Tag Archives: job search

Use Strikingly to Enhance Your Job Search

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Looking for a job?  Stand out from other candidates by creating your own personal Web site with Strikingly.  Simply create a login, then choose from one of six templates under the Personal tab or scroll to the bottom of the page and select “One Click Online Resume” to convert your LinkedIn profile to a personal Web site.  It’s that easy and it’s free!

To give you an idea of how Strikingly uses LinkedIn, let’s do a comparison of the two.

Here is a partial screen grab of my LinkedIn Profile:

Here is a partial screen grab of my Strikingly Web site:

Click edit to change the background image, upload your own image, change the template style, add content or edit content.  Save at any time to avoid losing your edits and use Preview to test drive your site before making it live. When you’re done, click Publish.

To navigate your site, use the slide bar or simply scroll down the page.  (Note:  recommendations follow experience, but don’t have their own navigation.)

What did I appreciate about Strikingly?

  • It is incredibly easy to use.  Hard to beat a “one click and you’re done” Web site.
  • If you build one personal site and don’t mind the strikingly.com domain name, there is no charge.
  • Sites are available instantly – about 10 seconds and I was off and running.
  • Editing is easy and intuitive.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn I could upload my own background images and change the template style.
  • Stock iconography and logos are used advantageously to enhance content.
  • A key recommendation was showcased in an appealing way.
  • Publicize your new site on Twitter or Facebook when done!

If you are looking for a more engaging, interesting way to present your qualifications, please give Strikingly a try.  Take the time to edit and personalize your site by uploading your own background image and tweaking the template.  For custom domains and other features, check out the Limited or Pro pricing plans.

All Rights Reserved [2014] Beverly Michaelis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Choosing a Practice Area

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10-16-2013 4-34-22 PMIn my last post, I shared some words of wisdom from our If I Only Knew panelists at Learning the Ropes 2013.  This week I’m offering further advice from our panelists on how to choose an area of practice:

Business and Financial Considerations

  • In what businesses do you have knowledge and expertise?
  • Do you have special contacts in a particular field?
  • Can you identify a specific market for your legal services?
  • What is the competition like? 
  • Are there enough clients to warrant another practitioner in the geographic area? 
  • Can you provide better, less expensive, or more convenient service?
  • What are your cash flow considerations?

Personal Considerations

  • What area of law do you like?
  • What kind of clients do you want to represent?
    • Businesses
    • Individuals
    • High income – estate planning, business, real estate
    • Low income – poverty law, domestic relations, consumer law
  • What challenges you?
  • What gives you great satisfaction?

Other Considerations

Overall, do you prefer civil or criminal? If civil, do you see yourself as a litigator or transactional lawyer?  If criminal, how do you feel about court-appointed work?

Still Unsure?  Conduct Informational Interviews

If you are unsure about what area to practice in, talk with people who practice in the areas that you might be interested in. Take them out to lunch or to coffee and conduct an “informational interview.”

You’re Off and Running

Once you figure out what area you do want to practice in, try to develop your marketing niche.  This may be the practice area itself, or it may be a twist that differentiates you from someone else in your geographical area. Figure out your difference, and make sure that people know what it is.  Sample marketing plans, business development checklists, and marketing worksheets are available on the PLF Web site.

Parting Words

Practicing is a process, and changes are inevitable — what you choose may be a stepping stone to something else.

Register Now for Our All-Day Career Seminar

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On March 1, 2013 the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program will present Finding Long-Term Career Satisfaction with a Law Degree.

This day long seminar will help you attain career satisfaction in the current economy.  The morning session will explain the five elements of the Lawyer Career Satisfaction Model:

  • Values
  • Psychological Needs
  • Communication Style
  • Motivated Skills
  • Career Interests

and how to use them to tailor your job search.  The afternoon session will provide tools for navigating the current job market.

The seminar will be live and Webcast and includes The New What Can You Do With a Law Degree?  Registration links and details are available here.

