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     By the Staff of ESQAdvantage

Marketing Jobs and Legal Jobs - A True Story.

An attorney and his friend in the creative field were looking for new positions. The attorney prepared his resume and sent it to every employer looking for an attorney with three to five years of experience. Months passed as he received stacks of rejection letters.

The creative professional found three places she wanted to work. She spent a couple of weeks researching the employers. She did not wait until the employers were hiring. She then created a targeted marketing campaign. She mailed cleverly crafted post cards advising the employers that her demo reel was being sent. The demo reel highlighted her best work, and as an added touch she sent the reel in a film box. She also sent her resume, which described her excellent experience and had a design and layout that demonstrated her graphic abilities. The purpose of the marketing campaign was to make her stand out and be remembered, demonstrate her creative skills, illustrate her accomplishments, and show that she was interested and serious about working for that particular organization. Within a couple of months she had two interviews and two offers.

The attorney was frustrated. The attorney flooded the market with resumes, but during the time that his friend had secured two offers, the attorney received one call but no offers. The attorney realized that his "flood the market" approach was not effective. He also concluded that his resume was plain and did not illustrate anything unique or interesting about him. He simply listed his education, experience and activities.

In Today’s Tight Market, Candidates Need An Extra Edge.

Just because one is in the law field does not mean one should be shy about executing a creative job search campaign. Legal professionals are a bit restricted on how “creative” they can be (a pizza box containing your resume may best be left to those in the marketing department). However, within this traditional field there is room for creativity. At the very least, one’s marketing campaign should include basics such as targeting and researching key employers and then drafting a creative and focused resume that effectively markets to those employers. In today’s competitive market, legal professionals need that extra edge.