourself questions such as... Do you have mentors or people that are currently investing in your career development? Would it be advantageous to exercise patience and stay where you are?

“I'd say the one decision I made though, that I would recommend to anybody who's navigating their own career path, is focus more on who you'll be working with and less on what you'll be working on…find your opportunities, pick from them based on who you'll be working with. Find good mentors who will invest in you. You can't go wrong with that.”

BUILDING NETWORKS

Working to build relationships is essential in any career strategy, but the ability to cultivate a network without it feeling transactional is key.

You have to be genuine. Genuine curiosity and interest about what someone is doing or working on, creates an environment where others want to know more about you and will be willing to help you down the road. Tom summed it up perfectly by saying that “people succeed by helping each other succeed.”

The fear of rejection holds many back from pursuing networking opportunities, but you have to advocate for yourself. George’s advice is the simplest and easiest to follow, “You have nothing to lose if you reach out to someone and they don't respond to you, but you have a lot to gain if they respond to you and they want to share, and they want to be in a position to help you.”

No different than learning any new skill, the more you practice, the easier networking becomes.

PART 1 of 2

Part 1 of this 2-part episode provides insights into three varying executive backgrounds and highlights:

💠 Navigating your career path; is it intentional, linear, or opportunistic?

💠 Regardless of your age or the stage of your career, having a mentor in your life is crucial to success.

💠 Building a network without it feeling transactional.

💠 Overcoming the fear of rejection when networking.

Listen HERE

PART 2 of 2

Part 2 of this 2-part episode shares three varying executive backgrounds and highlights:

💠What you need as a job seeker in today’s market to get hired.

💠 As an attorney looking for a senior level role, whether that’s as a partner in a firm or going in-house, what should you know starting your search?

💠 Social media plays a role in the hiring process today, but how much?

💠 The best c-level executives have these common traits…

💠 What NOT to say in an interview.

Listen HERE

COMING UP NEXT...

Stay tuned for next month's episode featuring Bryan Krajeski. Bryan is an experienced recruiter who provides valuable insights into LinkedIn, networking, job searching and what recruiters are looking for when sourcing talent.

Thank you to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe here. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights here.

If you are thinking about a career move or want support on your executive branding and social media management, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

As always, thanks to Lindsay Hofbauer and our previous guests!

David Hecker, Brenda Morris, Drew Fossum | Insights Into the Job Seeking Process and Experience

Part 2: INSIGHTS FROM THREE LEGAL EXECUTIVES.

Three Industries, Three Different Paths, Three Success Stories! Listen here.

This episode of Hiring Insights, presented by Top Talent Advocates, features three attorneys: Brenda Morris, Drew Fossum, and David Hecker. Brenda is the V.P. and Assistant General Counsel, Litigation, Employment and Compliance at Sealed Air Corporation, Drew is the V.P. and General Counsel at Tenaska. David is the Group General Counsel for Kiewit. Part 2 of this 2-part episode offers deep insights for those preparing for a job search, actively searching, or already interviewing!

THE LEGAL MARKET TODAY

We’re halfway through 2023 and the narrative around the economy, the possibility of a recession, and the job market hasn’t changed. People are nervous, a bit hesitant, and holding onto any headline with word LAYOFF. Our guests share their perspective:

“When the economy's bad, the government spends money on infrastructure to try and boost the economy. We've hired, in the last, you know, nine months, probably 10 lawyers to our company. We've just had a record year for revenue last year. So I would say our challenge is being able to find enough quality people to continue to allow us to grow.” David Hecker

Don’t let fear dictate your actions in a job search. Instead, focus on preparation.

VALIDATING YOUR CREDIBILITY

Work ethic, mental agility, cultural fit, communication, those are just a few words that came up in our discussion of what a hiring managers are looking for.

You are going to be put through at least one, more often than not, multiple interviews with your potential colleagues. Ask yourself, are you being transparent with who you really are? Are you demonstrating how you think? How you lead?

Anyone can list facts from their resume; the percentage of revenue you generated, the budget saving measures you enacted, sales numbers... but in an interview can you show the analytical side of your thought processes? Brenda gives us insight into some of her interviewing approach: “I do something in interviews that I used to hate, but it's a good process. I give hypotheticals..."

COMPENSATION

Know your value, but more importantly, know your market before you get to the compensation negotiation portion of your search process. You have to do the research to be able to back up what you are going to ask for.

“Once you're sure you want the job, once you know they're going to offer it or they have offered it, you need to get yourself as high in that range as you can. And you shouldn't be shy about negotiating for the number that you want, but be prepared to give specific examples of why that's appropriate.” Drew Fossum

The higher the level you get to, the more we recommend investing in a third party to assist with compensation negotiations, not only to take advantage of the knowledge they have on current industry standards, but to coach on you the examples you should be providing during the conversation and provide the credibility that you will need at an executive level.

COMING UP NEXT...

Stay tuned for our next episode featuring Tom O'Connor, George Zaharatos, Lem Montgomery, where we discuss doing something you are passionate about, mentorship, and networking to advance your career at any stage.  Tom is the Executive Vice President of Compliance & Ethics, EHS, ESG at Guardian Industries, George is the Principal-Gobal Data and Technology Leader for Trade and Customs at KPMG US, and Lem is an attorney for Butler Snow LLP.

www.TopTalentAdvocates.com

Thank you to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe here. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights here.

If you are thinking about a career move or want support on your executive branding and social media management, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

As always, thanks to Lindsay Hofbauer and our previous guests: Brenda Morris of Sealed Air Corporation, Drew Fossum of Tenaska, David Hecker of Kiewit, of Jenny Wood of Google, Brian H. Potts of Perkins Coie LLP , Ricardo A. Watson of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Kristi Stepp of Sigred Group, Dimitri Mastrocola of Major, Lindsey & Africa, Bill George of Harvard University, Matt Miller of Uptake, Jennifer Champlin of National Association of Women Lawyers and Edward Jones, Robert W. Jones of Gavilon Group, LLC, and Alex Su of Ironclad.

David Hecker, Brenda Morris, Drew Fossum | Navigating Your Legal Career Path

Three Industries, Three Different Paths, Three Success Stories...LISTEN HERE!

This episode of Hiring Insights, presented by Top Talent Advocates, features three attorneys: Brenda Morris, Drew Fossum, and David Hecker. Brenda is the V.P. and Assistant General Counsel, Litigation, Employment and Compliance at Sealed Air Corporation, Drew is the V.P. and General Counsel at Tenaska. David is the Group General Counsel for Kiewit. Part 1 of this 2-part episode focuses on this impressive group's career paths and the importance of networking.

CAREER STRATEGY

Every person faces forks in the road during their career journey. Some of these opportunities are going to be ones that are sought out, and some may come when you least expect it. The key to successfully navigating these critical junctures is having a clearly defined career strategy.

“The more you have thought through in advance what would be better and what would be worse of various possible outcomes, the better prepared you'll be for those forks in the road.” -- Drew Fossum

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Perhaps you’ve been recruited for a new role, it’s a lateral move but comes with a significant increase in compensation. What is the opportunity for growth in the new organization versus your current organization? If you’re currently the Senior Counsel reporting to the General Counsel, who is 2 years away from retirement, would it be more advantageous to sit tight rather than to leave?

I worked with a senior finance leader recently. He was constantly being recruited, but not for anything that would be considered an upward move. Our time together was focused on strategic planning and understanding when might be the right time to make a move. Ask yourself...

• How can you maximize what you are doing now with your current opportunities?

• Have you properly evaluated what your current organization has to offer?

Focus on the requisite skillset needed for what you want in the future, and how you can build towards that.

Perhaps it’s a title change, or taking on other responsibilities, but how can you leverage your current situation? The best option isn’t always moving roles.

When you’re building your career repertoire, as Brenda says, be a utility player. Work ethic is also important and hard to teach, so being able to show that you are self-motivated and willing to take on challenging tasks and roles pays dividends down the road when your name comes up for another opportunity.

Likewise, when you’re seeking mentors and building your network, seek those that you want to emulate. Absorb their traits and knowledge.

NETWORKING

How do you work to build and cultivate your professional network? Listen here to learn.

Just saying the word “networking” can send some people into a panic. Many find it cold, intrusive, and struggle to know where to start, but a recent survey showed that 83% of jobs are filled via networking with personal and professional connections.

