Vijay Bragato’s Post

𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝘁 Many lawyers are understandably still scarred from last year after hearing from their friends and colleagues how long it took for them to find a new role, or how their interview processes dragged on for months. I've really seen this trickle down into how some lawyers have been manoeuvring this year's improving market. If you've heard it nowhere else yet, I'm here to say that things are very different to this time last year and it's important to act accordingly. If you're a lawyer that has decided that they're ready to progress to the next stage of their career, you need to be ready to move quickly. Competition is at an all time high and processes can look drastically different week on week. There is a surplus of more than suitable, ambitious lawyers now in the market and often times speed can truly be a differentiating factor to help you get ahead. Whether you're putting off updating your CV, or providing your availability for an interview, you're only putting yourself at a disadvantage. Invest in your search and dedicate adequate time to the process, and you'll hopefully see the results that you're looking for.

Got an interview coming up? Don't wing it! Here's what you should research:   🏢Start with the Law Firm: 🔹Visit their website for information on specialties, values, and team. 🔹Check online news for achievements and major cases. 🔹Use legal directories for rankings and expertise. 🔹Look for client reviews on sites like Yelp or Google for insights on reputation and client satisfaction.   🧑💼Research the Hiring Manager: 🔹Check online biographies on the law firm's website or networking sites. 🔹Look up the manager on LinkedIn for career insights. 🔹Use Google for articles or interviews about the manager. 🔹Explore professional publications or associations they are part of. 🔹Utilise mutual connections for advice or insights.   While doing this research take notes and prepare questions to make sure you are highlighting the connections between your own experiences and the firm and that you are showing genuine interest!   Follow me for more useful tips and advice!   #G2Legal #LegalInterview #InterviewPrep #LegalCareers

Unsolicited Interview Advice of the Day! Absolute honesty. I know. I know. It seems obvious. We are all guilty of trying to sell ourselves in the best possible light, to varying extents. But it's easy to frame your best years whilst acknowledging the worst. We've all had shockers. And the best way to do that is to know your numbers. If you're connected to me, the chances are you're a fee earner. Ultimately, why you'll be hired is the belief in your ability to be a successful fee earner. So know your numbers and lay them all out. I'm not going to share my exact figures here, but I can give a rough overview for a decade comfortably. 2014/2015: hit target 2015/2016: exceeded target 2016/2017: doubled target 2017/2018: doubled target 2019/2020: beyond target 2020/2021: not far off target despite Covid 2021/2022: worst year since 2008 I think! 2022/2023: exceeded target 2023/2024: exceeded target Now, I'm likely never going to interview for another job again, but I'll happily own the 21/22 season if I had to. Because it's one year out of a pretty strong decade I'd say. I interview a LOT of fee earners these days and the ones I tend to respect are those that own the bad years. The ones that frame them honestly. With reasons as opposed to excuses or obfuscation. We might live in a Post Truth era a lot of the time. But that doesn't have to extend to your job hunt. Nor should it. #interviewtips #interviewadvice #recruitment #legalrecruitment #law #lawjobs #legalcareers

❇ Research is a vital part of being a lawyer, but you’d be amazed how many lawyers CAN’T give an affective answer to ‘What do you know about our firm?’, when asked at an interview…   🚨 ...and no “You have 10 offices, 500 fee earners are quite international and I hear good things about you” will not cut it. Lawyers (i.e. your interviewers) are critical, detail-focused and commercial and will EXPECT you to be prepared. For the sake of 40 minutes well spent, you’re more likely to be asked back for a 2nd interview if you look like you want to be there. The biggest reasons to research well are:   ✅ To demonstrate your research abilities (come on – you’re a lawyer) ☑ To show professional courtesy ✔ To perform well at interview ✅ To inform your questions at interview (and further process)   THE BASICS:   🔹 look in the legal news to pick up any big headlines on the firm 🔹 read the job brief (and take notes on what it DOESN’T tell you) 🔹 look at the firm’s website recent news feed - deals/matters/new joiners 🔹 read interviewers’ bios on their website* 🔹 look them up on LinkedIn – where were they before this firm?** 🔹 consult Legal 500 - where are the team in the rankings (and why)   *You might have a hobby or sport in common **You might know people they used to work with   NEXT LEVEL:   Look at the work the prospective team does and find key similarities and differences with your own work. You can then address any experience gaps and address how you might overcome these.   If you can, find out what the structure of the team is. It may be that it is more conducive to future promotion, as you fit into a ‘pqe gap’ within the team.   TOP TIPS:   💡 If you KNOW someone currently at the firm AND it’s safe to do so (in confidence), pick up the phone and have a chat with them BEFORE the interview. This will show that you’re proactive and if you are able to do this without risk, your friend will almost certainly mention to the interviewing Partner that you gave them a call (and could go on to say some good things about you before you even get to the interview).   💡 Look at specific deals or cases that the interviewers have listed on their bios, so you can mention them. You (or your firm) may even be working opposite each other. If so, you should be prepared to have something to say on this (as far as client confidentiality allows).   💡 Make a short list of questions based on anything your research DOESN’T uncover. Assuming the answer to your question is not on the job brief, or otherwise widely available, it will provide a discussion point (and again – underline that you’ve done your research).   A good recruiter will always prep you well (look at my reviews 👀 ), but there is no substitute for rolling your sleeves up and informing yourself. Even if you’re nervous on the day (my next lesson deals with this), ‘knowing your stuff’ is one of the biggest ways to guarantee a second interview.   Need a hand?    ⌨ [email protected]  📲 (+)44 07484 641142  

