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.
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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.