Dishonesty of any kind is a nonstarter in a job search. Legal industry consultants and employers are unanimous that lack of honesty at any stage of the hiring process is absolutely a NO GO.
Before starting the job search process, be honest with yourself. Know what you’re looking for and what you are good at, bad at and where you need improvement or training.
Pay special attention to anything less than stellar in your background and prepare to address those issues early in the hiring process. Proactively bringing up and dealing with any blemishes in an intelligent manner can defuse their negative impact on your candidacy. Clear self-perception and a demonstrated willingness to learn from mistakes are traits viewed positively by employers.
Be honest with your advisers
You improve your chances of landing your dream job by being fully transparent with anyone helping you with your search. That could be law school or college career services professionals, coaches or legal search consultants (recruiters or headhunters).
Career advisers can make recommendations or determine whether you might be a good fit for a career path or potential employer only if they know your full story. Withholding negative information is likely to cause problems down the road because this information inevitably surfaces at some point, usually to the job seeker’s detriment.
If your advisers know all relevant facts at the outset, they can work with you to craft the best way to present your candidacy to potential employers. Recruiters presenting you to potential employers also can do some of the “dirty work” by addressing any red flags upfront, thus clearing the way for you to concentrate on the positive aspects of your background and experience once you get in front of an interviewer.
Any lack of candor will sour your relationship with your advisers, sometimes to the point that they may determine that they are unable to assist you or present you to potential employers with confidence.
Be honest with the potential employer
During the job search process, you should present the evidence — your strengths, weaknesses, credentials, work history, skills and interests — in the best possible light but not exaggerate or lie. Even if you’re not caught in a falsehood, fudging to give answers you think the adviser or employer wants to hear creates false expectations. You might get the job, but you’re setting yourself up for a fall, and perhaps dismissal, if your performance doesn’t measure up to your representations.
While you don’t have to downplay your capabilities or go out of your way to reveal negative information, candor is refreshing and appreciated when handled appropriately. A job seeker who presents the facts as they really are will often be more attractive to an employer than someone who tries to deliver the “desired” answer.
A few minor missteps in your background aren’t necessarily a death knell to the career of your dreams, but any attempts to gloss over, hide or omit information compounds the issue and can leave you without a job or credibility.
If you’re upfront about an issue, if it does not cast doubt on your moral compass or negatively impact your ability to do the job, the career adviser, recruiter or potential employer may be able to help you work around the situation.
Telling a seemingly innocent lie on a resume or cover letter, or providing misleading or incomplete information in an application, interview or background check can lead to serious career repercussions. The legal community is small, and you cannot hide the facts. They will emerge at some point, possibly even after you start the new job. You’ll only risk further blemishing your legal career with a short stint on your resume if you’re terminated for dishonesty.
A specific example of duplicity mentioned by several participants in a recent discussion with legal employers and industry consultants was where a job seeker’s current employment situation changed for any reason (such as a layoff or being let go) during the hiring process and the candidate didn’t disclose that fact. Prospective employers are likely to terminate hiring discussions and have gone so far as to rescind offers because of the misrepresentation, not the job loss per se. Had the candidate been open and honest about the situation, the firm may well have hired the candidate. However, the lack of transparency gave the firm serious concerns about the candidate’s judgment, ethics and integrity in general.
Prepare your explanation
Don’t wait until the last minute to bring up any negative issues hoping that, by then, the adviser or prospective employer will be so in love with you that they won’t mind. Rather, that can be a deal-breaker because changing the game late in the process makes you look sneaky, risky or otherwise compromised. It’s much better to handle any possible negative facts head on.
Employers value job seekers who take responsibility for their actions and learn from their mistakes. If you’re a quality candidate otherwise, the hiring authority may be willing to overlook minor blemishes, but you must be upfront and have an honest conversation to comfort and build trust.
Consider in advance how you want to address your weaknesses. Be truthful but professional in expressing the situation. Explain what happened and what you learned from the experience.
Don’t ever badmouth anyone or any organization in the process. Discuss any relevant lessons learned, skills gained, and how you can transfer this knowledge to the position you seek.
Often, in a job search — just as in politics and other aspects of life — it’s not the crime but the attempted coverup that causes the most problems.
Valerie Fontaine is a founding member of SeltzerFontaine LLC, a legal search firm based in Los Angeles. She started her legal career in private law practice before moving into legal recruitment. Fontaine is also the author of “The Right Moves,” a career development guide for lawyers that’s now in its second edition through the National Association of Law Placement.
