When finding a job in the legal industry, working with a recruiting firm like BCG Attorney Search can be an excellent way to maximize your chances of success. However, to get the most out of your relationship with a recruiter, it is important to understand their expectations of you as a candidate. These are fifteen key expectations BCG Attorney Search has for candidates and why they are important to your job search success.
- We expect you to tell us about all the firms you have applied to in the past six months. We will not send you recommendations for firms you have already applied to. You can always tell us if you apply to other firms. We need this information so we do not tell you about the same firms and penalize you for rejecting these recommendations. When you work with a recruiting firm like BCG Attorney Search, we invest significant time and resources into identifying and vetting potential job opportunities that match your skills, experience, and career goals. To ensure that we are sending you only a few job opportunities, we expect you to tell us about all the firms you have applied to in the past six months. This includes any firms you have applied to on your own or through other recruiting firms.
- We expect you to not apply to firms and jobs independently we tell you about (regardless of whether you apply to this firm through us when we tell you about the firm) within six months. If we tell you about a firm, we are not telling others. It costs us great amounts of money, time, and investments in relationships for each firm we recommend. If you take this information to compete with us, you hurt us and other candidates. This is not fair or moral, and you should not work with a recruiting firm if you steal their information. You are hurting us, yourself, and a well-functioning legal ecosystem.
- We expect you to refrain from telling other attorneys about the firms we are telling you about. Our information is confidential and, to the extent aspects of it are public, understanding your background and what firms are seeking and matching jobs and firms to your background is what we do. You are harming yourself, us, and others when you broadcast information to others. You are our candidate; we are here for you and not others.
- We expect you to refrain from telling other recruiters in the market about firms we are telling you about and apply to these firms through other recruiters. Our information is confidential, costs us money to develop, and it is unfair to tell recruiters who have not made these investments about our research. If we are the first to tell you about an opportunity, you should apply through us, not someone else. When we are the first to tell you about a job opportunity, we expect you to apply through us rather than through another recruiter. By doing so, you are helping maintain our relationship with the law firm and ensuring that we can continue providing you with high-quality job opportunities.
- We expect you to respond promptly to the job openings and firms we are sending you. If you do not respond promptly, you are hurting other candidates. Also, not responding promptly hurts our relationships with firms that may supply us with openings because they are not getting candidates promptly, which harms them financially. Not responding promptly to the positions we send you penalizes others. Also, most firms hire from the first pool of applicants for their positions, and if you do not apply immediately, you are damaging yourself. Review firms in your account here.
As a candidate working with BCG Attorney Search, we must understand that our relationship with you is built on trust and mutual respect. When we work on your behalf, we invest significant time, resources, and effort into identifying potential job opportunities and presenting you to the law firms we work with. When one of our clients contacts you about an interview without our knowledge, it violates our established contract principles and can have serious legal ramifications. By immediately reporting these types of contact to us, you are helping to protect yourself, other candidates, and our reputation as a trusted and respected recruiting firm. Failing to do so can lead to potential legal action and harm our relationships with the law firms we work with, potentially limiting future job opportunities for you and other candidates.
When we present you with job opportunities, and you approve a firm, we have identified a potential match between your skills, experience, career goals, and the law firm's needs. We invest significant time and resources into preparing your application and presenting you to the law firm. You must follow through and go on the interview if you are selected. By failing to go on interviews, you may be harming our relationships with the law firms we work with and potentially limiting future job opportunities for yourself and other candidates. It is important to remember that our relationship with you is built on trust, and we expect that you will act professionally and ethically throughout the recruitment process.
- We expect you to immediately report to us if one of our clients contacts you about an interview without telling us. This contact originated as a result of our efforts. When this happens, we always find out that it has legal ramifications, violates well-settled contact principles, and is something we need to know about immediately. If we are not made aware of this and interviews and hiring occurs, it typically leads to demand letters to the law firms, us never doing business with them, and potential further legal action. Law firms that do this create problems for the entire legal ecosystem and are not to be trusted. If they behave unethically with us, the odds are they will behave unethically with you are well. These are dangerous law firms to work for. Attorneys almost always have bad experiences with firms that cheat recruiters because they will also cheat you.
- We expect you to go on interviews if we get them for you. If you approve a firm, you have indicated an interest in working there, and we have submitted you instead of other candidates to that firm. If you do not go on interviews, this law firm will be angry with us and may not want to do business with us again. This means that you are not only penalizing BCG Attorney Search, but you are also penalizing candidates that come along after you or others that may be under consideration with us.
- We expect you to prepare for interviews. We offer extensive resources (articles, webinars, and other information), but we also do our best to prepare you with live Zoom calls and calls discussing interview strategy. If you do not prepare for interviews, you make us look bad. By failing to prepare for interviews, you not only hurt your chances of securing the job but also harm our reputation as a recruiting firm that provides high-quality candidates to the law firms we work with. It is important to remember that the success of your job search is directly tied to our reputation as a recruiting firm, so it is in our mutual interest to work together to ensure that you are fully prepared for interviews.
- We expect you to notify us immediately if your employment changes. We need to know if you are unemployed or taking a new job immediately. We need to know who your next employer is as well. We will always find out this information but prefer to get it from you. If you do not tell us this information, we will continue sending you jobs and other information instead of other candidates. This is not fair to other candidates. Also, if you are not providing us with information about where you are going, we will be suspicious you will work in a firm we told you about and will no longer trust you.
- We expect you to make your resume as good as possible. You will get more interviews with firms if your resume is focused, proofread, and strong. Resumes focused on your primary practice area get more interviews than those that are not focused. We have numerous resources to help you create a good resume.
- We expect you to fill out our candidate questionnaires. BCG Attorney Search expects candidates to fill out their candidate questionnaires to provide valuable information about their background. These questionnaires help the firm understand candidates' qualifications and tailor recruitment efforts to their needs and goals. By filling out these questionnaires, candidates increase their chances of job search success and help build BCG Attorney Search's reputation as a recruiting firm that provides high-quality candidates to the legal industry.
- We expect you to respond quickly to emails, texts, and phone calls. Prompt communication is crucial when working with a recruiting firm. BCG Attorney Search expects candidates to respond quickly to emails and texts that require a response. By doing so, candidates help to ensure that recruitment efforts are as effective as possible and increase their chances of success in their job search. Failing to respond promptly can harm the firm's relationships with law firms and limit future job opportunities for candidates.
- We expect you to be honest. Honesty and integrity are essential in the legal industry, especially regarding a candidate's resume. BCG Attorney Search expects candidates to be honest and accurate on their resumes to ensure they accurately represent their skills, experience, and qualifications to potential employers. Lying on a resume can harm the firm's reputation and potentially harm a candidate's future career prospects.
- We expect you to be professional and respectful. Professionalism and respect are critical when working with a recruiting firm. BCG Attorney Search expects candidates to be professional and respectful in all communications with the firm and potential employers. Demonstrating these qualities can help build strong relationships with potential employers and increase candidates' chances of success in their job search. Additionally, it can help the firm to maintain its reputation as a recruiting firm that provides high-quality candidates to the legal industry.
- We encourage you to be patient and understanding. The legal industry can be competitive and fast-paced, but it is essential to be patient and understanding during recruitment. BCG Attorney Search works hard to ensure its recruitment efforts are as effective as possible, but this can sometimes take time. By being patient and understanding, candidates can help to provide more effective recruitment services and increase their chances of success in their job search.
