In today’s episode, I want to share with you my process for how to hire rockstar employees for your law firm – and here’s a hint, it takes awhile to find good talent. But once you find them, you must treat them right so that they will stick around for the long haul.
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Items Mentioned in the Podcast
- Podcasting for Lawyers, a book I am currently working on – click here to get updates, insider discounts, and other cool information related to podcasting and this book
- The North Carolina Divorce Podcast
- The E-Myth Attorney, by Michael Gerber
- Jay Henderson’s Real Talent Hiring
Want a sample advertisement that I use to find a rock star paralegal/legal assistant? Click here. (No email sign-up required).
In this particular episode, you will learn:
A proven, 7 step system to finding and hiring rock star caliber talent for your law firm.
- Make Sure you Understand the position you are trying to fill. Before you even start to place an ad, or schedule any interviews, you want to make sure you understand the position that you are trying to fill. What is the title of the person you are trying to hire? What will their responsibilities be? How will you measure whether they are doing a good job? What systems do you have in place to help you help this new hire?
- Place an advertisement on Craigslist. You must make sure that your ad is different from all the other help wanted ads that are out there. You must explain to the person reading the ad why your firm is AWESOME and why they absolutely must work for you. You want to stress personal growth and development, family friendly, etc. If you will be offering full benefits, you must let them know that here.
- Give clear and concise follow-up instructions. If your candidates can’t follow your simple instructions on how to apply to the position, how will you ever be able to count on them as an employee? I recommend that you ask for three pieces of information: a cover letter with the subject line “Why I am the Perfect Candidate to by your next…”; a resume; and, 3 references (including names and addresses). Then, instruct the candidate to send the materials out via Federal Express only. Explain in the advertisement that you will not accept phone calls, walk-ins, emails, or any other type of response. Candidates that violate these instructions will not be considered.
- Check References. Once you have some responses, you will contact the candidates that you want to interview and ask their permission to contact their references. Based on the feedback you get, you can whittle down your list even more.
- The difficult first task. All qualified candidates must then be asked to submit a one minute video to you explaining again why there are the best candidate for the job. I recommend that you set a deadline of 5 pm on a Friday afternoon. Any videos that come in late will not be considered.
- Interactive or Group Interview. At the interview, give the candidate a task (answer the phone, write a blog post, give them a quiz, etc.). Don’t just talk to them, make them do something. You can set these tasks up with an email to the candidates a couple of days prior to the interview.
- Put the final candidates through the ringer with Jay Henderson’s Hiring MRI Assessment. This is where you separate the true rock stars from the amateurs. Jay will provide you with objective data so that you can make the right decision.
All of this takes time and effort. But the payoff will be well worth it. Finding the best hire now is better than wasting six months with someone that you will have to fire anyway.
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