If you haven’t spent time cultivating a network, the number one thing to remember is to be authentic. Reaching out only when you are looking for something of benefit is a major red flag. So, when you do speak with a contact, find topics of interest to both of you. Try to add value to them. As you continue to nurture your relationships over months and years, it can be as simple as:

• “I came across this article and immediately thought of you, hope all is well.”

• “Congratulations on the recent promotion!”

• “I saw X and Y were merging, I hope that doesn’t adversely impact you, but if it does, let me know how I can be of value to you.”

• “I saw your name on the XYZ case. Congrats on the win!”

• “I can’t believe it’s been 5 years since you left the company, it would be great to grab coffee and catch up when I’m in town next month.”

If you have built a network of authentic relationships, when you do need something or want to share that you’re on the market for a new opportunity, it’s received in a much more positive light. It is also a lot more effective.

Get outside of your comfort zone. We can’t say it any better than Drew:

“But if you get the opportunity as a relatively junior lawyer to join the membership of a specialized bar association relevant to your practice area, by all means do it and volunteer for the committees. You get the speaking opportunity. It's a pain to prepare for and deliver, but it's worthwhile and [you] further expand your network.

And I look back again, having never heard the word networking, I can't claim that this was a deliberate strategy on my part, but doing more of that maybe than I thought I really had time to do at the point in time in my career when I did, turned out to be a pretty good idea.”

Regardless of your seniority, joining different groups, advisory boards, and committing to volunteer opportunities, all provide great access to a new network of people.

The broader and deeper your network, the more opportunities that will be available to you, it’s as simple as that.

LAWYER AND CORPORATE EXECUTIVE = DUAL FUNCTION

The private practice of law is much different than being a legal executive within a company. As in-house counsel, your role is multidimensional and you’re in a position where you need to add value to the success of the entire business.

If you’re reading this as a young lawyer, and developing a career strategy as discussed above, what skills outside of the law do you need to refine to provide more value than your competition?

David started an MBA program at Columbia, focusing on finance and accounting, to get a better understanding of his clients needs at the time. Drew realized later in his career that if you want to be of value to a management team, it’s crucial to understand finance; balance sheets, income statements, etc.

Simply put, growing your network and your skill sets are essential to your advancement.

COMING UP NEXT...

Stay tuned for our next episode featuring Part 2 of Brenda Morris, Drew Fossum, and David Hecker where we focus on advancing yourself in a job search.

www.TopTalentAdvocates.com

Thank you to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe here. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights here.

If you are thinking about a career move or want support on your executive branding and social media management, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

As always, thanks to Lindsay Hofbauer and our previous guests: Jenny Wood of Google, Brian H. Potts of Perkins Coie LLP , Ricardo A. Watson of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Kristi Stepp of Sigred Group Solutions, Dimitri Mastrocola of Major, Lindsey & Africa, Bill George of Harvard University, Matt Miller of Uptake, Jennifer Champlin of National Association of Women Lawyers and Edward Jones, Robert W. Jones of Gavilon Group, LLC, and Alex Su of Ironclad.

Jenny Wood | Navigating a Career Path, Creating Followership as a Leader, and How to Showcase Your Full Potential

CAREER AND NETWORKING ADVICE FROM A GOOGLE EXECUTIVE. LISTEN HERE.

Our next guest on Hiring Insights is Jenny Wood. Jenny has grown from entry-level to an executive role at Google over her 16 years with the company. She leads a large operations team that helps drive tens of billions of revenue per year. In 2021, she started a passion project within Google called Own Your Career. Through the program she founded, she’s trained tens of thousands of people on: acing a job search, building relationships, personal branding, effective email writing, landing the right mentor, maximizing workplace influence, and most importantly, increasing confidence. A former Harvard Business Review writer, Jenny is now writing a book about going above and beyond to unapologetically achieve your goals. Jenny is a graduate of Brandeis University.

Jenny joined us to discuss navigating a career path, job search tips, and how to create followership as a leader to showcase your full potential.

NAVIGATING A CAREER PATH

While navigating your career, you should not only consider upward moves, but lateral moves as well. We couldn’t agree with Jenny more when she says, “lateral moves are some of the most powerful moves anyone can make. Your career is not always going to be up and to the right.”

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A common theme for many of our guests is their non-linear career paths. Matt Miller, Jennifer Champlin, Ricardo A. Watson, Dimitri Mastrocola, and Alex Su have all discussed the challenges and benefits of non-linear career paths.

Lateral moves provide opportunities to craft varied skills, experience different work cultures, broaden your network, experience different industries or departments, and potentially experience working in a different location.

It isn’t always about what is right in front of you, sometimes it’s about short-term achievements to achieve long-term goals.

RESUME TIPS

We’ve talked about the RSTAR method (Results Situation Task Action Results) that we encourage all of our clients to use when writing a resume, and even shared the STARR method (Situation Task Action Results Reflection) from Kristi Stepp. Jenny brought even more context to these methods by sharing her resume bullet tips:

The goal is to utilize numbers, context, and action. Jenny's example:

"Grew revenue by $5 million, 20% year over year, despite economic headwinds by launching weekly office hours for the customer, which had never been done."

• Quantification: $5 million.

• Context: 20% year over year, despite economic headwinds.

• Action: by launching weekly office hours, which had never been done.

Anyone can be in a situation, be assigned a certain task, and take action, but it’s all about the results you achieve. Results are what sets you apart, and ultimately what gets you hired.

Take stock of your accomplishments not just on an annual basis, but get into the habit of a quarterly self-review. Often times when you sit down to write a resume and you’re looking back over a span of five years, it’s hard to recount all of the detail in your successes. This self-review can also be extremely beneficial when it comes time for a performance review and could potentially help you achieve a promotion or raise.

Jenny talks about blockers that we put in front of ourselves that limit our full potential when it comes to our results and the process of quantifying them. Not everyone is going to be driving multimillion dollar impact, or have a large book of business to bring with them to a new firm. Keeping track of what you may think are small actions; the number of meetings you lead, contracts you wrote, rewriting process... all of those seemingly small actions can be quantified on a resume.

CREATING FOLLOWERSHIP AS A LEADER

Many of our clients are already leading others, but some are just starting their leadership journey. Throughout the interview process you will consistently be demonstrating your leadership abilities through your responses and demeanor, so taking a deep look at the qualities and attributes that make a good leader should be something that you take time to do.

We asked Jenny what qualities make someone a good fit for a leadership role?

Her response, “Two things come to mind... being a net positive energy contributor and humility.”

If you take a minute to reflect on good leadership that you have experienced or witnessed, most likely you’re thinking of someone who had a “we can do this” attitude, the proverbial glass was always half full in their eyes. They brought positive energy to the room. Be that positive energy contributor.

Should a leader have all of the answers? No. You definitely need to have some of them, but regardless of your title, there is a constant evolution of your knowledge and abilities, so it’s okay to not have all of the answers. That’s one of the benefits to building a strong team, as Bill George shared with us from his decades of executive leadership.

Both Bill and Jenny discuss the idea of servant leadership. How can you support your team? How can you coach them up?

“You're going to have lots of one-on-ones, one-on-one meetings, that is with your direct reports. At the end of every one-on-one meeting with your direct report, regardless of their level, I recommend closing your one-on-one conversation with this question: how can I support you this week?”

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING: Transactional vs. Transformational Relationships

In a transactional relationship one party is always expecting something in return, it’s self-serving and built solely on reciprocation. These relationships serve a purpose, but these aren’t the people who will keep you top of mind for opportunities.

A transformational relationship thrives on authenticity and engagement. You have to ask questions, listen, and perhaps it’s not necessarily a job opportunity you’re getting, but you’re learning or growing from the relationship. It doesn’t feel one-sided or like a business deal.

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If you don’t have a robust network, and you’re actively seeking a new job opportunity, the process of networking can feel a bit rushed or forced at times.

You’re going to try and find common ground to use as leverage to start a conversation, you’re going to see if you have anything of value to offer the person you’re reaching out to, but once you get them on the phone, you have the opportunity to show a genuine interest in them as a person and the experiences they can share with you.

Continue to connect on topics of interest to both of you -- your points of affinity can spark relationships in unique and meaningful ways. Share an article you saw or a conversation you had with someone else a few weeks later, that may be of value to them. Introduce them to someone else in your circle. This is something Brian H. Potts shared with us on his episode of our podcast.

