Do you think that when it comes to marketing your business, referrals are not that relevant? If you do then you must be kidding yourself…
The power of referrals is the best form of marketing yourself or your business as it is by word of mouth between friends and professionals who have encountered your service and wish to inform others who could benefit from it. Getting a referral is like getting a gold star for all the good work that you have done for someone and they now wish to pass on your services to someone else who could benefit. Referrals normally come from a trusted source who has already benefitted from your service or built a good relationship with you through professional networking.
For recruiters or clients, referrals are very cost effective. They are seen as a great form of public relations and advertising.
Asking for referrals can sometimes be an issue as they have to be built on secure foundations. The time to ask for a referral is when:
• You’ve introduced someone to one of your contacts who awards them a placement or project
• You have successfully completed a placement for a client
• You solve a problem for someone who wants to return the favour in some way
• Someone thanks you for providing a good service
It’s also worth mentioning that the rewards for referrals can be very beneficial too, either by the way of a gift or further business referrals in the long run. It is seen that new contacts that you have acquired due to referrals are better clients to have. This is because they will have greater faith and trust in the service you are providing and will use you on a regular basis.
To discuss referring a candidate or our recruitment service to a friend or colleague, contact me on david.drew@grlaw.com.au
According to over ninety percent of research done on the topic, changing jobs, is second on the list of life’s most stressful situations… Really? Second?? Behind death of a loved one and before marriage, divorce and personal injury!
We all know that the hardest part of making the job switch is those pesky interviews, being terror-struck at a time when clear thinking and togetherness are required. How on earth will you overcome ‘thinkers block’ and catch your breath in order to tell your potential new boss that managing competing priorities is actually something your excel at? How on earth are you going to overcome those pesky nerves?
Ask yourself this… “Why is getting a new job such a horrible, stomach churning experience?”
There are obvious reasons that you thought it was a good idea in the first place… Perhaps you want a new environment, better geographic location, career progression, a pay rise?!? These are positives are they not?? Hadn’t you decided at the beginning of this process that your next move is going to be the right fit for you? The right fit for you!!!
Right for you, is the key idea. In our experience it is always the candidates who stay focused on why they are going through this grueling experience in the first place, that achieve the best results when it comes to conquering nerves before an interview.
Obliviously, there a few key things you should think about when you’re at interview. Some of these key points are:
1. Arrive on time
2. Open with a firm handshake
3. Maintain eye contact, and engage the person interviewing you.
4. Know the content of your CV inside out
5. Always have a few questions to ask at the end of the interview
6. Most importantly, think before you speak
Remember that an interview is a mutual discussion, so you should always have this in the back of your mind… “I am interviewing them also”.
Using social media to create a brand identity, as a legal secretary!
The average person uses social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube for catching up with friends, posting pictures of drunken nights out, or watching last week’s episode of your favorite TV program. These websites can also be used as a self-marketing tool, in order to give yourself an online presence and identity as a professional legal secretary, and get one step ahead of the competition!
Using Facebook to boost your professional profile!
When beginning you job search as a legal secretary you need to ensure you are creating as much online personal exposure as possible. Creating a professional Facebook profile is a great way of getting yourself noticed by employers on the web, and a key personal marketing tool.
Here are some top tips to developing your profile page!
Creating a new Facebook page dedicated entirely to your legal professional career:
- Ensure you are in corporate attire for your profile picture. A potential employer will not consider your application for a job, if your professional picture is of you on your holidays in Mexico in a sombrero hat, with a shot of tequila in one hand, and a chicken burrito in the other!
- Regularly update your status regarding your position and the role you require. E.G Clare is an intermediate legal secretary, currently seeking a position in insurance litigation for a top tier law firm in the SydneyCBD area. Getting all of the appropriate information across to a potential employer is key. This way within the first 30 seconds they know who you are, what experience you have, and what job you are looking for.
- Add all of your professional contacts to your friends. networking is key part of your brand, ensure you build as many legal contacts as possible and make sure they know who you are, and what job are looking for.
- Add legal agencies and law firms to your friends. Research the consultants from the top legal recruitment agencies, and the HR managers from the law firms, See if they have their own professional profiles.
- Post comments and messages to the agency consultants regarding the current job market and positions vacant. All of these points will increase your brand awareness.
