Hacking the Job Search: How to Passively Find Your Dream Job

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿'𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:

𝟭) 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘆𝗺

𝟮) 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆

𝟯) 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗷𝗼𝗯...𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲?

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Many lawyers find themselves unhappy in their current role but have no idea where to start when looking to move, or don't have the time for lengthy (and often fruitless) 11-page job applications. What if I told you that there's a very simple way to put in just 1 hour of work and have your dream opportunities come to you? Well, FYI, there is...and it's all about LinkedIn.

I'm sure this isn't the first time that you've been told to update your LinkedIn, and it can seem like a daunting task, but doing so is free and can add so much value to your professional life. Having an up-to-date and complete LinkedIn profile will put you in the best position to get approached by recruiters. Yes, some bad ones will present you with roles that you'll never go for, but it also makes it easier for the good ones to find you and reach out about your potential next move.

LinkedIn is a hub for recruitment; ensuring that your profile reflects where you are in your career, and where you're looking to go, is key. Here's 𝟱 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 on how to keep yours up to scratch:

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𝟭) 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 📷

Your headline is an easy way to summarise your current role. Luckily for lawyers, this is pretty simple to do e.g. "Senior Associate (Restructuring & Insolvency) at X Firm ". Also, a clear profile photo is a MUST - helping to put a face to the experience will do you nothing but good.

𝟮) 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 ✍️

This is your chance to speak about yourself - everyone's favourite topic. Write about what motivates you, how you got to this point in your career, where you're looking for your career to go next, and any hobbies that you might have. This is also a great place for keywords and SEO relevant to your role as this will be highlighted on LinkedIn Recruiter (the "backend" of LinkedIn).

𝟯) 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 🏙

Detail is everything here. You want to mention the transactions/matters/documents that you've been working on, anything standout that you've achieved in your role, and any internal groups that you might be a part of. For your TC make sure to specify the seats/teams that you were in as well.

𝟰) 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 🎓

This is important to fill in properly; of course, it'll be assumed that you've completed the LPC/SQE in order to be practicing, but detailing your academic achievements (e.g. if you got a First/2.1 at university or a Distinction at law school) can only help. You can also provide details of specific modules that you studied, or even societies that you were a part of, to add personality to your profile.

𝟱) 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 👩 💻

An SEO goldmine. Adding your skills to your profile makes it super easy to pop up in searches on LinkedIn Recruiter - this is both soft and hard skills. Also, your skills can be endorsed by colleagues or you can take LinkedIn assessments to help prove that you actually have the needed competencies. Take advantage of this section and watch your inbox be filled with much more relevant messages.

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Discover more advice: 20 steps to a better LinkedIn profile in 2022.

Ultimately, the goal is for a recruiter to be able to read your profile and get a good idea of the kind of opportunities that you'd be looking for. Just an evening of work could set you up for your next career move and find you exactly what you're looking for, whether this is a pay rise, better work-life balance, or maybe just bigger cases to work on. Once you've found the right recruiter to work with, they can open up a whole world of opportunity for you and present you with roles that you might've never come across, even if you went out searching yourself.

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Get a head start on your 2023 goals now - transform your profile and watch the right opportunities roll into your inbox.

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For more advice on the next steps in your legal career, get in touch.

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