Not every relationship will be transformational, but bringing a sense of authenticity to each conversation will help you start building an extended circle of people with your best interests in mind.

COMING UP NEXT...

Stay tuned for our next episode featuring Brenda Morris, Drew Fossum, and David Hecker. Brenda is the V.P. and Assistant General Counsel, Litigation, Employment and Compliance at Sealed Air Corporation, Drew is the V.P. and General Counsel at Tenaska, and David is the Group General Counsel for Kiewit.

Thank you to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe here. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights here. Thanks, as always, to Lindsay Hofbauer.

If you are thinking about a career move or want support on your executive branding and social media management, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

Brian Potts | Changing the Landscape for Law Students and How To Translate Rejection in a Job Search Into Motivation

Brian Potts - Partner, Inventor, Author, Founder. He literally wrote the book on job searching. Listen here!

This month we welcome Brian H. Potts, a Partner at Perkins Coie LLP, to Hiring Insights, presented by Top Talent Advocates. In addition to being a lawyer, Brian is also the inventor of a keyboard for lawyers, a writer who has been featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, POLITICO, Bloomberg, the Wisconsin State Journal, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the The Weekly Standard and is author of the book The Jobless Lawyer’s Handbook: How to Get Hired as a Lawyer. He is also a professor and helped found The Legal Mentor Network (LMN), the first nation-wide, free mentorship program for law students and recently barred attorneys. He has also recently launched the Legal Influencer Marketing Agency.

Brian joined us to provide insights into the changing landscape for law students, how to translate rejection in a job search to motivation, and what you can do to maximize your job search strategy.

Brian's advice and insights are valuable for any professional, at any phase of their career.

THE LEGAL MENTOR NETWORK

Brian went viral on LinkedIn when, as a partner in the firm, he shared the framed rejection letter he receive from Perkins Coie 20 years ago. His message was simple: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Listen to Brian here.

Over 5 million people saw that post and he found himself as resource for young or aspiring lawyers seeking advice and mentorship. He spent countless hours on video calls, phone calls, emailing, and managing spreadsheets tracking the relationships he was building. The Legal Mentor Network was created to fill the very obvious demand for mentors that he couldn’t handle on his own.

The Legal Mentor Network

Mentors must be barred lawyers with more than five years of experience, and all current law students and young lawyers are eligible for free mentorship on a first-come, first-serve basis. You can find out more information and join LMN here or subscribe to the LMN newsletter here. You can also contact any of LMN's Board Members here:

Brian H. Potts, Founder and Co-Chair; Partner, Perkins Coie LLP. Matt Schwartz, Founder and Strategic Advisor; Partner, DLA Piper. Chrystal Mauro, Executive Director, Founder and Board Member; Attorney, IBM. Lenora Ausbon-Odom, Founder and Board Member; Chief Talent Development and Inclusion Officer, DLA Piper.

ADVICE FOR LAW STUDENTS... AND ALL JOB SEEKERS!

Brian also wrote a book, The Jobless Lawyer’s Handbook: How to Get Hired as a Lawyer. His book is intended for law students and those less than 5 years out of school, but many of the chapters (how to prepare for an interview, how to network effectively) are applicable to anyone undergoing a job search.

One of the hardest times for a law student to get a job is directly out of law school. What many law students fail to think about is strategy. They assume they need to go right into the dream firm or company, and can get frustrated when it doesn’t work out.  “The only time in your entire life that all 35,000 people of your vintage are going to be applying for jobs is when you graduate from law school.” Law students rarely think about geography in the immediate job search strategy. Learn more about this from Brian here.

Everyone is shooting for the obvious: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles. Brian suggests people consider somewhere slightly off the radar, but somewhere that would be enjoyable to spend a few years. This might help you get something on your resume to serve as a stepping stone to the dream role later on. Brian was rejected from every Am Law 100 firm in New York, DC, and Chicago, but he got an offer at a good size firm in Kentucky. He was able to put a larger name, larger firm on his resume by being flexible and working towards the Am Law 100 firm.

We have deployed similar strategy with some of our executive search clients. It can be hard to make the leap from Director to VP, CRO to CEO, if your goals are to be in the C-Suite at a Fortune 500 company.

We agree with Brian’s theory that “If you're a Deputy GC in New York, but you can get a GC job in Cincinnati, right, you go to Cincinnati for three or four years as a GC, and then now you go back to New York and you can move up the chain.”

NETWORKING

In today’s market 80-85% of all jobs are secured through networking and some estimates suggest that up to 70% of all jobs are not on public job search sites. We couldn’t agree more with Brian’s view that if you aren’t out there meeting a lot of people, then you are hugely limiting your opportunities. Learn more by listening here.

One of the most common fears about networking is being rejected or “ghosted.” It will happen. You have to approach it knowing that not everyone wants to network. A key to moving past the “cold outreach” is finding an opportunity to provide value for the person on the other end. For Brian, with every person he meets, he thinks of all of the other people he knows that could help them, and introduces them via email. Learn more here.

Brian developed a framework for networking that applies to anyone, regardless of experience or job title:

1.    Meet lots of new people. Set a goal for a specific number of zoom meetings each week.

2.    Have a lunch or some form of social, in-person, event with a professional once a week. Invite them for a round of golf, grab a drink, or lunch. It could even be a small group of people.

3.    Do nice things for the people you have met. The gesture can be as small as sending them an article you saw relevant to their industry.

The end result is that you’ve built a network of people, over time, that think fondly of you. That is what opens up opportunities for you later in your career. It makes them want to help you when you need it AND keeps you top of mind when they come across opportunities.

Some people have yet to realize that one of the keys to maximize the utility of LinkedIn as a career tool, is to utilize it as a search tool for networking. Search based on connections, alumni, industry, location… try to find common ground.

THE SEARCH       

Everyone wants to find the next perfect role as quickly as possible. There are a lot of factors that come into play when guesstimating a timeline:

• How are your career tools (resume, cover letter, pitch decks, etc.)?

• How much time are you willing to commit to your search each week?

• Are you limited to a particular geography?

• What level role are you looking for? A c-suite position can take much longer to find than a manager position.

The first thing to remember is patience. Brian points out you have to hustle, you have to continuously apply, but you have to be smart about it. If you are accepting something out of desperation, chances are that 6 months down the road you are going to be unhappy.

If we could tell potential clients one thing, it would be to prepare so you don’t have to panic. If you are getting the sense that your position a) has no upward mobility b) is in jeopardy for being eliminated OR c) is no longer fulfilling to you, start planning your search now.

In general terms, the higher your position, the longer the search is going to take and the more connections/introductions that need to be made to find that perfect opportunity.

How can you differentiate yourself as a candidate in the job search?

“Having an interesting story that you can tell about yourself in up to two minutes that will be remembered way more than where you went to law school, what your academic credentials are, what your professional credentials are.”

Do you love to travel? Were you a collegiate athlete? Do you invest in real estate on the side? Raise chickens in your backyard? Find your unique, but brief, story to share. When you walk out of the room, they may not remember which university you attended, but they will remember an interesting story that differentiated you from the other interviewees. Learn more about this from Brian here.

LINKEDIN TIPS

One of the most important features of your LinkedIn profile is your headline. Type your name into the LinkedIn search bar; you see your profile, picture, name, and headline. Does your headline tell someone enough to make them want to know more?

Following your name, it’s the first descriptor of who you are and what you do. If you leave this blank, it will automatically be defaulted to your current job title and employer. While this is sufficient, it adds little value to telling your story or benefitting the search algorithms for someone to find you (especially if you are a job seeker).

• Clearly state what you do. This is not the time to exaggerate or choose a title that you are hoping to attain. What, specifically, is your role? General Counsel, Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Attorney, Vice President, Senior Relationship Manager?

• Use keywords relevant to your industry or potential job searches. Include specialty areas. Ask yourself... what is a recruiter typing in the search bar that could help them find me?  Have you been recognized on industry specific lists? Mergers & Acquisitions, Board Member, Executive Leader, FinTech, Bankruptcy, Healthcare, ESG, Fastcase 50, Top 40 Under 40,

• There is much debate on whether to keep it strictly professional, or add a bit of your personality/creativity to the headline section. Aside from personal preference, keep in mind the industry and profession you are in, and if that creativity adds value to a first impression of who you are.