💯 **The Facts** 💯 Agreeing terms of business can be a tough task, however it is important to consult businesses properly as to why agreeing to terms at 10% or in some cases as low as 8% with new clients just isn't viable. ✅ Key Points to Take Away ✅ ⛔ Too much agency competition - Agreeing low percentage terms with numerous agencies is making your job harder! too many points of contact, the same candidates being submitted and little to no effort being put into your requirements all because of the low fee and knowing we are up against in some cases up to 15 other agencies. ⛔ Lower quality of candidate - Why would we pour excessive resource into sourcing the best fit candidate for a fee which barely covers our desk cost? Let alone knowing that the chances of our candidate getting the role are less than 10% in some instances due to the excessive use of various other agencies. ⛔ Poor Communication - It is pointless for us to invest our time if we never hear back, on the flip side it is also pointless going above an beyond keeping clients in the loop if they fail to inform us in the first instance. ⛔ Tarnished Reputation - Having up to 15 agencies working the same role in the same area with only 1 candidate getting the job will result in a lot of unhappy candidates, of which will not have been kept updated, strung along through a lengthy interview process and not even told they haven't been successful. This paints both your businesses reputation in a poor light as well as us as the agency, all because we haven't been kept updated. The main point I'm making here is if you aren't willing to invest in seeking proper assistance from industry specialists, then you cant expect us to invest either. 🤷♂️

𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙧𝙮! 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢, 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝘾𝙑 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩?  Here is our quick assessment on what to do. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵: ✔️ You are at the right level ✔️ You are at a peer firm ▶️ send CV ✔️ You are at the right level ✔️ You are stepping up a tier ❗ Ask your recruiter to make a no-names approach. ✔️ You are at the wrong level ❗ Ask your recruiter. No-names approach is best. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳: ✔️ You are mid level ✔️ You are at a peer firm ▶️ send CV ✔️ You are mid level ✔️ You are at a lower ranked firm ❗ Ask your recruiter. A no-names approach is best ✔️ You are junior or senior  ❗ Ask your recruiter. A no names approach is best. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵: ✔️ In all cases ask your recruiter to speak to the firm and take the temperature. It may be that the firm is just about to open a search, or the partners may have been thinking about hiring, and the timing is great. It's more likely that there will be interest in mid level lawyers than very junior or very senior lawyers. It's more likely that there will be interest in lawyers practicing in areas which are busy eg banking & finance is active globally, eg projects and project finance is very active in New York and eg Commercial Disputes is very active in Sydney. In all cases by using a recruiter who has a relationship with the firm you can find out whether, in theory, there will be interest in candidate like you, and if not, you haven't made an application unnecessarily. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀: ✔️ International candidates add another layer of complexity as some teams are very receptive to international candidates and some are not. If you are using a good recruiter who knows the firms well, they should be able to guide you properly on this. If there is NOT an active role / search, it is unlikely that a firm will hire an international lawyer speculatively and it's best to make a no-names approach via your recruiter. Exceptions to this could be for mid level lawyers who have truly outstanding academic credentials. Remember if you are making applications via a recruiter, whether or not there is an active role, you cannot ask another recruiter to represent you to that same firm for 6 months, so you are locked into representation. Choose your recruiter wisely. Feel free to reach out with any questions and I can direct you to the best person in our global team for you to speak to. #legalrecruitment #legalrecruiting #marsden #lawfirms  

Even The Best Need Guidance From Time To Time We all need some help and advice, no matter how talented we are. Recently, we placed a highly skilled candidate into their first in-house move— a Magic Circle commercial lawyer with five years of PQE. Before working with us, they had gone through five interviews but faced rejections at each stage. Unsure of where they were going wrong, they paused their job search. A few months later, we reached out about a specific role with a tech firm in London. After discussing the opportunity, they were eager to move forward and speak with the GC. Before the interview, we scheduled a prep call to go over key points: - What to expect from the GC - Which work experience to highlight - Questions and research to focus on - How can they get their personality across and build their confidence. - Most importantly, it fosters a comfortable space to ask questions and receive support. The result? They got the second interview and secured the offer that same week! Moral of the story: No matter how talented you are, everyone can benefit from some guidance along the way.

