While finding the perfect Associate Lawyer candidate may seem like an impossible dream, here are several qualities a recruitment firm like Smart Street Legal Recruitment looks for when trying to find the perfect candidate.
Interpersonal Skills
What separates the perfect candidate from a good candidate? Interpersonal skills. There are often many stakeholders on any given issue, which puts a candidate’s interpersonal skills to the test. Many job agencies and staffing agencies rank this skill near the top! Does the candidate’s resume give examples of team participation?
Judgment
Good judgment means strong decision-making skills in the face of often limited information and the pressure of deadlines. Associate lawyers will be on the front lines at law firms and their performance and judgment in such situations can spell the difference between success and failure. Does the candidate’s resume give examples of succeeding in or dealing with pressure situations?
Logic
The sheer amount of information to be sifted through by a lawyer in any given file or situation is complex and staggering, especially in the fast-paced digital times we live in. Weaknesses in reasoning, agility and logical and concise thinking can lead to an unfavourable result. Therefore, logical and concise thinking, organizational and problem-solving abilities are a must. It is not sufficient to just say you have those skills at the top of your resume in a Profile section, but those skills and abilities should be exemplified in your resume. Are such skills evident in any writing samples you are asked to provide?
Research
The perfect lawyer candidate is a hunter and gatherer of quality research and top notch information and data. When mining information for a case or file, the lawyer must access the best and right sources, quickly and accurately. Does the candidate’s resume evidence great researching skills?
Maturity
Maturity is what often separates good candidates from perfect candidates for recruitment agencies. Has the candidate been involved in cases, transactions or outside activities which demonstrate a level of experience or maturity beyond his or her years? Contrariwise does the resume in style, form or substance show just the opposite?
Persistence
We are constantly searching for great lawyers and legal staff for opportunities with law firms and legal departments of companies in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and elsewhere across Canada. We are looking for lawyers with drive, enthusiasm, and persistence. The candidate’s resume should not only be technically perfect, but should give examples of persistence, energy, and enthusiasm. This will make the best candidates stand out!
Entrepreneurship
Very few law schools teach entrepreneurship and business development skills and abilities. But this is what most law firms are looking for in a lawyer today and what a legal recruiter or recruitment firm or agency should also be looking for. If the candidate has some of these skills or abilities, they should be showcased in the resume. If a lawyer can’t give examples of his or her entrepreneurial or business development acumen or experience, he or she should learn or acquire these essential skills.
Windmills
Though it may seem that searching for the perfect candidate is tilting at windmills, at Smart Street Legal Recruitment we are always searching for perfect candidates, always dreaming the impossible dream.