• Are you searching for a job or prospecting for clients? The search function comes into play here. If I am a client looking for a bankruptcy attorney, I’m not going to type in “bankruptcy partner” to the search tab, I’m going to search lawyer or attorney. If your title is defaulted to Partner at xyz firm, you aren’t showing up in my search.

Headline Examples:

General Counsel | Mergers & Acquisitions | Corporate Governance | Top 100 Magazine’s Top 100 Attorneys

Chief Financial Officer | Global Markets | SaaS | Board Member

For more insights on all things LinkedIn, please contact Lindsay Hofbauer.

COMING UP NEXT...

Stay tuned for our next episode featuring Jenny Wood. Jenny is an executive at Google running a large operations team that helps drive tens of billions of revenue per year. She is also the founder of Own Your Career, one of the largest career development programs in Google’s history with tens of thousands of people benefitting. Jenny is a graduate of Brandeis University and has worked and studied at Harvard University.

Thank you to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe here. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights here.

If you are thinking about a career move or want support on your executive branding and social media management, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

As always, thanks to Lindsay Hofbauer and our previous guests: Ricardo A. Watson of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Kristi Stepp of Sigred Group, Dimitri Mastrocola of Major, Lindsey & Africa, Bill George of Harvard University, Matt Miller of Uptake, Jennifer Champlin of National Association of Women Lawyers and Edward Jones, Robert W. Jones of Gavilon Group, LLC, and Alex Su of Ironclad.

Ricardo Watson | Managing Your Career: Pursuing and Capitalizing On Opportunities

Banking, Working Abroad, and Career Management. Listen HERE!

It was a pleasure to have Ricardo A. Watson on this episode of Hiring Insights, presented by Top Talent Advocates. Ricardo is a Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the Chief Risk Officer for their dealer commercial services business within Chase Auto. Ricardo has spent his career in private equity, banking, and global operations with international experiences in Switzerland, London, and traveling across Latin America, Mexico, Eastern Europe and Africa. Ricardo is a graduate of Wesleyan University and has studied at Wharton Executive Education and The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Ricardo joined us to provide very practical insights and advice into how to manage your career, and how to pursue opportunities both domestically and internationally. Listen here.

MANAGING YOUR CAREER

For Ricardo, managing his career has required both intentionality and flexibility. With an interest in banking from a young age, having mentors in banking, and then trusting those encouraging him to challenge himself early in his career, Ricardo fostered a drive for continued growth. 

“I wanted to manage that scale, i.e. the hundred people. I wanted a lot of autonomy. In prior roles in my career, I was either supporting a senior guy or had a small book of work that was mine, but there was always somebody over me that guided me so it didn't create my space for me to practice my craft... And the third thing I really wanted was credit approval authority. I wanted to approve deals and own the risk that we put on the balance sheet. As roles came my way at the bank, I used those three criteria in my assessment. And what I realized at JP Morgan, at least, and most people I spoke to, they appreciated that [I] knew what [I] wanted to do.”

Attaining a senior or executive level position requires a healthy degree of curiosity. Being resolute in knowing what you do and don’t want to do, especially when climbing the corporate ladder, demonstrates your focus and intentionality.

HOW TO SUCCEED IN THE INTERVIEW

We guide our clients through the development of the their tools including: resumes and cover letters, an optimized LinkedIn profile, and pitch deck development. We then begin marketing our clients, which eventually leads to an interview. We dedicate so much time to preparing our clients for an interview because the initial phases of a job search aren’t worth anything, unless you are prepared for an interview. Learn more about our services here.

Do you know who you will be interviewing with? Do your research on them. Perhaps someone in your network can you give you background on their personality. A LinkedIn search may show things you have in common, which helps build rapport in a meaningful way, while also showing preparedness. Do you know as much as you can about the company/firm? The industry trends and head or tailwinds? Research and prepare!

Ricardo discusses whether or not you have the ability to take your role beyond the initial job description? What do you envision that the person sitting across from you has never thought of?   

No different than Bill George's reference to not just being the smartest person in the room , but being able to lead with conviction. Listen to our conversation with Bill here. Do you have "it" in you? How do you convey that in an interview? How do you share where you want to take this role? How do you convey that? You have to be able to articulate it, be thoughtful in your response and show genuine emotions. Your level of excitement (or lack of) is obvious to those speaking with you.

Always have prepared questions for the conclusion of your interview.

“You should be asking about team dynamics. You should be asking about, hey what is the culture of the team, how does the team work well together? Asking the person at the table, what are the areas that you're trying to improve on the team?”

INTERVIEW GUIDANCE

We think the hardest interview question is when someone asks you to, "tell me about yourself." You can conquer this question by following 3 simple steps.

1. HUMAN CONNECTION (30 seconds)

Consider starting your response by saying, "on a personal level..." then, sharing the fact that you have lived and worked in multiple cities, that you left the workforce to raise a family or care for a loved one, that you love spending time with your kids or fur baby, that you enjoy reading within a certain genre, that or you love to travel are tremendous examples of ways to build a connection with someone and start the process of rapport building.

2. PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS (45 seconds)

Lay out a few relevant highlights of your accomplishments and connecting those experiences to the job description of the role to which you are applying is essential.

3. GRATITUDE + INTEREST + CLOSING (45 seconds)

It is time to share three essential points-- why you are grateful for the opportunity to interview, why you are interested in this particular position and organization, and why you believe you would be a good fit for the role.

If done correctly and presented in a natural manner, not only will this approach advantage you in your job search, but you will also be making it easier for your interviewer to better understand you and your unique talents and passions.

GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES

Global experience gives you an edge on most of your competition. Being able to communicate, solve problems, and lead internationally are unique and in-demand skills. It takes a little more than your standard networking to secure an international opportunity.

Often times, these opportunities are going to be presented to you after you have put time into a company. Your leader may see potential in you for something you never considered. Keep top of mind that those small windows of opportunities are going to be scary, but the reward is extremely high down the road.

Domestically, you have to network. Don’t just network when it’s needed. Make it a habit of continually seeking out conversation and connections to stay relevant in industry circles and keeping your name top of mind for opportunities.

“Be ready so you don't have to get ready.” 

COMING UP NEXT...

www.TopTalentAdvocates.com

Stay tuned for our next episode featuring Brian H. Potts, a partner and co-chair of the energy group at Perkins Coie LLP. Brian is also a founder and board chair of The Legal Mentor Network. Brian is a lawyer, an author, an entrepreneur, and a huge advocate for jobseekers. Brian is a graduate of Centre College, Vermont Law and Graduate School, and earned an LL.M. University of California, Berkeley - School of Law.

Thank you to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe here. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights here.

If you are thinking about a career move or want support on your executive branding and social media management, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

As always, thanks to Lindsay Hofbauer and our previous guests: Kristi Stepp of Sigred Solutions, Dimitri Mastrocola of Major, Lindsey & Africa, Bill George of Harvard University, Matt Miller of Uptake, Jennifer Champlin of National Association of Women Lawyers and Edward Jones, Robert W. Jones of Gavilon Group, LLC, and Alex Su of Ironclad.

Kristi Stepp | A 360 Degree Look at Career Strategy: Executive Search, Onboarding, Retention, and Succession Planning

Would you like Hiring Insights insights from a leader who has managed talent at General Motors, PepsiCo, Kelly, Volkswagen, and now recruits and coaches talent? If so, listen to Kristi Stepp!

Kristi Stepp on Hiring Insights

I recently visited with Kristi Stepp and believe her Hiring Insights are valuable to managers and talent at all levels. Kristi is a Partner with Sigred Solutions, a management recruiting and leadership advisory firm. Kristi has over 25 years of international and multicultural human resource experience in the automotive, healthcare, food and beverage, and workforce solutions industries. Prior to Sigred, Kristi served in strategic human resource roles at several global organizations including Kelly, PepsiCo and Volkswagen AG. Most recently, Kristi served as the global head of talent development at General Motors.

While at General Motors, Kristi had enterprise-wide development responsibility for over 65,000 employees, including 12,000 people leaders and 20,000 employees outside of North America. While at Kelly, Kristi was based in Singapore and led all aspects of HR for the Asia Pacific region.

On this episode of Hiring Insights, Kristi shares her insights on developing a job search strategy, how to prepare for and succeed during an interview, and successful onboarding and retention efforts for managers.

