January has been an incredible month! We received 10 new jobs in recruiting, BD/marketing, and professional development. I am very hopeful this is an indicator that law firm leadership is getting ready for a busy year!
On one of our recent industry surveys we asked, “What would be a compelling reason that would lead you to leave your job?” There was one consistent answer across titles and roles, and that answer was for Career Growth.
I was very curious how respondents defined Career Growth, so we sent out another survey to a group of law firm professionals and here are the kinds of responses we received:
Career Growth means
- The ability to learn new skills and put them to work
- To work for an industry leader who can provide insight and intelligence on ways to have impact and excel in our industry
- The opportunity to take on new challenges and responsibilities
- Potential to improve my credentials and management skills
As we are about to end the first month of 2014, I encourage you to think about what career growth means to you. If you have a clear definition in your own mind, you will be able to take advantage of the growth opportunities that exist in your current firm or you may decide that it is time to seek out a new role and firm. Having watched many people make transitions, my advice is: if, one year from now, you will not have more skills, knowledge or experience than you do today because you will be doing essentially the exact same things, than changing jobs may be your best career option. So what skills, knowledge and experience are you looking to expand this year?