News headlines over the last few weeks - both in mainstream media and legal publications - continued to focus on negative aspects of the legal job market:
The reality is the legal job market is flooded with laid-off associates, recent graduates without jobs and rising 3Ls with fewer (or no) job prospects. Thus, it is imperative for these job seekers to take advantage of every job search tool available. One tool available is the social networking site Twitter. You can read more about Twitter in one of my earlier newsletters here. The best part about Twitter ... not many attorneys are using it in their job search (or even know how to use it) so those who do use it instantly have access to hidden resources.
I recommend job seekers use Twitter in three ways:
- Search the legal job boards on Twitter;
- Follow the right users - people and firms that are not job boards but users who sometimes post openings or talk about firms that are hiring; and
- Network to build relationships (over time) with legal professionals.
Method 1: Search Legal Job Boards on Twitter
Job seekers should be familiar with two ways to search job boards via Twitter:
- Searching individual job boards that are specific to the legal industry; and
- Searching TwitterJobSearch.com for legal positions that appear on non-legal specific job boards.
I've compiled a list of over 30 job boards for the legal industry and listed them below in the following categories - national legal job boards, regional legal job boards, international legal job boards and practice area/industry specific legal job boards. I'm sure there are others; this is just a list of job boards I see tweeting jobs on a consistent basis.
National Legal Job Boards
@LM_Jobs - the ABA's LegallyMinded
@lawjobsinusa - national job board
@DiverseJobs - diversity jobs
@legaljobsite - job site for legal professionals
@lawjobs - job board and career site for Incisive Media's Law.com Network
@mhcareers - Martindale-Hubbell career center and job board
@Law_Crossing - legal jobs
@tmj_usa_legal - USA legal/paralegal jobs from www.tweetmyjobs.com
@GetLawyerJobs - lawyer jobs
@GetEnLeAttoJobs - entry level attorney jobs
Regional Legal Job Boards
@lbattyjobs - legal jobs in Chicago and the Midwest
@jobs_at_Legal - Atlanta legal jobs
@LegalJobsInLA - Los Angeles legal jobs from the Omni Job Board Network
@LawJobsNewYork - New York legal jobs
@jobs_NY_Legal - New York legal jobs
@nyclegaljobs - New York City legal jobs
@jobs_STL_Legal - St. Louis legal jobs
@sdlegal - San Diego legal jobs
@Jobs_SF_Legal - San Francisco area law jobs
@SocalLawCareers - Southern California legal jobs
@jobs_sat_Legal - Washington state legal jobs
@jobs_DC_Legal - Washington, DC legal jobs
International Legal Job Boards
@LawJobAustralia - Australia legal jobs
@LawJobsCanada - Canada legal jobs
@LawJobsIndia - India law jobs
@LawJob - United Kingdom law jobs
@LawJobsBIRM - United Kingdom (Birmingham) legal jobs
@LegalWeek - United Kingdom (London) legal jobs
@LegalJobsLondon - United Kingdom (London) legal jobs
Practice Area/Industry Specific Legal Job Boards
@intellectualxin - Intellectual property jobs
@getpatattorjobs - patent attorney jobs
@DotOrgJobs - philanthropy and nonprofit jobs
@lobbyingjobs -job board for lobbyists, advocacy, policy and government relations professionals
@jobsinlobbying - lobbyist jobs
@HigherEdJobs - jobs in higher education, including law schools
@AcademeJobs - jobs in higher education, including law schools
TwitterJobSearch.com
The second way to access postings on job boards is to perform a search on TwitterJobSearch.com. Search by keywords such as legal, lawyer, attorney or counsel. Your results will include legal job postings on non-legal job boards that might be off your radar. In the example below, you'll see that I searched with the keyword "counsel" and the search generated two postings for corporate counsel positions on two non-legal job boards -- @zulujobsil and @execjobsla.
Method 2: Follow Users Who Tweet About Jobs
In addition to job boards, there are plenty of users who routinely tweet about jobs or tweet information that suggests potential job openings. For example, the following tweet is by an attorney who announced that Google was looking to hire telecom policy counsel in DC.
Frequently, users know of positions that are not advertised or posted. Here's an example of a user tweeting about a legal marketing position in the Los Angeles area. There is no link to a job posting but the user provides her contact information so people can get in touch for more information.
In addition to specific positions, watch for potential openings. For example, here's a tweet from the ABA Journal announcing that the DOJ plans to hire 50 more lawyers.
And, here's a tweet and link to an article regarding a practice area that continues to boom -- e-discovery -- discussing how many firms have created the position of e-discovery attorney. Attorneys with any IT background could use this information to market themselves as e-discovery attorneys to firms potentially looking.
The challenging part of following users who routinely tweet about legal jobs is knowing who to follow. I recommend getting started by following law school career counselors, internal law firm recruiters, external legal recruiters (headhunters), legal publications and bar associations.
Method 3: Network with Legal Professionals
Finally, job seekers should embrace one of the oldest and best job search methods - networking. Now, they can network online on social networking sites like Twitter and reach hundreds or thousands of people in fewer than 140 characters. I recommend five steps for networking on Twitter:
- Identify and connect with legal professionals, especially those with whom you share connections - law school alumni, geographical market, practice area, etc.
- Socialize with these professionals. Remember, it's called social networking; you must engage with others to develop relationships.
- Mix it up. The content of your tweets shouldn't always say, "help me find a job." Definitely let people know you are job searching but go beyond that simple statement. Talk about the steps you are taking in your job search. Talk about legal articles you've read or trends you are seeing in the industry. Ask questions and respond to others' questions. And, don't be afraid to mix in personal talk such as a movie you are going to see or advice on a restaurant to try in a particular area of town. You very well may connect with someone because you share a favorite restaurant!
- Monitor your numbers. How many people did you engage with in a week? How many times have you engaged with a particular user? Remember the rule of 7 touches in traditional networking? It applies to social networking as well. It will take multiple contacts with a particular user before a relationship develops.
- Connect offline. Pick up the phone after you've engaged with someone 6-8 times online and have a conversation. If you live in the same town, meet for coffee. Or, if you visit another user's city, offer to meet for coffee during your visit.
Conclusion
Will you land your dream job on Twitter? Who knows? I do know that Twitter is an untapped resource in legal job searches and offers too many potential benefits to be ignored. Try using it in your job search or recommending it to a job seeker. Even if you don't land your dream job, perhaps you'll make a new friend.
Amanda Ellis Legal Search was founded by Amanda C. Ellis, a former practicing bankruptcy attorney and an accomplished attorney recruiter. Amanda was previously with Special Counsel, the largest provider of legal staffing services to corporate legal departments and law firms nationwide, where she was the top producer for direct hire attorney placements. Amanda formed Amanda Ellis Legal Search to implement a focused approach to legal recruiting. Amanda Ellis Legal Search focuses on the placement of bankruptcy attorneys in law firms nationwide.