JOB SEEKERS

If you’ve been reading our newsletter or listening to our podcast consistently, some of Kristi’s advice for job-seekers may sound familiar. On previous episodes of Hiring Insights, we spoke with Robert W. Jones of Gavilon Group, LLC who provided insights into hiring through the lens of a CHRO. We have also visited with Dimitri Mastrocola of Major, Lindsey & Africa who provided insights into recruiting and hiring legal talent through the lens of a legal recruiter. The hiring landscape is always changing, and if you are someone who hasn’t looked for a new role recently, it’s going to feel significantly different.

• Prepare yourself mentally for your search. A job search is a lengthy process. It will demand time, patience, and strategy. “What will feel like a regular search for an organization can feel like an eternity for a candidate, and especially for a results driven, successful executive.”

• We spend a lot of our time pursuing the “unpublished job market” because at the Director level and above, roles may not be posted online or with a search firm. If you aren’t being actively recruited for your next position, you may need a partner like Top Talent Advocates to support you in helping find those opportunities.

• Find your super connectors. Our priority for clients is to provide the tools and contacts to be successful in your search. How do you utilize your network? How many outreaches should you be doing per week? On the flip-side, we are utilizing our own extensive network in your industry. We are magnifying your outreach.

• Kristi's networking advice, “What I share with people is that you need to think about your network, the most important leverage you have is your network and your friends and colleagues who are super connectors. So if you apply to a job on LinkedIn and you see it and you think it's amazing, then you need to think about who you know, at that company.”

Here’s a tip if you’re struggling to figure out how to get to the decision makers or how to expand on your network:

• Go to your LinkedIn profile

• Click on My Network

• Click Manage My Network

• Go to Connections

• Click the magnifying glass, and then click Advanced

• Change the drop down from 1st to 2nd...

You already have something in common with all of these people! Send an invitation to connect along with a polite introductory note. It does not have to be specific to your mutual connections because often times, people just hit connect based on shared interests. Go through that list and see if there are people of industry value to you. People want to help people, particularly those with whom they have a common connection. For more insights into using LinkedIn, feel free to contact and follow Lindsay Hofbauer.

Whether you are looking for a job or a board role, you have to have an updated resume that focuses on metrics. Quantifiable results. As Kristi says, she wants to see percentages and numbers. If you can’t prove on paper that something was delivered, and by proof we mean some type of data, the chances of your resume making it out of the “pile” are very slim. This can be quite challenging,

INTERVIEWING

Your resume or network gets you the interview. One of the first questions we ask our prospective clients who have been searching for a while is, are you getting interviews? If the answer is yes, but you aren’t closing any job offers, then we need to focus on your interview prep and delivery.

Kristi highlights the importance of having a candidate that shows they are open to learning. When you reach a certain level in your career, success has naturally boosted your confidence... but you can’t give the impression that you have all of the answers. Go into the interview confident, but with a learning mindset.

“You have to go in with a growth mindset, with a learning mindset and listen, before you speak, consider what else has been done? Don't assume that your best idea is the best idea for the situation. How do you bring other people along? So we will ask and look for that in interviews, and our clients are specifically looking for that.”

Bill George, our first guest on Hiring Insights, encourages leaders to lead with their hearts and to display that ability during interviews. Listen to Bill's episode to learn more!

Preparing our clients for behavioral based interview questions focuses on the STAR, or even RSTAR, method. You want interviewers to know what you have accomplished, so give them a story that highlights results. Kristi and I both put or own spin on the STAR methodology.

Kristi - Situation Task Action Results Reflection (STARR)

Mosah - Results Situation Task Action Results (RSTAR)

Our advice to job seekers has been to answer behavioral based interview questions by starting with the Results associated with a particular experience. This approach lets people know where you are going with your answer and helps set the stage for the details to come. We then encourage our clients to summarize their answers by restating the result they achieved. We also like Kristi's twist on the STAR methodology because she adds Reflection, which helps contextualize a response and displays a learning mindset.

Do your research, Kristi says...“You want to have done your research. You don't want to just show up and feel like perhaps you were the pick of the litter and they should be happy to have you. You really need to go in with your best foot forward and show that you are really interested. That can be difficult for some executive roles and taking that into account, I believe helps one with humility.”

Put in the same amount of time preparing for an interview that you would for a big presentation at work. Do your research on everything about the company, public filings, the industry, and research the people you might be working with. The amount of research that you do will be apparent in the interview and it will be noted.

COMING UP NEXT...

Ricardo Watson on Hiring Insights

On the next episode of Hiring Insights, we will explore insights from Ricardo A. Watson of JPMorgan Chase & Co.. Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase & Co, where he currently services as the Chief Risk Officer for Dealer Commercial Services at Chase Auto, Ricardo held several international roles at Credit Suisse. Ricardo is a graduate of Cardinal Hayes High School, holds a degree in Economics from Wesleyan University, and has studied at Wharton Executive Education and The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Thank you to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe here. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights here.

If you are thinking about a career move or want support on your executive branding and social media management, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

As always, thanks to Lindsay Hofbauer and our previous guests: Dimitri Mastrocola of Major, Lindsey & Africa, Bill George of Harvard University, Matt Miller of Uptake, Jennifer Champlin of National Association of Women Lawyers and Edward Jones, Robert W. Jones of Gavilon Group, LLC, and Alex Su of Ironclad.

Alex Su | Career Transitions, Leveraging Social Media for Business Development, and the Evolution of LegalTech

I recently had the chance to speak with Alex Su. Alex is a lawyer who transitioned out of the private practice of law, into the world of technology sales! A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, and a former associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Alex is currently the Head of Community Development at Ironclad. He also has his own column for Above the Law and is “TikTok famous” with his handle @Legaltechbro where he pokes fun at the legal industry. Alex also has an incredible LinkedIn presence and following. Needless to say, the "Legal Tech Bro" understands more than the law and technology, he is a master of marketing and branding.

On this episode of Hiring Insights, Alex shares with us his personal career pivot, insights and recommendations on how to utilize social media, and how to pursue a job you’re not only qualified for, but also passionate about. If you are thinking about what's next in your career, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

LEGAL TECH

Most people are familiar with "Fintech" as an industry, but Legal Tech is relatively new and has many people asking what it is and how they could potentially fit into the sector. Simply stated, Legal Tech is technology and software used by law firms and corporations to improve their processes and increase their efficiency and effectiveness.

Alex clarified further for us, “You can imagine in the legal sector, in the legal industry, you've got firms doing a lot of work that is archaic, that is relying on manual methods because perhaps firms make money from the billable hour. And so there's no incentive to streamline activities through technology…I think that we're very early, still, in the legal tech growth phase. I do think there's going to be a lot of different problems that technology can solve, but it really comes down to what challenges you think technology could solve best. For me, I think it's contracts.” Ironclad is a global leader in contract management software. From HR to procurement, contracts touch all companies across all sectors and Ironclad helps accelerate the business contracts cycle.

CAREER TRANSITIONS

Career transitions can happen in a variety of ways and for a multitude of reasons. For Alex, he found himself unemployed early in his legal career. He attempted to start his own venture, and when that didn’t work, he felt like he was failing. He ultimately freed himself of the preconceived notions of what having a “legal career” should be and found himself pivoting into a new arena that that he would ultimately excel at.

We repeatedly mention non-linear career paths because the percentage of linear paths that lead to success are small.  We start every client with a strategic planning session to determine the most advantageous path for them to achieve their goals. The simplest questions can sometimes open up the best pathways:

• What have you enjoyed thus far about your career and what is motivating to you... Compensation? Organizational Culture? The impact of your work? Something else?

• What parts of your career have you found yourself least inspired by?

• Have you considered venturing into x, y, z?

Too often we view our careers through a very narrow lens and struggle to broaden what industries or positions our skillsets could potentially transfer to.

If you are contemplating a career transition, but don't want to quit your day job, Alex recommends testing out a new venture in the evening or on the weekends. Push yourself to discover where your passion lies. Each step of your career is a discovery session to determine your strengths and passions!

PURSUIT OF OPPORTUNITIES & NETWORKING

It’s no secret that some of the best and most lucrative positions come from the unpublished job market. The unpublished job market is all about getting introduced to decision makers and positioning yourself for great opportunities. Just as Alex approaches sales, networking for the pursuit of a job is no different. You have to figure out who the decision makers are. It takes work. It takes time dedicated to research and sometimes you’re going to get a cold no, but the right conversations will come.

Dissect your connections. It goes beyond first connections... find out who you need to speak with and work backwards to determine what connections can get you there. Keep in mind that social media is social. There has to be a give and take, and not a constant presentation of what you want or need.

