Changing Your Legal Job
The job market today is extremely dynamic. People are switching from one job to another quite frequently. While there are many factors behind it, one major factor can be the volatility of the job market. Insecurity in the jobs had led the people to change their jobs frequently. An associate or attorney must consider important factors before considering changing the legal job.
An attorney or associate generally considers changing his or her job if the salaries are low, or if he or she is not comfortable with the other associates or attorneys in the law firm. Those days when people used to join and retire in the same office are long gone. From 25 to 60 years of age, the lawyers used to practice in the same law firms. A. Harrison Barnes CEO of Lawcrossing.com states that a lawyer who had changed their job several times in a year used to find it difficult to get themselves placed in a law firm. Today it is not very unusual to change jobs after every one or two years.
The law schools, and internships, train the law students with the skills that help them to get into the law schools. These phases of training, never instruct the methods to be implied while changing the legal job. The law students do not have any idea as to how to approach the beginning of their career. This is one of the major flaws in the modern legal educational system, says A. Harrison Barnes.
In case you are a lawyer, and you are trying to move into a career that is not related to law, it is important that you measure the weight of the following questions:
• How necessary is it for you to change your career? • Are you ready to change your career directions? • Is career change an easy option for you? • Will it not be personally difficult for you to opt for career changes? • What are the choices available at your disposal for making career changes? • What should be the most appropriate method for bringing about career changes? • What should be your course of action? • How have you decided to implement your plan?
“Theory of victory” says A. Harrison Barnes is one of the master plan that can be implemented for bringing about career changes. In case you feel that your abilities, strength and talents are not utilized fully, you do not derive any sense of ownership, predictability, legitimacy, while making use of them, should you consider changing your legal career. You must feel that you are the boss of your work and it centers around you. Once you feel that you are no longer the anchor, you should consider changing your legal job.
You can consult a career coach who can guide you to choose a new job and through the job search process. You can discuss your job preferences and other concerns with the career coach at length. A good career coach will surely help you take the right career path.
The lawyer has a natural tendency of considering his current position, when they feel as if they are being underpaid, or you have better options waiting in the market and there are better job prospects. If the associate or the attorney is very energetic about their career and life, a new direction can offer better prospects. In case you feel that you have unconsciously developed stead fast relation with your colleagues, associates or advisors, and you are feeling the absence of a role model in your legal firm, you might go for legal career changes says A. Harrison Barnes.
Chalk out your professional and personal priorities. If you find that your present legal career is not giving you enough scope to exhibit your skills, you can opt for career changes. Self evaluation is also very important. At the same time you should remember that you don’t have to make frequent career changes to prove “a worthy expression of who you are.”
A lawyer must be very organized in their legal career. Any changes in the legal career because of mismanagement will be a great mistake. It might take you several months to deduce successful career plans. The current market scenario and the financial status, both are important. Make sure that you spend considerable time and effort to deduce such plans. Do not make decisions of changing the legal career in haste says A. Harrison Barnes.
The decision of changing the legal career should never be taken because of boredom. Before deciding anything, there should be clarity of thought. You should ask yourself if it is the legal career, the job, the office or the people that you are not satisfied with. It is advisable that you should not leave a job unless you find a suitable legal job or career ahead.