Where It’s At
March 2, 2010 by Damian
‘Where it’s at’ is not just one of my favourite songs (by Beck incidentally) but is also a variation of a question that I get asked at least once a day. Everyone wants to know what the job market is looking like now and what it will be looking like over the coming weeks and months. So here is my two cents (or 50 cents to continue the musical theme) worth on where it’s at.
A very unscientific analysis of last week’s activity on the various job sites indicates that there are a lot more vacancies around at the moment than there have been for at least the last 12 months. From Monday 22nd – Friday 26th, there were 125 jobs added to Seek. Obviously, quite a number of these are duplicates and others are for vacancies that have been around for a while but it does contain a significant number of new vacancies across private practice, public sector and to a lesser extent, in-house. For the first time in a long time, the roles also traverse a wide range of practice areas including corporate, finance, litigation, RM, employment, family and so on.
So it should be easy to get a job now? No. Easier? Yes. Even though there are now more vacancies around, employers are not going to drop their standards and take someone for the sake of it. The advantage for the job seeker now is that there is not as much competition around so their CV will be more closely scrutinised than it was previously but if your background is not good enough, you will not make it across the line.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, the great unknown in the debate is when the overseas markets will return to some degree of normality. It is a question of ‘when’ not ‘if’ and when it happens, we will see even more vacancies here with even fewer candidates applying. The majority of these vacancies will be in the traditional 2-5 year bracket but I suspect that we will also see a number of senior lawyers leaving to either return to the UK or there are some who will be going for the first time. Either way, employers should be bracing themselves for some serious going away parties over the next 6-9 months.
So where is it at? In summary, my view is that the outlook is definitely improving (from a job seekers point of view) and will continue to gradually improve throughout the rest of the year. However, I would refer to the point that I make earlier that even though there may be more opportunities does not mean that it will be easy to get a job. It is never easy to secure a new position and nor should it ever be. You still need to have a good CV, good grades and present well at interview. If you can manage that, then you can be confident that something suitable will come along in 2010.
Biggest News of the Year So Far!!
February 9, 2010 by Damian
By far the biggest news story of the year so far in the legal recruitment world has just broken with the news that UK Magic Circle giant Allen & Overy is opening in Australia -
http://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/blogs/top_stories/archive/2010/02/07/allen-amp-overy-to-open-shop-in-australia.aspx.
This is a huge story. There have been murmurings for years about UK firms either setting up in Australia or merging with an established Australian firm (which recently just happened with the Norton Rose/Deacons merger) but the naysayers consistently said that the rewards would not justify the potential risk and that the referral arrangements that already exist between UK and Australian firms work perfectly well, thank you very much.
However, A&O obviously think differently and are jumping straight into the top tier in their chosen areas. This will make them an extremely attractive choice for UK lawyers wanting to spend some time in Australia as well as giving local lawyers the opportunity to get a Magic Circle law firm on their CV without even leaving the country. However, it does not take into account that a lot of people want to experience a different culture at the same time as furthering their career so it may not necessarily be the chosen route for many who may prefer to work for A&O in London, rather than A&O in Sydney or Perth. There is no doubt that they will be able to attract the very best graduate lawyers but time will tell whether they will be able to offer enough to keep the very best intermediate lawyers in Australia, rather than losing them offshore.
What this means for New Zealand law firms and New Zealand lawyers is a very interesting question. I would imagine that the lure of working for A&O in Australia would be very attractive to NZ lawyers but as is the case in London, only the very best will stand a chance of securing a role there.
Also, it does raise the question whether any international firms think that doing a similar thing in NZ would be a good idea. Obviously the quality of lawyer is good enough here but are the deals (and the fees) big enough? It would seem that because of the total lack of any speculation of this kind whatsoever that the answer to this question is ‘no’. The firms who have a referral relationship with A&O will be rubbing their hands. Other firms may be a little afraid!
Interesting Articles For 2010
January 12, 2010 by Damian
I have come across a few articles recently that I thought that I should share.
The first three come from the ALB website and can be found by following this link -
http://www.au.legalbusinessonline.com/e-magazines/magazine.aspx?id=39186.
In this edition, there is an article about Kensington Swan’s decision to open an office in Abu Dhabi as well as an interview with the new Chairman at Simpson Grierson in which he talks about his plans for the future of that firm. Another very interesting article called ‘Southward Bound’ discusses the difficulties and benefits of North Island firms operating in the South Island.