Engage authentically with others with the notion that any one of them could have an opportunity for you. You need to present yourself in way that you will be remembered and leave people feeling valued.

LINKEDIN & EXECUTIVE BRANDING

One of our favorite things that Alex said, and our hope is that everyone hears this, “When it comes to business purposes, LinkedIn is unparalleled. When it comes to career, to finding out what's happening in the business world, LinkedIn is the primary place.”

Why post content on LinkedIn? According to LinkedIn statistics, three people are recruited through LinkedIn every minute. 45% of content readers are in upper management. If you are actively utilizing the platform to establish yourself as a thought leader, remember that 45% of your audience is decision makers that could be viewing you and your content.

As Alex explains, being connected to the right people and presenting yourself in the right way not only assists in you finding opportunities, but it increases your visibility and likelihood of being recruited or referred into an opportunity. When your professional desires and marketing coalesce, we refer to that as executive branding.

Is your LinkedIn profile complete? Here are just a few of the essentials...

• Professional Photo

• Strong Headline

• Comprehensive "About Me" Section

• Experience Listed

• Skills Selected

Do you understand, generally, how the LinkedIn algorithm works?

• Are you engaging with the platform? This goes beyond simple "likes" on posts of friends.

• Have you established yourself as a thought leader in your industry by creating and posting valuable content?

• Do you have a strategic plan for networking?

We obviously cater to a professional clientele, but our approach works for all levels of job seeker, business leader, those selling a product direct to consumer or, business to business. The narrative just gets adjusted to focus on your value proposition and audience.

If you would like to have a conversation about your executive brand or social media management, please contact Lindsay Hofbauer or contact us directly here.

NEXT MONTH

Stay tuned for our conversation next month when we speak with Kristi Stepp, a leader in #HumanResources, #Strategy, #Recruitment, and #ExecutiveCoaching. Kristi has held leadership positions at General Motors, Kelly PepsiCo, and Volkswagen AG. Kristi holds a BA from University of Michigan, graduate degrees from Central Michigan University and Fielding Graduate University, and has studied at theUniversity of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business. Kristi is a Partner with Sigred Solutions and shares her insights into developing a career and job search strategy, successful onboarding and retention efforts for managers, and proper organizational succession planning.

Thank you to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe here. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights here.

If you are thinking about a career move or want support on your executive branding and social media management, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

Dimitri Mastrocola | Breaking Down the Executive Search Process: Working with a Firm, Candidate Insights, and Career Advice

It was a pleasure to have Dimitri Mastrocola on this episode of Hiring Insights. As an executive recruiter, Dimitri offers our listeners a "behind the scenes look" into the executive recruiting process and experience. If you have ever wondered how recruiters work and what they are looking for, you will not want to miss Dimitri's insights.

Whether you are already in the c-suite, aspiring to join the executive ranks, or practicing as an attorney, Dimitri's insights will prove useful to you. Dimitri has spent over 15 years working for Major, Lindsey & Africa (MLA) as an executive search consultant-- recruiting chief legal officers and their teams. Prior to joining MLA, Dimitri was a SVP and Associate General Counsel at Citi and had practiced law in two major law firms (Shearman & Sterling LLP and Fasken). Dimitri is a graduate of McGill University and Vanier College. Anyone contemplating a job search needs to listen as Dimitri demystifies what actually takes place during a search led by a search firm.

When we work with candidates, we often hear that they’ve had an initial conversation with a recruiter, perhaps they have submitted their resume already, but are in a period of non-communication and sometimes the term “ghosted” comes up. Dimitri walked us through the detailed timeline of a search to provide an inside view of the recruiting process.

“For a senior role, let's say it's a Chief Legal Officer role, it's not unheard of for the process to go six months, maybe even eight months from start to finish. If it's a lesser role on a legal team, Deputy General Counsel or an Assistant General Counsel role, that could be a three-to-five-month process start to finish.”

Key takeaways from his insights assure candidates that for strategic roles, there are many moving parts in addition to the screening call or initial conversations you may have with a recruiter. There are multiple conversations taking place behind closed doors, including scheduling conflicts that are worked around when aligning CEOs and Boards of Directors for the interview process.

The Candidate Perspective

Working with someone, particularly a C-level candidate, strategically on their career search and placement is not an overnight process. Each of our guests on Hiring Insights have echoed a similar sentiment, that if you start thinking “what else is out there?” the time to take action is now. As Dimitri shared, “If you're a seeker for a C-level role, whether that's General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer, or even CFO, COO, etc., you’ve got to think about a 12-to-18-month timeline to find the right fit for yourself.”

You have to be disciplined in your approach and dedicate time consistently. As we guide candidates through the process of building connections and networking themselves into opportunities, one of the many steps is approaching search firms and signaling your level of interest in potentially being placed with one of their clients. When approaching a search firm...

·     Research which firms might have the clients or search assignments that could be relevant to you.

·     Identify who you want to connect with and send a respectful email stating what you are looking for and attach your resume.

·     Ask the search professional to add your resume to their database and to keep you in mind for future opportunities.

·     Check-in quarterly to update the recruiter and inform them that you are still looking.

Keep in mind, it is all about timing. A search firm works for their client (the employer), not the candidate. Dimitri states something that any candidate, regardless of seniority, needs to remember: the search professional's ability to help any individual job seeker is entirely contingent upon that person having the right search assignment at that time. It may be months down the road when their assignment and your resume match up and an initial conversation is pursued.

LinkedIn

Dimitri was an early adopter of LinkedIn, he saw the value and capitalized on the benefits it brings to networking, the search process, and personal branding. Too many executives have yet to capitalize on the benefits of optimizing their LinkedIn profile and fully engaging in the platform. We work to develop an effective strategy to ensure their profile is drawing connections to them, while establishing their personal brand and establishing thought leadership.

 ·     Use a professional headshot.

·     Customize your headline beyond your job title (what do you do? what value do you bring? what sets you apart?).

·     Utilize the About Me section by using strategic keywords (take the perspective of a search professional and use skillset and position-based words).

·     Highlight your career accomplishments in the experience section.

·     Strategically connect with industry professionals and leaders.

·     Actively engage in the comments of others and targeted LinkedIn groups.

Establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. We work with you to develop an effective strategy to ensure your LinkedIn profile is optimized. Feel free to connect with us or contact Lindsay Hofbauer directly to discuss your branding and social media needs.

Compensation

Everyone is eager to get to the point of their search where they are negotiating compensation. It’s part art, part science, and driven by a multitude of factors. Dimitri says, “At the C-suite level, I think a smart candidate will have an advisor.”

It is key to utilize someone who has done the market research, is actively engaged in the hiring process, and is keeping track of current trends. Your compensation package needs to be looked at and evaluated holistically so that you can be assured nothing is being left on the table, and that expectations are realistic.

From where the job market is heading, to what Dimitri looks for when having an initial screening call, this conversation is truly invaluable to executive leaders and legal talent. Dimitri brings a wealth of knowledge and a valuable “behind the scenes look” into the executive and legal recruiting world.  

Stay tuned for our conversation next month when we speak with Alex Su, a leader in LegalTech and a Columnist for Above the Law. Alex Su is a former lawyer who now works at the cutting edge of legal technology. He is the Head of Community Development at Ironclad, a contracts technology company backed by Accel, Sequoia Capital, and other leading investors. He is also active on TikTok (@legaltechbro), where he makes videos poking fun at the legal industry. Previously, he was an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and clerked for a federal judge. Alex graduated from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, where he was an editor of the law review and the student commencement speaker.

Thank you to all of you who subscribe to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe here. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights here.

If you are thinking about a career move, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

Jennifer Champlin | Networking, Relationship Building, DEI, and the National Association of Women Lawyers.

We were joined this month by Jennifer (Jenny) Champlin, a former Associate General Counsel and current Director of the DEI Incubator at Edward Jones. Jenny has also held leadership positions at Walmart and worked as a practicing attorney for Crowe and Dunlevy and Nixon Peabody. Jenny is the current President of the National Association of Women Lawyers.

Jenny is a natural when it comes to networking and building relationships, so we focused much of our conversation on how these two skills can help jobseekers and those looking to better manage their career.

Opportunities

Jenny shared that at the start of her career, like many young professionals, she was focused on a specific career path and assumed that it would be somewhat linear. Over the years, Jenny's career has proven to be anything but linear! Upward and exciting, yes... but not linear.

