psmithcalifornia

I have to admit, when I went to look up "ruthless" in a dictionary , I got variants on this:  "without pity or compassion; cruel; merciless."   Frankly, I've never thought of ruthlessness in this fashion, although I suppose that's part of 'it'.  I did find these synonyms that describe my usual meaning of the word; unrelenting, adamant, relentless. To me, being 'unrelenting', 'adamant, and 'relentless' are virtues--and powerful ones at that.   Why you should care: There has never been a wildly... Read Full Story

I've posted before on interviewing, but I'll share a few extra practical tips that I presented at a lecture I gave this week. 1) Keep your communication 'authentic'. That means you need to have done several bits of homework before the interview, including: a) Having re-written your resume/CV with a preliminary "profile" section that gives one bullet to each of your major skill sets. In essence, each of these is very fundamental "I am" sentences. For instances, my own CV resume Profile... Read Full Story

I've noticed an interesting trend.  The majority of my coaching clients and the majority of the participants in my seminars are asking about "discipline."  They are grateful for all of the information I provide about HOW to go about a proper job search, HOW to network, HOW to get their CV and professional plan properly thought through and written.  My (frankly) innovative approach and legion practical tips make a big difference.  BUT. BUT, they need help actually DOING THE WORK.  They want to... Read Full Story

Bring Your Professional Presentation to New Heights By Engaging in the Process of Self-Discovery and Self-Disclosure In a quiet pool near a silent grove, Narcissus fell in love with a reflection of his youthful face, and died. Not a complicated plot. Curiously, while short, this story is recounted numerous times in Greek mythology, and in a variety of interesting forms. Obviously, the myth must have communicated something important in Greek culture. With the proper understanding, it can... Read Full Story

"Get a better recruiter." "Get a better 'job.'" "Go in-house." "Take anything." "Take only 'the best.'" If you are an attorney in transition or contemplating a career move, these little commands, and many more just like them, are likely running through your mind. Incessantly. Therein lies the rub: how to sort out the wheat from the chaff, how to unearth your (real!) personal goals, how to create and execute a successful plan. There is a well-traveled quote often attributed (incorrectly) to... Read Full Story

I just had another wonderful experience speaking to participants in the job-preparation clinic at our local San Francisco Goodwill.  Today I slipped in my pet-peeve of the month:  looking through job listings.  Let me tell you folks: this is not how high-functioning professionals--in ANY industry change platforms.  Sorry.  If the job is on a board, that either means almost no one is qualified to do the job, the job is a fake posting, the posting is stale, or no one wants to work there.  I don... Read Full Story

I began this blog four years ago specifically designed for the legal professional in mind.  But my own professional practice has taken me much farther.  I am still intimately involved with the ins and outs of the legal professional: speaking, coaching, recruiting and placing attorneys all over the globe.  Yet in addition, I find myself more and more speaking and coaching also to men and women of every imaginable professional.  Hence I changed the byline of the blog from "law and leadership... Read Full Story

I have been receiving more and more invitations to speak to groups of lawyers and other professionals about 'getting to the next level.' It seems everyone, everyone! is in the same boat now: get more business, now! And I try to remind all my professional coaching clients as well as my attendees that it is all about (STILL all about) what you know, what you want to know, and what you want. The work and the understanding of 'how to position' yourself CAN'T be done without first doing that big... Read Full Story

Who here says "I don't know how to (want to) network"? OK. Really, really simple: begin making a list. Go to your Outlook contacts folder, your family address book, every one of your email accounts: create a master list of EVERY SINGLE HUMAN BEING ON THE EARTH THAT YOU KNOW. Well. If every single person on that list doesn't know you are looking for work/looking for a change/seeking more business, etc., then you haven't even done step one of networking. People pay big dollars for lists of... Read Full Story

SO MANY of my new acquaintances and new clients are struggling with the resume/cv format. Here's a 're-print' of my (if I may say so) famous resume article. FOLLOW this advice and your CV WILL get attention. When I sit down to write an article, I usually try to come up with some reference to classical antiquity, or perhaps Enlightenment-era philosophy. I like to think that the progenitors of our society have something relevant to say that sheds light even in our relatively “dumbed-down” pop... Read Full Story