How to Get Hired Where There Is Not Even an Opening

For some reason, almost every week (sometimes more than once a week) venture capitalists and private equity companies call me to talk about the various businesses I am involved in. I used to talk to them quite formally, the way average people like me talk to doctors, lawyers and bankers. I assumed (wrongly so), that I needed to be a little bit guarded, not share too much information and such. Do not ask me why I thought this way. I think it probably has something to do with the fact that when they call, they say something like the following: [Read more]

The Best Way to Prepare for a Job Search and Interviews

Several years ago when looking for a position in Los Angeles I interviewed with numerous law firms. In virtually every one of these interviews I ran across an attorney who knew not one, not two, not three—but numerous, numerous attorneys in my current firm. If this is the case in a market the size of Los Angeles (and the market in Los Angeles is huge), I cannot even imagine what it must be like in smaller markets. For example, I am from Detroit. I grew up in a suburb of Detroit. When it came time for me to decide where to work in law school, when I started interviewing with firms in Detroit I knew many of the attorneys before I even arrived at the interviews–they were the parents of people I grew up with. The following are my suggestions for the best way to prepare for a job search and interviews: 1. Know you are always being watched, observed and judged When I was in high school I remember that one of the best looking girls in my school was known to be a prude and someone who would date boys but never let anything all that exciting happen. She was also a star athlete and a student counsel leader and a very respected student. My parents were divorced and lived about an hour apart. I lived with my father. The funny thing is that this same girl [Read more]

You Need to Stop Competing and Seeing Differences Between You and Others

If you are looking for a job, trying to improve in your current job, or simply wish to experience a better life, there is one thing you need to do: You need to be friends with everyone you meet in business, and stop competing and seeing differences.   This is a statement that falls on deaf ears for most people.  In fact, this is the exact opposite of the way most of us think.  Instead, we view others as competitors and the slices of pie as limited.  We view opportunities as few and limited, and feel the need to compete for what little there is. What are the rewards for looking and seeing commonalty between you and others?  They are incredible.  In the Year 2000 I started a legal recruiting firm.  I did not start the firm until around March of that year. I had no legal recruiting experience and knew absolutely nothing about about the market.  Since I had been a practicing attorney for years, the fact that I was now recruiting seemed almost surreal to me in many respects.  I had decided to just enter a zone where I did not care what happened to me.  When you are in the recruiting business, what typically happens is that law firms will call you in a very formal way to tell you they have no interest in a candidate of yours.  The conversations will typically last no more than 30 to 45 seconds. “We are calling to let you know that we have no interest in John Smith,” they might say. “Thank you,” would be the standard response. After several weeks of this I began to feel that the entire situation was somewhat absurd.  This is what recruiters do all over the country. I decided that the best [Read more]

Do Not Be Immobilized in Your Job Search

Several years ago, I was sitting in my office and the most amazing candidate came across my desk.  The attorney had a degree in a hard science discipline from a school like CalTech or MIT (I believe it was physics), had gone to a good law school and finished first in his class.  Not only that, he was currently working at one of the top law firms in the world and was in a practice area that was not just desirable at the time, it was white hot.  His practice area was so in demand at this particular point in time that one law [Read more]

Allow People Around You to Feel and Believe Whatever They Want

When I was about nine years old I was driving down the street with a relative of mine and we saw a huge, pale man was walking down the side of the road flipping off cars and screaming at them.  The man did not have a shirt on and seemed extremely angry.  He was wearing dirty jeans and had long hair that was sweaty.  The man was large, probably at least 6′ 4″ and quite heavy.  It was a terrifying site because the man’s movements were exaggerated and he seemed to be in a lot of pain.  My relative saw this man, slowed down, pulled over close to [Read more]

The Dangers of Getting Jobs Through Friends

Men are more ready to repay an injury than a benefit, because gratitude is a burden and revenge a pleasure. “Oh, I already have a friend there. I’ll just contact him.” In the job market, it’s one of the more common things we hear after informing a job seeker that a certain employer has a job opening. There is a lot you need to consider before you decide to apply to a job through a friend or relative, or take a job working for a friend or relative. First, it is exceedingly rare that a friend or [Read more]

King Henry II and Understanding Your Employer

Under King Henry II in the twelfth century, England established a common law.  This was a body of law that was common to all parts of the country.  Throughout Europe at the time, there was a wide body of law that was applied—there were feudal customs, Germanic customs and other differing customs.  For example, French King Louis IX was well known for having allowed each province of France to have its own laws and procedures after becoming part of France.  He created a Parliament of Paris to hear appeals from the feudal lords around France. Each year, [Read more]

Do Not Allow the Past to Limit Your Opportunities Today

My one-year old daughter calls a coffee cup “hot” and avoids coffee cups lest she gets burned.  Until she learns that the coffee cup can also contain coffee, milk, and other foods that will not harm her, she is likely to avoid coffee cups for some time.  She must have been burned a little by touching a coffee cup at one point and learned to stay away from coffee cups.  Until she is able to see the coffee cup for what it is (a cup), and not her past experience (getting burned), she will not be able to experience everything positive that can [Read more]

How to Talk About Other Interviews in Your Interviews

One of the questions I receive quite often from people I am working with is whether or not they should talk about other interviews while they are interviewing with a potential employer. Let me emphasize one thing: This is one of the more important questions you will ever be asked in an interview. Regardless of your qualifications, how you respond to this question will have a direct bearing on whether or not you receive an offer from the employer asking you this question. Be very careful as to how you answer this question. At the outset, it is important to point out that you do not have to answer this question. This question will also not be asked very often. Indeed, it is my opinion that this question is entirely inappropriate. In no instance should you even volunteer this information unless you are asked. The problem is that if you are asked this question, you will look bad if you refuse to answer it. Not answering the question gives the employer the impression that you will similarly “hide the ball” when you are working for them. It also does not do much to assist you in establishing a bond of [Read more]

You Should Not Dabble: To Succeed It’s All or Nothing

My last helicopter lesson was on a Christmas morning several years ago. I am very glad that I made that my last helicopter lesson. I had shown up at the flight school around 6:00 am. The previous evening I had been out pretty late and was not in a mood to fly a helicopter that morning. I had to go to school at that hour, however, because it was the only time slot I was willing to pay for (it is cheaper to rent a helicopter early in the morning), and I also had a full-time job to be at during [Read more]

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