This experience is similar to the one shared by Matt Miller on Episode #2 of Hiring Insights. Matt shared his experiences navigating his non-linear career path towards becoming a Chief Legal Officer. We know that there are very few straightforward career paths and we work with clients to help them navigate these twists and turns daily.

If you are on a career path and want to explore your options, let’s have a conversation.

We have encouraged and fostered numerous career journeys and "next steps" including:

• Helping many lawyers secure new roles at law firms and as in-house counsel.

• Helping a Chief Information Officer transition into the real estate development industry.

• Helping a Controller elevate to a Chief Financial Officer role.

• Guiding a Chief Operating Officer to start their own consultancy.

• Helping a Business Development Executive join a Private Equity firm.

• Supporting a law firm partner's transition from private practice to being a General Counsel.

• And many, many, more!

But how do you evaluate opportunities?

It’s important to know what you value and to use what Jenny calls “The Job Trifecta”.

• Are you doing work that you are excited to get out of bed and perform every day?

• Are you getting paid fairly for that work? You can always get paid more, but are you getting paid fairly?

• Do you have a leader that's invested in you as an individual and your development?

If you were fortunate enough to say yes to all of the above, then you may hold back on a new pursuit. However, if your current situation is missing at least one or two of the above, then pursuing a new opportunity makes sense.

Relationship Building

The vast majority of our clients will not secure their next opportunity through a job posting or through a recruiter's outreach. They will likely get their next opportunity because of the people they know, and the people to whom they are introduced. People hire people. Which is why we advocate strongly for building relationships. Relationships are an essential component in securing new opportunities.

As Jenny points out, the key to relationships that will pay dividends in the long-term, are those that are authentic and genuine. “It's a matter of setting aside the time and the energy to think about how am I going to invest in building that authentic relationship that doesn't feel one-sided...”

Search your LinkedIn connections, then look at 2nd and 3rd degree connections. Find common ground and approach relationships in a symbiotic way. Find ways to help each other. We also suggesting looking outside your professional network to see where you can build and gain new relationships.

• Are you having meaningful conversations with those you volunteer with?

• Perhaps you are a parent and are involved in activities with other parents?

• Do you have religious or political networks that you have not explored?

• How involved are you in your alumni networks?

The list of opportunities to build meaningful, genuine, symbiotic relationships is endless.

Equality

The concept of equality is something that Jenny’s new role focuses on, and she provides great insight into this topic.

Jenny points out the individual conditioning that some people have experienced leads them to think that they should not pursue an opportunity unless they "check every box" on a job description.

“You have to push yourself past your limits, whether you're getting out of your own head or you're getting others to try to encourage you to push past those limits.” Our strategies include lengthy discussions about where you’ve been and where you want to go. We then work to evaluate your strengths and advocate on your behalf to present opportunities that match your goals... and maybe even some that you never would have considered!

We also help our clients know their value in the market, because we provide them with detailed and timely research so that they are confident during a compensation negotiation.

National Association of Women Lawyers

The National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) is an incredible organization. It facilitates networking and relationship building from wherever you are located and it has over 25 affinity groups... so there is something for everyone!

If you are a woman in the legal industry, we highly encourage looking at their website: NAWL : National Association of Women Lawyers. NAWL is a community able to assist you in building your career.

If you are thinking about a career move, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

Stay tuned for our conversation next month when we speak with Dimitri Mastrocola, Partner at Major Linsey & Africa. Prior to joining the recruiting world, Dimitri was a Senior Vice President at Citi, and practiced law at both Shearman & Sterling in New York and Fasken in Montreal. Dimitri will offer a "behind the scenes look" into the executive and legal recruiting world. If you have ever wondered how recruiters work and what they are looking for, you will not want to miss Dimitri's episode.

Thank you to all of you who subscribe to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe here. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights here.

If you are thinking about a career move, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

Robert Jones | How to Successfully Secure Your Next Executive Role: Search, Interview, and Negotiation Tips from a Chief Administrative Officer

Robert Jones, a former Enron Executive and a seasoned HR Leader shares insights into how to secure your next executive role on this episode of Hiring Insights.

I recently sat down with Robert Jones, Chief Administrative Officer at the Gavilon Group, LLC. Robert oversees human resources, marketing, communications, facilities, and other administrative functions for the global commodity management firm. Prior to 2010, Robert was the Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer for Enron Recovery Corp. With over 40 years of experience in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring executives, Robert's insights on this episode are great for anyone undergoing a job search, preparing for interviews, or building their executive team.

“Cultural Fit” was a theme throughout my conversation with Robert. If you have ever hired a candidate that has a top-tier education and all of the best qualifications, but six months in you realize the personality doesn’t mesh, you understand “cultural fit." As Robert points out, finding someone with the proper cultural fit can be one of the biggest challenges when making an executive hire.

Robert also offered great insight into the executive hiring experience, including insight into the executive-level interview experience. Authenticity is essential, as both Robert and Bill George (click here for Bill's insights) attest to. Approaching an interview inauthentically has negative consequences for both a candidate and an employer. Throughout our coaching and interview preparation process with executives, we utilize multiple discovery questions to help our clients prepare for their interviews. We focus on authenticity in telling their story; highlighting their strengths and defining their struggles. On the other side of the equation, when we are networking with recruiters and hiring managers, we utilize discovery questions before introducing them to our clients. 

We asked Robert to share some insight into what it takes to actually secure an interview for an executive-level role... “At the C-Suite level, it rarely comes down to someone applying for the job. In most of those cases, they're passive seekers.” Candidates for executive positions are often currently employed and experiencing success in their roles. Hiring companies also tend to be more quiet when filling executive positions-- often because they want to replace someone within their organization or because they want to shield their strategic hires from their competition. Both of these notions support our work in the unpublished job market. To gain entry to this unpublished market, you have to have connections and be introduced to the right decision makers and recruiters.

You don’t need to have the physical rolodex that Robert mentions in our conversation, but your network serves as a gateway to future opportunities. Our clients often start preparing months or years in advance of their next career move. We walk through questions like... Who do you need to know? Who can we introduce you to? How can we discreetly start getting you noticed by top headhunters and hiring managers while branding you as a thought leader within your industry?

Last month we spoke with Matt Miller (click here for Matt's Insights) about compensation and what terms can be negotiated during the hiring process, but Robert’s vast experience in human resources brought an insight all should be aware of and prepared for. Often at the executive level, appropriate compensation is going to come with the role, but for someone who is entering this level for the first time, you need to be questioning and negotiating salary and variable compensation as well as:

• Executive perks

• Decision rights

• Approval limits

Many clients are striving for their first executive role and we highly encourage them to listen to how Robert negotiated his decision rights prior to accepting his current role. He concludes with, “It was about what rights I would have to manage to be successful in the business, because I knew if I couldn't do any of those things, I'd follow the same fate as the person that I replaced.”

Robert also shared some insights into how to properly manage an employee's exit from a role. In Robert’s experience, if you care for an employee while they are employed for you, you want to handle their exit, when warranted, with the same level of care and one tool to utilize is outplacement services. We believe that committing sufficient resources to properly exiting employees can be as important to an employer's reputation as excellent recruiting and onboarding. This view has facilitated truly rewarding partnerships with both employers and employees. 

Stay tuned for our conversation next month when we speak with Jennifer Champlin, Associate General Counsel at Edward Jones and the current President of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL). Jennifer will share key insights into some of the most important aspects of managing a career and job searching -- networking and relationship building! She will also provide an overview of NAWL and highlight the importance of professional organizations in supporting the growth of leaders.

Thank you to all of you who subscribe to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe here. You can also find the transcript for each episode of Hiring Insights here.

If you are thinking about a career move, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

Matt Miller | Non-Linear Career Paths and Building Executive Teams: Insights from a Chief Legal Officer

It was a pleasure to interview Matt Miller on the second episode of the Hiring Insights Podcast. Matt is the Chief Legal Officer at Uptake. If you aspire to be an executive or find yourself in the midst of searching for your next role, listen to Matt’s episode for his candid insights into landing a c-suite role and how to manage a non-linear career path.