Over at Lawyers Weekly, I found some very illuminating articles describing the year just past and the year just begun under the very dramatic headline of ‘2009 - The Year That Changed The Legal Profession’ :
http://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/news/au/features/special_reports/
Another one to have a look at, also from Lawyers Weekly, again grandly titled ‘Five Tips To Get To The Top’ gives some hints about how to best position yourself when you are thinking about changing jobs. All are pretty obvious but it is worth a look, nonetheless.
The last one for the time being gives an overview of the markets across the globe and tries to predict what locations will be attractive for lawyers in 2010 -
I am not sure whether I completely agree with some of this analysis but suffice to say, there will hopefully be more activity in these areas than there was in 2009!!
Employers Beware – This May Be As Good As It Gets
November 27, 2009 by Damian
As I have said in other posts, 2009 has been a funny old year in many respects. One of the biggest differences from previous years is that employers now hold the upper hand in recruitment matters for the first time in a long time. Contrast this to the state of affairs a few years ago when HR people spent the majority of their time on recruitment, fending off partners who desperately needed staff but were unable to find them.
I am sure that employers are enjoying the current situation. When they need someone, they can be very confident that they will be able to find someone with relative ease. As an example, the HR Manager of a very desirable employer told me that when they put out a vacancy recently, they had 29 applicants. 18 months ago, for the same vacancy, they received 1 and that person was unsuitable!
However, I think that employers should make the most of the current situation. At present, even though more and more vacancies are coming on to the market, there are still relatively few new roles around. Coupled with this, there are some very talented people around who are looking for a change and thus, some employers are managing to secure the services of top quality candidates who they would never get in a more crowded job market.
My view is that this state of affairs is not going to last much longer. The overseas markets are starting to bounce back, salary reviews and bonuses will be negligible this year and some people will just have had enough of their current situation. The consequence of this is that regardless of whether the NZ economy improves or not, there will be a lot more movement in the market early in 2010 than there has been in all of 2009.
Employers need to be aware of this and be planning for it. Those that are will continue to attract good talent but those who are putting their head in the sand and thinking that their staff will stay relatively loyal next year and if they need someone, they will be able to easily find them, are going to be in for a shock.
As an aside, some employers seem to have become complacent in their recruitment and are taking far too long to shortlist, interview and make decisions. In a different market, it will not be possible to take so long. If they do, the best candidates will have already gone to someone who has a more streamlined and candidate focussed approach.
So for any employers out there reading this, my view is that if you are thinking about taking someone on, do it now before it is too late. If you wait too long, you may find that the problems that you faced 18-24 months ago in attracting good staff will be back on your doorstep again. Now may be as good as it is going to get.
Overseas Markets Update
September 10, 2009 by Damian
The most overused phrase at the moment is ’green shoots’. I hate that phrase. (It’s like marketers talking about going for ‘low hanging fruit’ – I really hate that one.) What is wrong with asking: ’do you see any signs of recovery?’ or ‘are things getting any better?’ Why do people insist on talking about ‘green shoots’? Does no-one realise that ‘green shoots’ can get trampled on very easily? If anyone catches me using it, please feel free to slap me. Hard.
In any case, to answer the question: ‘ are things getting any better?’ I thought that it would be a good idea to give the views of colleagues of mine working in London, Australia and Asia. I will give my twopence worth on the NZ market in a separate post.
I work very closely with an agency in London and was speaking to them last week about the state of the market over there at the moment (not once was ‘green shoots’ mentioned). Their view was that even though it is still ‘incredibly tough’, the worst is almost certainly behind them. They are basing that view on the fact that they are now starting to receive instructions from firms to look for people other than litigation/insolvency/restructuring lawyers. Some firms are even going so far as to hire for their corporate or finance teams. That is the good news. The not so good news, from a NZ lawyer’s point of view, is that these firms are only looking for locally qualified (preferably Oxbridge educated), Magic Circle lawyers who have not been made redundant – that is quite a tight brief.
As such, if we are to look to the future, the first ‘cabs off the rank’ (a cliche I don’t hate as much as ‘green shoots’ or ‘low hanging fruit’) are going to be exactly the type of lawyers mentioned in the previous paragraph – the absolute superstar candidates. When we are at the point when this candidate pool has been exhausted, I think that the firms will then turn to the well quailfied, well educuated, solid City lawyers – ‘the safe pairs of hands’ (the cliches are piling up now). Only after this pool has been emptied will, I believe, the firms start to look at really high quality overseas lawyers but it really will only be those at the ‘top of their game’ over here (that’s another one to add to the list). Then it will go to good quality UK lawyers and then to good quality overseas lawyers and so on and so on.
