Articles From the Team

I need a new job and don’t know what to do?

One of the most important pieces of advice I can give you when you about to start your job search is to remove any preconceived perceptions you may have about perspective employers.

Everyone has preconceived perceptions. Whether you have a predetermined idea of a restaurant, a business or a job role, people ultimately carry unconscious preconceived perceptions around with them everyday. Whether people will admit it or not these opinions affect and control your lives in more ways than one, and can ultimately stop you from trying something new or prevent you from securing a new job opportunity.

In the last few weeks I have spoken with a number of candidates who have preconceived ideas about some of the firms I work with, which has unfortunately led to them not wanting to consider theses firms as a viable option for their next job role. This in turn has led to some of them being jobless for some time and more importantly has led to them missing out on opportunities that can provide a competitive remuneration package together with good prospects for career progression (i.e. everything that they have advised they are looking for in their next job role).

Why do candidates allow these preconceived perceptions to stop them from considering certain firms? The likely answer to this is that they have received negative information from a third party (more than likely a disgruntled former employee). Now, whilst I am not saying that everyone has only bad things to say about previous employers, most people leave a job for a reason that is indicative to the experience they have had. The result from this is that the candidate now has a thought cemented in their mind, one that can potentially halt and prevent them from taking the next step in their career. This perception of what the firm is like then builds and turns into a belief that this firm should not be considered. That having this firm on your CV will ruin their credibility as a conveyancer and ultimately prevent them from securing a job at a further date. One can point to this line of thought as being flawed, as most of the time candidates have only had second hand information about these firms. Combine this with not actually working there or even attending an interview to get a feel for the firm, are you in position to make such a judgement? I am not so sure! More often than not when people can set aside differences and preconceived thoughts you often turn out quite surprised by the outcome, you may even find yourself enjoying a job that you wouldn’t even have considered at one point.

Another candidate that I recently conversed with advised that they had prior dealings with one of the firms that I was working with. During this short encounter a perception was created in their mind that this was a firm not to be worked with. I can understand this thought process to a degree. I mean you’re on the opposite side you’re bound to have this feeling that they are the opposition, you don’t like this firm and if you’re anything like me (competitive) you want to win. Sometimes the want to win doesn’t even make sense. In this case the candidate was dealing with an exchange liaising with the opposition solicitors in order to achieve same outcome yet this candidate has now ruled this firm and others with a similar structure out of their job search all because of one dealing which didn’t go entirely to plan.

Candidates have a choice and don’t want to consider certain firms for a number of reasons. Some candidates are looking for a prestigious firm or one that can only offer a certain type of work, which makes perfect sense, it is logical. However as the great Albert Einstein once said “logic with only get you from A to Z; imagination can get you everywhere”.

Now I am not saying that you shouldn’t take a considered approach to your job search but the next time you’re on the look out for a job role don’t get hung up on preconceived ideas about certain firms.

Entering your job search with an imaginative and open mind can ultimately be very rewarding. More often than not this puts candidates in the luxurious position of multiple job offers with the outcome often being a number of improved offers from the firms involved.

For more information contact BCL Legal or email us at info@bcllegal.com.