Professional briefing - The Journal Online

no point in connecting with people
and joining communities which are
not going to be of any relevance to you.
Add lots of links – to your firm’s
website home page, to relevant pages
about your specialist area and any press
comment about you or your teams.
Get involved – there are some
excellent groups out there. If you’re an
employment specialist, for example,
join and contribute to groups where
HR professionals get together to
discuss their community’s issues.
Be a thought leader – create
content that expresses your informed,
expert views and connect your
contacts with these. Don’t tell your
contacts that you’re the best banking
lawyer in town – prove it by starting
and controlling the conversation.
Make contacting you easy – I know
decision-makers who have contacted
one lawyer over another simply
because their mobile phone number
was to hand. Ensure your profile
readily offers your direct dial, mobile
number and email address.
And finally, it’s worth remembering
that there are no experts and no rules
for the use of online professional
networks. Their use in professional
services is too new. So the best advice
on taking advantage of the new
opportunities the internet is
presenting lawyers in winning work
is, do what feels right and use your
common sense.
Adam Gordon is Director of business
development consultancy Gordon BDM
Ltd, Glasgow. www.winningwork.co.uk
[Editor’s note: This article came about after I
responded to an invitation to join Adam
Gordon’s LinkedIn group]
www.lawscotjobs.co.uk
Don’t miss
in this
section
Business
networking sites
36
Ash Ash: Advice
column
37
IT: Service via
Facebook
38
Risk management:
Communication
40
Professional practice Advice
AskAsh
An assistant leaving to work at another firm
wonders how honest they should be during
their exit interview, about negative experiences
involving their present boss
Dear Ash,
I have handed in my notice at my
current job in a medium sized firm.
I’m moving to a better paid job
with more responsibility and
money and I couldn’t be happier.
My dilemma is whether I should be
truly honest about my experiences
at my current firm when I have my
exit interview. My time at the firm
has not always been very pleasant;
in particular my boss has, in the
past, been quite nasty and indeed
took great pleasure in poking fun
at me in front of other colleagues
as well as clients. I feel I should let
the HR department know what my
boss is really like, but I am not sure
whether this may have future
repercussions as the legal world is
relatively small.
ASH replies:
The purpose of an exit interview is
effectively to allow a company to
know why its employees are
choosing to leave and to try to
improve on working conditions for
the future in order to encourage
employee retention. That is the
theory anyway. In reality many
employees feel reluctant about
openly speaking about their
experiences as there is a sense of
fear about whether it will be used
against them in future, therefore
the effectiveness of such interviews
is questionable.
I personally believe that it is
important to be honest about
your experiences. However,
although you should relay
how you felt about being treated
in a particular manner and indeed
give examples, it is important to
still retain a certain degree of
decorum and professionalism –
i.e. do not be tempted to call
your boss any names during
the conversation!
Also bear in mind, being honest
about your experiences does not
mean that you have to merely
focus upon the negatives: also
speak about the good times you
had at the firm. It is important that
you provide a balanced picture
about your experiences as this will
give more credence to what you
are saying and will demonstrate to
the listener that you are not just a
disgruntled employee with a chip
on their shoulder.
“Ash” is a solicitor who is willing
to answer work-related queries from
solicitors and trainees, which can
be put to her via the editor:
peter@connectcommunications.co.uk
or by mail to Studio 2001, Mile End,
Paisley PA1 1JS. Confidence will be
respected and any advice published
will be anonymised.
Please note that letters to Ash are not
received at the Law Society of Scotland. The
Society offers a support service for trainees
through its Education and Training
Department. For one-to-one advice contact
Education and Training Manager Katie
Meanley on 0131 476 8105/8200, or
KatieMeanley@lawscot.org.uk .
December 09 theJournal / 37