Hiring a top-notch paralegal, legal assistant, or bookkeeper can elevate your business’s operations, especially if you can retain their talent over the long term. But with the unemployment rate hovering at 3.6 percent, it may be difficult to find any help that is even marginally qualified to work for your law firm.
Unfortunately, finding an exceptionally qualified candidate — one who carries the requisite skills and has an attitude that matches your firm’s needs — may seem like an impossible task in the current environment.
If you worry that you cannot find the ideal prospect to fill a position, then take heart: Attracting top-tier candidates for your firm is still possible, even in difficult times. But it may require you to rethink how you search for and select high-caliber prospects.
Identifying the Best Candidate for Your Firm
Not knowing who you are searching for is like going on a trip without a destination. Before you begin your search for top talent for your firm, you should have a solid picture of what top talent looks like. The talent you are looking for should have the following:
The Right Skill Set
They may not know everything about the job and may need some training on your firm’s policies, procedures, and equipment; however, top candidates have a background that fits well with the role you need to fill.
A bookkeeper should have experience or education in accounting, for example, and a top-tier paralegal should have three-plus years’ experience being a paralegal or legal assistant in your law firm’s practice area.
The Right Personality
It can be challenging to train someone to perform tasks, especially if they don’t have the experience and skills to understand the terminology or purpose of that task. But teaching someone how to get along with coworkers or clients is far more challenging.
When you think about the top talent for your vacancy, do not forget to consider what people skills, or “soft skills,” your candidate will need to succeed. Consider these soft skills as well as their personality to determine if they will be a good fit for your current team.
The Right Price
Top talent is going to cost money. The same qualities that make them an attractive candidate to you will attract other firms and employers to them as well. While money is not the sole reason someone will accept one job over another, it is often the most important factor.
You should have a clear picture of what you can afford to spend on a top-quality candidate. Having this number in mind can make selecting candidates who might otherwise have similar qualifications easier.
How to Get Quality Candidates to Apply to Your Job Opening
Just because you know what you are looking for in a candidate does not mean résumés from such candidates will pour in. If you want to hire top talent, you may have to expend effort to locate them and encourage them to apply. Some tips for maximizing your recruiting include:
Create a Compelling, Thoughtful Job Description
Put some thought into your job description. Most job descriptions contain a list of duties and a description of the compensation you are willing to pay. Make your job description stand out by describing other aspects, such as your office’s culture and how the job contributes to the firm’s overall success.
Consider How You Brand Yourself
In today’s tech-heavy world, a potential job applicant will most likely search for information about your firm online. Any candidate would be looking for damaging information about a potential employer, but top candidates especially will look at how your firm differs from other firms. In short, they will be evaluating your brand.
Employer branding refers to how you market and showcase your firm to both current employees and job seekers. If you need to get up to speed on social media marketing or want to learn how to have more five-star reviews, consider hiring a subject matter expert to help you.
Do Not Forget the Big Picture in Interviews
A job interview should primarily be about the job itself. Now, however, candidates of any caliber want to know how a particular job would integrate into other areas of their life. If you have not yet made any of the following culture changes, you could fall behind your competitors who do:
- Do you offer a remote or hybrid working environment?
- Are there satellite offices from which the applicant could work, or do you need a candidate to work in person at one specific location?
- Is a four-day workweek an option?
- Can you offer flexible hours beyond the traditional 9 to 5?
- Are family members or children allowed to visit at work? How about pets?
- How do you invest in your employees’ continued growth and development?
The position might not allow for some popular work culture changes, such as remote work or flexible hours. You should be prepared to explain the reasoning for this and emphasize the positive aspects of the work culture at your company.
The easier you can make it for a high-caliber job applicant to picture what their life will look like if they work for you, the better your chances of landing that coveted candidate.
Book a Discovery Call with Woven Legal
Searching for candidates can be time- and labor-intensive, but we can make it easier. At Woven Legal, we eliminate the stress and hassle of finding top talent for your firm. We take the time to understand your firm, its culture, and its operations to match you with the perfect contractor.
If you need a virtual assistant, paralegal, or another legal support professional, Woven Legal will take the guesswork and stress out of filling your firm’s vacancies. Whether you need part-time help or someone to work full-time — or if you need help for a few months or indefinitely — Woven Legal is a smart, economical solution.
Let us help match your firm with our top talent. Contact Woven Legal and request your discovery call so we can learn more about you and so you can learn how we can assist your business.
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