What You Can Do With a Law Degree

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The New What Can You Do With a Law Degree: A Lawyer’s Guide to Career Satisfaction Inside, Outside & Around the Law is now available on Amazon.

For those who aren’t familiar with the predecessor editions, here is a description:

In this new, 6th edition of a law career classic, lawyers are introduced to a unique, five-part model for career satisfaction. It is based on a well-established principle that the better the fit between your career identity and your job, the greater your long-term satisfaction. The five-part model developed by Larry Richard JD/Ph.D. will help identify your career identity so that you can find lifelong satisfaction in the traditional practice of law, or through alternative work arrangements, or career choices. This book contains career exercises, practical career-finding techniques, and a compendium of 800+ ways to use your law degree inside, outside or around the law.

The co-author is our very own Tanya Hanson, Oregon State Bar Professional Liability Fund Loss Prevention Attorney.

I hope you will find this resource helpful. Please share it with others who might benefit from this guide.  At a mere $30 (free shipping) it is a bargain and then some!

 

Leveraging LinkedIn to Boost Your Job Search

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Much has been written about the power of LinkedIn as a job search tool, but how exactly does it work?  Is there really a way to leverage your profile to find that perfect position?  The answer is yes!

In the June issue of In Sight, a publication of the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program, Heidi Strauch tells us how in 10 easy steps:

  1. Get ready (this entails getting a professional headshot and polishing your resume language).
  2. Decide whether to pay for a premium account.  (Upgrading allows you to contact anyone directly through LinkedIn InMail, among other benefits.  Three paid account levels are offered:  Business, Business Plus, and Executive.)
  3. Create your profile.
  4. Choose your profile settings.
  5. Use the public profile function.
  6. Make connections. (Networking and connecting is what LinkedIn is all about.)
  7. Use third-party applications to link to your Twitter account, blog, or articles written by you and posted on a document sharing site.
  8. Request recommendations.
  9. Join groups.
  10. Actively use LinkedIn in your job search.

Step 10 is the key and here is Heidi’s advice:

  • Research  potential  employers  and  sources  for informational interviews and referrals: If you identify a potential employer, use the search function on LinkedIn to find out whether he or she is a member. If so, review the profile to find out the person’s back­ground and interests and, most importantly, whether you have any connections in common. If so, approach your  connection to make  an introduction for you.
  • Ask for introductions from your LinkedIn network: This  is one  of the most useful functions of LinkedIn. In the local  business or legal community, the chances are good  that you can link  to most other people  in two or three steps.  As you  build your  online  network, you will  be able  to connect with people  who are resources for your  job search.
  • Publicize  your   Public   Profile:  Use  your   Public Profile  URL in your e-mail signature. Put the  URL on your  business card.  (You  can  get business cards free from Vistaprint.)
  • Keep  an  eye  on  your  connections: Who  are  they linking  with?  Do you know their  new  links  enough  to invite them to link with you? What groups are they joining? Are they of interest to you? If your connections are potential employers or know potential employers, can you provide  value  to them in a way that enhances their impression of you (e.g. , through group  discussions)?
  • Keep  an  eye  on  your  groups:  Follow  the  discussions.   Contribute to  a discussion if  you  have  something  valuable to say. Start a discussion that  would  be of interest to the group.
  • Update  your status if you are involved in something interesting: But don’t let the status go stale.  If it’s been up for  a few  days  without change, it’s  better to  clear out the status and have  it say nothing than  to allow  it to sit unchanged.
  • If you  have  a  Web  site,   add  a LinkedIn  widget: This  allows people who visit your  Web site  to know that you’re on LinkedIn and to easily move to your LinkedIn profile. Many  people  use LinkedIn as a re­search tool,  and this will  help  them  to know  who you may  know  in common  and  what  your interests are.

Great advice Heidi!  Read the complete article here.

Learn more about the power of LinkedIn from our Networking and Career Building seminar.  Feel free to connect to me on LinkedIn, I’d love to connect.

Copyright 2011 Beverly Michaelis