One of my many responsibilities at my old firm was to handle the hiring of support staff. Prior to the pandemic, I started considering transitioning to a new job. When the pandemic hit, I thought my desire to transition would have to go to the back burner. But, as time wore on and it became apparent that the pandemic wasn’t going anywhere, I decided to ramp up my search for a new job. All the while, the tax and estate planning firm that I was working at experienced a significant uptick in business and I found myself setting up Zoom interview after Zoom interview trying to hire support staff.
I have personally been on both sides of the hiring process during a global pandemic. That’s not something that everyone can say. I also want to acknowledge up front that being able to write this article comes from a place of profound privilege which I don’t take lightly.
That being said, I’ve put together some tips and observations from the employer and applicant perspective that I picked up along the way. These tips and observations are applicable to my experience in the legal field in the South Florida market and may not be applicable or helpful to you in your industry. If you’d like to share your industry or market tips, comment below!
5 Tips For Employers
1. Recognize that there is a unique opportunity zone. The pandemic has unfortunately displaced a number of excellent candidates from large firms. As a result, the pool of qualified candidates is (unfortunately) growing. Candidates who would traditionally never consider working in a small to medium firm setting may be more willing to so. Bear in mind that it may be more difficult to onboard these candidates as they are used to working in large firm settings, with large firm resources, salaries, and benefits packages. I have found that many of these candidates are willing to entertain a change in scenery, however they may need you to come up a bit in what you are willing to compensate, especially if you do not offer benefits.
2. Be open minded. Again, there is a unique opportunity zone. There are a number of candidates flooding the markets from different industries. A cruise ship customer service representative may be the perfect person to run your front office – you never know! Be open minded. Does this candidate possess the core qualities of what you are looking for notwithstanding the fact that they don’t have a background in legal? If so, it may be worth exploring.
3. Be prepared to answer questions about how you handled your business up to this point of the pandemic, and how you plan to handle your business going forward. Prospective applicants want to know, and frankly, they deserve absolute transparency. Consider allowing them to speak with junior members of your staff to share their experiences and help put them at ease.
4. Don’t take advantage of the situation. If someone lost their job during the pandemic, don’t take advantage of the situation and try to pay them less than what is commensurate with their experience, your industry, and the market. The second life gets back to “normal” they will leave and you will be back to square one. Plus, it’s a jerk move. Just don’t.
5. Make sure that your candidate is adaptable. There’s nothing worse than a Debby Downer at the office – oh wait, there is – a Debbie Downer who refuses to adapt to a virtual environment. Make sure that your candidate has sufficient computer skills and discipline to handle working from home efficiently.
5 Tips for Job Hunters
1. If your job was impacted by the pandemic, be prepared to explain how you spent your time. Employers understand that losing your job is mentally grueling, but they also want to know that you did something more than binge watch Tiger King on Netflix. Highlight your community involvement, a course you took online (there are lots of free resources online if you can’t afford a traditional classroom setting), etc. Just show that you understand that time is valuable and that although you were down, you were not out.
2. Have good internet, audio, and video connection. Odds are, your interview will be via Zoom or Webex. You worked so hard to earn and prepare for this interview, don’t blow it on something so silly!
3. If you are interviewing for a job outside of your industry or practice field, be prepared to explain why your experience is relevant to the position you are interviewing for. This involves doing intense research in connection with the position you are interviewing for and the company looking to hire you. Don’t blow the interview by not knowing your stuff.
4. A Zoom interview is still an interview – act like it and dress like it! Nothing was more shocking to me then when people showed up late to a Zoom interview or dressed in their pajamas.
5. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people when you don’t get the job. What’s the worst that they can do to you? Ignore you? Tell you to get lost? So what! I reached out to a number of people who interviewed me after I was rejected for a job. Caveat! I told them upfront that I respected the fact that I did not get the job and was in no way looking to change their mind. I simply wanted to know what I could do differently. I got such great advice from those people – honestly, those that got back to me were so helpful and giving of their time that it helped me prepare for the interview that would ultimately result in the job I have now. Don’t be afraid of rejection! I’d rather a closed door which leads me to the right door.
I hope that these little tidbits help you find the talent you are looking for, and the job of your dreams.
The Lady Esquire 