In other words, there is going to have to be quite an uplift in vacancies in the London market before overseas lawyers will start to get a look in because there are plenty of locally qualifieds to get through first. When this will happen is anyone’s guess but if you asked me to look into my ‘crystal ball’ (another one), I don’t think that there will be many overseas lawyers securing positions in London until mid next year. I hope that I am wrong about that but it will take an incredible turnaround in fortunes for it to happen any time before then.
It is a similar story in Australia. The market there was hammered in the last year but it seems to have ‘flat-lined’ (I promise that will be the last one) and to be on the improve. Again, it will take some time for NZ lawyers to secure positions over there in numbers as there are a lot of good quality Australian qualified lawyers to be slotted in first before employers will start looking at Kiwis. However, the economy over there has rebounded very well so hopefully Australia may be a viable option, if not this year, maybe early next.
Which leaves us with Asia which may well be at the forefront of recruitment activity in the very near future. My colleagues over there told me that they are ‘very busy’ at the moment, admittedly with a lot of insolvency/restructuring work but again they are coming across some corporate/finance roles as well.
This view is backed up by this article from the Asian Legal Business magazine – http://legaljobscentre.com/career-tips/37016/details.aspx although be warned, it does mention ‘green shoots’.
Again with the good news, comes the not so good. The not so good news is that getting a job in Asia has never been easy and only those candidates who have worked in a top tier firm, have excellent academics and at least three years could hope to get a job in a good market. In a tighter market, this quality threshold has been raised even higher to include language skills as being a more important consideration and candidates’ motivations for wanting to move to Asia will be more closely monitored than ever before.
So, all in all, things are still very tough overseas and there is still a lot of correction needed in the market but if you can stick it out for another 6-12 months, your chances of securing something in London, Australia or Asia will be much better than they are now.
Fingers crossed that those ‘green shoots’ continue to grow.
SLAP.
Taking A Risk
August 25, 2009 by Damian
The other day I met up with a senior lawyer who I placed last year into a top tier firm here in Wellington.
This candidate is a born, bred and committed Aucklander who, at the time, had just bought a property near the Harbour, having just returned from the UK, and was initially only looking for roles in Auckland.
For a variety of reasons, none of the approaches to Auckland firms were successful so he took a risk and turned his attention to Wellington (where he knew only a handful of people) and was quickly snapped up by a firm who obviously saw some real long term potential in him. Unbeknownst to them, his thought at the time was to use his time in Wellington as a stepping stone to getting back to Auckland to live in his beautiful house near his family and friends.
However, as time has gone on, he has done exceptionally well in Wellington, he has a growing client base, a burgeoning reputation and a flat near Wellington harbour. He told me at the weekend that although nothing is certain, partnership is a real possibility now and as such, he has decided to sell his place in Auckland and settle in Wellington to pursue his personal and professional life down here.
Now the point here is not that Wellington is better than Auckland or vice versa but that this person took a risk in a difficult market and it has paid off in spades for him. He could have stayed in his comfort zone in Auckland and possibly picked something up in time but instead, he took the more difficult route of relocating and starting afresh and as it looks like he could be sitting at the partnership table soon, he deserves everything that is coming to him.
I realise that for a variety of reasons, some people cannot relocate to get a position. For others though, moving out of their comfort zone and striking out on one’s own in a new location, although admittedly daunting, could be the making of them, both from a personal and professional perspective.
As the famous ice hockey player Wayne Gretsky said: ‘You will miss 100% of the shots you don’t take’. In other words, if you are in the position to do so, take the chance to try something new. It could be the best decision you will ever make.
Top 3 Interviewing Tips
August 19, 2009 by Damian
I came across this article on the ‘top 3 interviewing tips’ today and thought that it would be useful to disseminate a little further -
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/BlogDetail.aspx?BlogID=837.
It is written by an American so is quite long winded (sorry to any Americans reading – although that is probably quite unlikely really) but it does make some very good points.
In the current market, getting an interview is an achievement in itself and it really is criminal to blow your chance when you get there by a lack of preparation or understanding of how the interview process works.
As well as the three mentioned in this article, there are a few more that are worth noting so if you are preparing for an interview and want some pre-interview hints and tips, give me a call I would be more than happy to offer some assistance.
