Have a careers page on your website

The majority of major firms will already have a page on their website relating to careers at the company. But many smaller firms, who do not recruit on a regular basis, do not. However, this is an important element to your website and shouldn’t be ignored. It’s also something that’s fairly easy to fix.

Talented lawyers who are looking for a new role are more likely to start out by browsing through the websites of places they want to work. Make a space to give them some information about working at your firm, and provide some contact details so they know who to get in touch with to find out more. 

Reply to anyone who gets in touch

Now and again you may receive speculative applications about working with you. If you’re not recruiting at the moment, these emails are not going to seem very high priority and it’s easy to just ignore them. However, taking a bit of time to respond to someone who has demonstrated an interest in developing their career with you might just bring about gains further down the track. You’re establishing good relations with this person which they may remember in the future if circumstances change.  

Use social media 

A large proportion of the public is now on social media, and this makes Facebook, Twitter, and their bedfellows a key tool in your arsenal when it comes to reaching the people you want to communicate with – including potential employees. Importantly, social media allows you to generate content that you might not be able to through traditional recruitment strategies.  

For example, placing an ad on a job website like Monster, or posting in your local Bar Association’s newsletter or equivalent, is one way to get the word out that you are looking to fill a vacancy – but it doesn’t allow you to do much to stand out. On social media, you can use video content or other graphic displays that attract attention, which allows you to say a lot more about why yours is a great firm at which to work – raising your chances of drawing in the best candidates.

Get recruitment companies to do the work

Recruitment can be a difficult, expensive, and time-consuming process. So why not simply send the whole tricky business out to the experts? Recruitment companies will likely already be working with a number of legal professionals who could contribute to your business and will be able to keep you in mind if any notable candidates come to them who seem like a good fit for your needs. This allows you to easily tap into a significant pool of talent without the need to advertise yourself – or to sift through tons of irrelevant applications.

Legal.io, for example, is an innovative legal recruitment company with a network of 11,000 legal professionals globally. And not only can they find both permanent and temporary employees for you, they are also able to link you in with their Flex Counsel service, bringing in specialist lawyers for specific periods or tasks on a highly flexible basis. This can help you cope with unexpected spikes in work, as well as giving you access to that niche expertise you need on rare but important occasions - stopping your clients from getting this expertise from your competitors.

Recruitment is a central aspect of growing your firm. Maximize your chances of getting the best lawyers into your company by getting your online recruitment strategy in order.