Do as you would have done by

Lawyers are often critical about the working practices and ethics of recruiters working within their sector. Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that the bonds between recruiters and their candidates have weakened considerably over the past few years.

Building a long term relationship with a potential candidate can count for very little these days.  A recruiter will be told by a lawyer that they would not consider a move at the moment, only for the recruiter to hear three months on that that individual has moved. We will be told that a certain firm would not be considered as a potential home, only to see that same lawyer move to that firm. I might introduce a lawyer to a firm for a series of meetings; the process stops and then a year later that same lawyer has joined that firm but without coming back to me, the recruiter who has made the original introduction and has worked hard on their behalf.

And then there is the day to day disappointing behaviour seen: potential candidates asking for a meeting and then ignoring emails with suggested slots;  candidates met, a good discussion held, a request for a list of potential firms to approach sent, but then the candidate disappears; and calls never returned.

This behaviour leads recruiters to think that acting properly, morally and ethically may get you nowhere with the legal profession. So corners begin to get cut, CVs are sprayed around the market willy-nilly, negative information about a firm that a lawyer is talking to is not revealed and negatives about the candidate are not passed on to the client etc.

Everyone loses.

I continue to hold the line and seek to only work with those lawyers who understand the advantages of building a solid, trusted and open relationship with a recruiter.

Is that you? If so, let’s meet!