The Golden Rule
In order to build and maintain a positive and professional brand identity, you must not mix work with pleasure.
- Do not add personal friends to your professional Facebook profile, an employer does not know want to know where you and the girls are going for dinner on Saturday!
- Do not add personal pictures to your profile, the HR manager at a top tier firm will not hire you if there are drunken pictures of your girlfriends hens do all over your professional page.
Log onto the blog next week for our next installment, on how to boost you online profile as a legal secretary!
This time its a subject which is on the tip of the tongues of politicitians and environmentalists across the world. well done to Norton Rose, Sydney for a massive result!
http://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/blogs/top_stories/archive/2011/11/15/norton-rose-recognised-for-being-green.aspx
Corrs Chambers Westgarth announced this week that the firm has purchased automatic time billingsoftware with the ability to track and report on a lawyer’s daily work activities. Not everyone agrees it’s a good thing.
According to the Australian Government’s Fair Work Ombudsman, over 100,000 parents have applied for government-funded Paid Parental Leave since the scheme opened on 1 October last year.
The Paid Parental leave scheme is an entitlement for working parents of children born or adopted on or after 1 January 2011.
The scheme provides government-funded Parental Leave Pay at the National Minimum Wage for a maximum period of 18 weeks (currently about $590 a week before tax).
Parents can receive the payment at the same time as annual leave, long service leave, and employer-funded paid parental leave. They can also receive it before or after.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has a wide variety of information for employers and employees on paid and unpaid parental leave. This includes a Best Practice Guide for Employers as well as record-keeping templates
The increasing number of partners joining mid-tier practices in Australia is a reflection of the strong growth recently witnessed in mid-market domestic work says Yun Kriegler from the Lawyer.
It also signals a structural change in the legal market Down Under.
The most recent and eye-catching personnel movement has involved international firm Norton Rose and Australian independent outfit Gadens.
In the middle of last month, the UK firm’s 13-member retail leasing team led by partner Cameron Cooling left to join Gadens in Brisbane. The departures marked the closure of Norton Rose’s Brisbane retail leasing practice.
Norton Rose Australia managing partner elect Wayne Spanner said this was a managed transfer of his firm’s high-volume leasing business in Brisbane to Gadens.
“It’s a part of our strategy of wanting to focus on high-end, complex real estate work,” said Spanner.
While top-tier firms, both newly entered global firms and traditional national leaders, are realigning their practices to reflect intensifying competition at the higher-end, established mid-tier firms are reaping the benefits and luring in quality partners.
Interesting article on the Sydney Morning herald online this morning
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/10000-steps-plus-trips-to-the-gym-itll-make-you-and-the-boss-happy-20110914-1k9oe.html
Clearly we should all be getting up from our desks and getting out there. Its a little bit easier now the warmer weather is well and truly on its way to us now so sadly, there is now no excuse for me! Time to dust off those trainers!!
GR Law are very pleased to announce that we are participating in the Blackmores Sydney Running festival next Sunday the 18th September. We are part of a team of 100 runners by the name of “Bring it on Baby” raising money for The Stillbirth Foundation.
Currently $10000 has been raised but like any worthy cause we are always keen to receive more. For more information on how you can get involved please go to: http://www.everydayhero.com.au/bring_it_on_baby
For Australian and New Zealand legal secretaries, living and working in London has been a right of passage for many! But when the global markets crashed towards the end of 2008, so did the dreams of many would-be working holiday makers. Many have been waiting patiently for the legal market in London to pick up before packing their bags. The good news is that jobs are now on the increase….and so are working holiday visas!
During 2010 we have seen an increase in Australian and New Zealand legal secretaries approaching us for work in London. And the even better news is that once they arrived most people were able to find jobs in the legal industry. Early signs for 2011 are positive with many firms looking to employ Australian and New Zealand legal secretaries on contracts.
So if you are thinking about looking for legal work in London, what do you need to do?
1) Apply for your visa. Visit the following website
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/tier5/youthmobilityscheme/
2) Book your flights and get in contact with anyone you know in London who may be able to put you up for a few nights when you first arrive. Accommodation is expensive in London so use all the contacts you may have!
3) Contact GR Law to get your job search underway before you leave home! Send your CV in Microsoft Word to russell.martin@grlaw.com.au or call Russell on +61 2 9220 4400 to talk about your plans and what will work best for you.