We were fortunate to be introduced to Matt through one of the recruiters in our network. When we met Matt, he had the goal of becoming a Chief Legal Officer. We knew that, just like our other executive-level clients, networking was going to be essential to his search. You have to be an active networker. “Light up your neural network,” Matt said. If you want to work at company XYZ, you have to dig until you find a connection to XYZ and then try to connect. We foster connections daily and encourage everyone to do the same. If you’re consistent in your approach and effort, you will ultimately realize the benefit.

When Matt was ultimately presented with an opportunity to become a Chief Legal Officer, the timing wasn’t ideal. He had only been in his role for less than a year. This is not an uncommon situation, and we are frequently asked how long someone should stay in a role and what factors into a decision to leave one role for another?

Loyalty in 2022 is no longer based on dedicating yourself to one organization for your entire career. You must remain loyal to yourself. Reference your charted career path. When opportunities present themselves that get you steps further on your path, take them, but do so gracefully. 

Matt also shared some insights into compensation negotiation that we fully agree with... you need to know what you are worth in the market. There is research and strategy involved in compensation negotiation. Having a clear understanding of your market value is an imperative. It is also important to remember that salary isn’t the only thing that can be negotiated... there are many elements to an executive's compensation package. Some of them include:

• Signing bonuses

• Stock options and awards

• Annual and long-term incentive plans

• Relocation packages

• Severance and change of control provisions

One of the most common questions we are asked is how someone can distinguish themselves in an interview process. Matt distilled a few salient points from his experience interviewing both legal and executive talent. “Be yourself and be candid and comfortable with who you are. Don't try to be what you think the interviewers are looking for because one, your guess is probably going to be wrong. You're going to interview with different people who bring different personalities to the table. So, I want somebody who's coming and they're bringing their whole genuine self to the process.”

If you are thinking about a career move, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized advocacy to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

Stay tuned for our conversation next month when we speak with Robert Jones of the Gavilon Group, a global commodity management firm. Robert serves as Gavilon's Chief Administrative Officer and is the former Chief Administrative Officer of Enron. Robert will share tips for how to secure your next executive role, how to prepare for an executive interview, and tips for how to negotiate your compensation package.

Thank you to all of you who subscribe to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen to earlier episodes and to subscribe here.

Bill George | Hiring Executives and Authentic Leadership: From a CEO and Board Perspective

I am honored to interview Bill George for the first episode of Hiring Insights, presented by Top Talent Advocates. Bill is a former Fortune 500 CEO and has been on numerous boards including: Goldman Sachs, ExxonMobil, Novartis, Target Corporation and the World Economic Forum USA. We asked Bill which nonprofit we should support in honor of this episode and he suggested the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing -- we would encourage you to do the same!

In this episode, Bill and I explore:

• How CEOs build their teams and what they look for when hiring.

• What a corporate board looks for when they hire a CEO.

• Non-traditional ways for executive candidates to get noticed in their job search.

• What it takes to join a corporate board and how to get noticed.

A topic of great interest to me was Bill's advice for the aspiring executive. Regardless of the reason for entering into a job search, he recommends finding someone to help you; a coach, a mentor, a firm that knows how to help you present yourself to potential employers. Someone who knows what employers are looking for.

Bill shares a fantastic story about a referral he received from two different people for a candidate he didn't even have a position for. He knew the referral source, trusted their relationship, and valued the recommendation. This relationship was so strong, that Bill took the opportunity to interview the candidate and ultimately created a position for them.

We see this too frequently to count. Candidates must network and building strong relationships that can open the path for their next move. When you partner with someone that can represent you to their trusted networks, your chances dramatically increase to start a conversation. Click HERE to listen to Bill.

The unpublished job market at the executive level or in the legal world has endless possibilities. At Top Talent Advocates we work nonstop to expand our network of recruiters, human resource officers, and executive leaders. We build strong relationships so that we can be confident they are bringing us the most lucrative opportunities, while they know we are providing them top candidates.

If you are thinking about a career move, let's have a conversation. Leverage our network of recruiters, hiring managers, business leaders, and our personalized coaching to get noticed and carve your personalized path to success.

Stay tuned next month to hear from Matt Miller. Matt, a seasoned technology lawyer and executive, is the Chief Legal Officer at Uptake, an industrial artificial intelligence software company. In our May episode, Matt will share the journey of his recent job search and how he hires and builds his team. It will be a great episode for anyone looking to hire executive talent or who wants insight into the executive and legal job search process.

Thank you to all of you who subscribe to this newsletter. You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com. We encourage you to provide feedback on the podcast by posting comments, forwarding to others in your network, and encouraging others to gain insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. Don't forget to listen and subscribe here.

Executive and Legal Hiring Search + Podcast Launch

Whether you are a job seeker, a people leader, a recruiter, an executive coach or simply interested in talent, there is something here for you within the Hiring Insights Newsletter and on our podcast, launching later this month!

Who We Are

The thrill of chasing and securing a new job started for me while in law school. I vividly remember walking to the post office on a blustery winter day with a stack of 612 summer job applications I had drafted during a self-imposed break from classes. That’s right, 612 resumes and unique cover letters during my first semester in law school! As I picked up a few of the applications that had fallen victim to a gush of wind outside of the post office, I remember thinking that this is an intense approach to pursuing a summer job, but hopefully one that would give me an edge to the start of my career.  It was that experience that sparked my interest in and passion for the job search process, and which ultimately led to my starting Top Talent Advocates.

During my various roles following graduate school, I heard countless stories from friends and colleagues about the difficulties they experienced in finding their next job or leadership role. Numerous people would tell me about their desire to find new and better positions, but struggled with the process of how to conduct a thorough and efficient search for their next role. I found myself helping to informally connect people to grow their networks, uncover job opportunities, and strategize about their compensation negotiations. My experience helping with these job searches, combined with my own job search experience, helped me identify an unmet need... the need for executives and attorneys to have an advocate during their job search. And thus, Top Talent Advocates was born.

As Top Talent Advocates has grown over the years, my work with executives and attorneys has allowed me to meet and learn from numerous leaders about the executive hiring process. Many of those insights and experiences will be shared through this newsletter and through the observations of my guests on the Hiring Insights Podcast (launching this month!). I love helping executives and attorneys secure new and better professional opportunities that enhance their job satisfaction and compensation. On average, our clients see an 18% increase in their total compensation because prior to our services, they didn't maximize their worth.

Our Services

Resume writing, social media optimization, career planning, and compensation analysis services are open to clients of all experience levels, including recent graduates looking to launch their career.

For the executive leader or attorney looking for a full-service overhaul, our advocacy and coaching services are unique to the market. We focus on advocating for our clients throughout the entire search and placement process. Our services don't end at the interview stage. We assist clients in achieving better compensation and benefits packages once offers start coming in and stay by their side, focusing on their long-term goals. You can hear what our satisfied clients have said about working with us here.

Our Network

In order to introduce our executive talent to the unpublished job market, we partner with recruiters and hiring managers nationwide, allowing them to leverage our "Ready To Hire" talent pool. This expedites a candidate’s search and helps our partners achieve their goals.

We have had the honor to work with Top Talent who work in Legal, Marketing, Human Resources, Finance, Accounting, Business Development, Sales, IT, Risk, Insurance  and Operations across numerous industries and sectors. Revamping resumes, building professional brands, and fully advocating and coaching individuals to their next opportunity is our passion.

Our Podcast Launch

I am excited to announce the launch of the Hiring Insights Podcast later this month. I invite you to listen as we explore the corporate and law firm worlds where executives, attorneys, recruiters, executive coaches, and talented candidates meet. In each episode, listeners will hear from a variety of thought leaders who share insights into the hiring process for executives and attorneys. We will also support a different nonprofit on each episode.

I am honored to interview Bill George, for the first episode of the Hiring Insights Podcast. Mr. George is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Medtronic. He has served on the boards of Goldman Sachs, ExxonMobil, Novartis, Target Corporation, and the World Economic Forum USA. He was named one of the “Top 25 Business Leaders of the Past 25 Years” by PBS; “Executive of the Year-2001” by the Academy of Management; and “Director of the Year-2001-02” by the National Association of Corporate Directors. Bill is a CNBC Contributor and makes frequent appearances on television and radio. On our podcast, Bill will discuss how to pursue executive positions, board roles, and what to look for when hiring executives.

Stay tuned for more details on the launch of the Hiring Insights Podcast! You can find more information about Top Talent Advocates on our website here, by following us on our LinkedIn page here, or by emailing us at TTA@TopTalentAdvocates.com.