The Half Year of Two Halves
August 6, 2009 by Damian
Now that we are safely into the second half of this year, I thought that it would be a good idea to give my impression of the legal recruitment market during the first half of 2009.
Overall I think that it has been a half year of two halves. During the first quarter of the year, there was a marked increase in people coming through the door to register and be kept informed of openings in the marketplace.
Some of this was unfortunately driven by actual redundancies, from here as well as overseas, but I suspect that a lot of it was motivated by the fear of redundancy. In other words, people wanted to have some sort of head start in the job search process in case they were next in the firing line.
Unfortunately, this coincided with a decrease in the amount of available positions as firms/companies went to ground and put a freeze on everything except absolutely crucial appointments.
So the first quarter of 2009 can be summarised as ‘lots of candidates, very few jobs’.
The second quarter of this year has, in my view, seen a change in this outlook. Although no-one would be bold enough to say that we are out of the woods and that the market is anywhere near back to some sort of normality, I believe that there has been an increase in available opportunities, including for the first time in 2009, some firms looking for corporate and financial services lawyers. (There was probably not one job in corporate or finance in the whole of NZ in the first quarter of this year). There are also plenty of opportunities for RM lawyers, family lawyers, insurance lawyers and commercial litigators around. One look at Seek or Trade Me will evidence that there are currently some very good roles ‘out there’.
However, I have seen a decrease in the amount of applications/registrations over the last few months, especially from overseas. I have been wondering why this has been the case and I suspect that now, people are pretty confident that they will not be made redundant and have decided to just stay where they are for the time being.
Compounding this is that a lot of younger lawyers especially are just waiting around until the overseas markets pick up before moving so rather than looking for a new position in NZ, now that they know that their current position is probably pretty secure, they are biding their time until the London/Asian/Australian markets start to move again. When that happens, there will be a mass exodus of people leaving here which will mean that the law firms/companies who historically have struggled to recruit but are bursting at the seams now, will be back to square one again.
So the second quarter can be summarised as ‘more jobs, fewer candidates’.
It will be very interesting to see what the second half of 2009 will bring! I will keep you posted.
The Flight To Quality
July 30, 2009 by Damian
I was talking to a lawyer at one of the big firms here in Wellington the other day and he commented that he was busier than ever. When I asked him ‘how come?’, he laughed and said that it was because during tough times, there is always ‘a flight to quality’.
Reading this article from the UK magazine Legal Week, it seems to be the same the world over –
http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/analysis/1495487/editor-comment-tough.
In the same edition of the magazine, I also found this very interesting article about the headcount in the top 50 firms in the UK – http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/1495495/headcount-holds-level-set-fall-2010.
Contrary to what I thought, headcount has hardly dropped at all in the year to April 2009. The bad news for any Kiwi lawyer thinking about going over in the next year is that the prediction is that it will drop in the year to April 2010.
I will keep you up to date with any information on this that I come across!
The Importance Of CVs
July 15, 2009 by Damian
It never ceases to amaze me how little time and effort some people put into their CVs. I regularly see CVs with typos, bad grammar, inconsistent formatting etc. I remember one CV where a candidate wrote that he had excellent attention to detail but he had spelled ‘detail’ incorrectly! This sort of thing is unforgivable and would result in the CV automatically going into the bin.
Apart from your passport and birth certificate, your CV is probably the most important document that you will ever have. You may be the best lawyer with the best personality but if your CV is not good enough, you will not get the chance to prove this in an interview.
When writing your CV, two things should be paramount in your thinking:
(i) write it from the perspective of a partner/general counsel/hiring manager who does not know anything about you apart from what is on your CV. What information does he/she need to know about you before making a decision on whether to interview you or not? Just because something is obvious to you does not mean that it will be obvious to someone else. Explain everything – if you leave too many questions unanswered, you will not get the interview.
(ii) when you have finished your CV, you must be impressed by it. If you are not, then no-one else will be. I remember being at a seminar and the speaker said: “good enough is not good enough”. What he was trying to say is that if you do something and you think that it is ‘good enough’ to get the job done, that is not enough. It must be the best that you can do and that is surely better than ‘good enough’. So in terms of your CV, if you do not sit back and think that you look good on paper, you can guarantee that no-one else will either.
Writing a CV is a very difficult and time consuming thing to do. At Simply Legal, we can help you put together the best CV possible for you. If you want some information on how to do this, give us a call now or drop us a line. We would be delighted to help!