During this long Sunday flight Athens-London, I learned that „Doing Businesses is Like Dating.“ For a second I felt so envy of the brilliant mind of Simon Sinek that presents complex ideas in a way that everyone understands. According to the author, how we behave in life and business is not very different. This is probably the reason that during my professional career, I was metaphorically thinking teams as family and business life as wedding, that in case of lack of mutual respect, honesty, trust, care, communication forces humans to divorce. Lets imagine that we are trying to close a deal with a company. What we are promoting is ourselves during a panel interview. We are on the other side of a screen, we can’t use our positive energy to influence the decision makers, and we are simply trying to give all right answers. Depending how badly we want this job, we can say enough of what the panel wants to hear in order to close the deal. We can promise the world itself to achieve our goal. During an interview in 2015, I replied to a very senior manager of Novartis that „there is nothing I can not do“. What I achieved was exactly the opposite. It took time to convince who I am, and finally reach a level of recognition, respect, appreciation, and true friendship! Borrowing Simon‘s words „Promising them the world and the odds are good…Once. Maybe twice. With time, however, maintaining that relationship will cost more and more. No matter the manipulations you choose, this is not the way to build a trusting relationship.“ The problem is that we are trying hard to demonstrate our knowledge and values, without explaining WHY they exist in the first place. I am afraid that we have to try much more that going through our CV, listing the innovative projects we led, the number of associates we managed, those we know from the same company, etc. It is extremely difficult such an approach to inspire the panelists and build trusting relationships. It makes a difference, however, to know what exactly we love about this company, to see ourselves in their vision to get inspired from what inspires them, etc. Only if we feel connected with the company’s WHY, we can then discuss #HOW our experience can help, and #WHAT could be done better and differently. If i am allowed to give an advice to all of us (candidates and companies), I would say: let’s be honest and „Start with WHY“! PS: Talking about family, a nice moment with my brother. Disclaimer: The content is inspired by the book of Simon Sinek “Start With Why (2019)”. The opinions shared are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of any of my employers.

Job searching? Facing a performance review? Create a cheat sheet! An up-to-date, complete, and organized list of representative deals or litigation matters allows you to quickly review and recall what you’ve done and provides fodder for you to give great examples of what you can do when preparing for a job interview or performance review. Be prepared to fully explain everything you’ve included in your deal sheet. Take time to prepare by going over the details of the matters, key issues that arose, challenges you faced, and how you resolved them. A deal sheet not only helps you present your qualifications and experience for prospective jobs and assessments but also helps the job interviewer or appraiser prepare appropriate questions to ask according to your listed achievements. This week’s posts discussed what to include on your deal sheet or list of representative litigation matters and how to organize the document. The two most important deal sheet writing tips are: Get started NOW and keep it updated! Have you used such a document to advance your career? #jobsearchtips #dealsheet #lawjobs #legaljobs #performancereview For more insights into job search strategies, the legal industry, and the California legal job market, follow SeltzerFontaine LLC, and connect with me and ring the 🔔 at Valerie Fontaine.

The POWER of being a PASSIVE CANDIDATE   Lawyers, you’re in a position of power as a ‘passive candidate’ – ie. not actively looking for a new position, but you are open to hearing about potential new roles.   Here are 5 reasons why being a passive candidate is a great position to be in:   1.     You can be SELECTIVE – When you’re not in a rush to leave your current role, you can decide which firms to explore without committing to anything. 2.     You have BETTER NEGOTIATING POWER – Passive job seekers can negotiate from a position of strength. If you already have a great role then any new firm will need to offer a significantly improved proposition. 3.     IMPROVED market knowledge – By considering options at other firms you can make informed decisions. Another firm might align better with your values, and support you more with career advancement. 4.     ACCESS to opportunities – Being open to opportunities doesn’t commit you to anything, but it does give you better visibility to the market. Recruiters able to update you on vacancies that might not be advertised in public. 5.     NOTHING TO LOSE – By being in a stable role, you can approach new opportunities without any pressure. If you receive an offer that advances your career then that’s great, but if an interview goes no further then you’re still happy in your current role.   Being a passive candidate gives you the flexibility to make informed career decisions, whilst also maintaining job security.   You’re in control of your own career, get out there and see what options are available to you!