The end of the year is often a time for reflection—a time to set new goals to improve health, wealth, and overall wellness in the coming year. As we seek to balance self-care, finances, family, friends, and (physical, emotional, and mental) health, we must consider the interplay of professional, personal, and financial needs when thinking about our future. Below are some questions to consider when evaluating whether to pursue a new job in the new year. This framework can be applied to any industry and profession, including the legal industry.
Is the job you have now where you want to be (or will it lead you to where you want to be)?
Not all goals are attained by following a direct or short path. In fact, most people in the legal profession will admit that reaching their professional goals (e.g., making partner, earning a certain base salary, securing a particular client or number of clients/book of business, reaching milestones like a set number of favorable verdicts/outcomes) takes time.
However, it is important to assess whether your current role is leading you towards a desired one. The latter may offer opportunities for growth (e.g., promotion, managerial responsibilities, client and/or project independence), stability, passion/joy in day-to-day responsibilities, and feeling valued by your team and employer. While company and team loyalty may lead to growth or promotion opportunities, working with a team that does not value your contributions, or handling matters that do not spark joy is unlikely to serve your needs and may be worth considering a lateral move.
Professional journeys can often come with twists and turns (and pauses or setbacks), but you should position yourself to be in an environment where you can develop and strengthen the skills and knowledge needed to meet your goals. That may be handling specific work to boost your knowledge in a particular industry or practice area or working with specific clients, colleagues, or supervisors who can provide mentorship or other guidance, including network and relationship building.
To determine your professional goals, you must first reflect upon what motivates you to work (e.g., passion for a particular practice area/industry, joy of job responsibilities, reward of advocating for client needs, etc.). From there, you can identify the optimal environment and circumstances to most effectively reach your professional goals.
Here are some examples of questions to help you identify and prioritize your professional needs:
Do you need to be at a specific law firm with a particular practice area or client base.
Do you need to find a team that provides more opportunities for advanced or independent work like partners trusting their associates to interact directly with clients
Do you need to be in an environment that offers more mentorship or sponsorship opportunities like knowing your partner(s) will advocate for your promotion.
These questions may not lead to quick or simple answers. To reduce the stress and complexity of goal setting, we have prepared the corresponding Self Assessment and Action Plan resource materials to help you identify your specific needs and priorities at this stage of your life and career. The questions and statements contained in the Self-Assessment will give you the opportunity to reflect upon the importance of certain elements of your personal, professional, and financial circumstances thereby creating a “big picture” of your career goals. You can then refine that information by using the Action Plan to create a detailed, quantifiable, and realistic plan of action, which may include securing a new job in a set period of time.
Once you have a clear vision of your professional needs, you can evaluate whether your current role is consistent with your career goals or whether a new job is the best move for your future.
Are you satisfied with your current financial situation?
Passion should be a factor in deciding whether to change jobs, but the reality is life is expensive. In an ideal world, our passions would dictate our career development; however, covering the costs of daily living, including, but not limited to healthcare, child and/or elder care, rent/mortgage, food, clothes, travel/transportation, etc, is non-negotiable. Only you know your personal finances and any anticipated major life events or upcoming expenses that may require a certain base salary. If your current employer is not meeting your financial needs, then it may be worth exploring a new role.
Of course, it is not as simple as jumping at any chance to make more money—your unique set of professional goals should continue to matter—but if all things considered are equal and you have a chance to increase your earnings, then exploring a new job may be the right option.
Base salary should not be the only point of assessment when deciding whether a new role would boost your finances. An employer may offer a higher base salary but the cost of insurance may be higher. A lack of other benefits can impact savings (e.g., company matching of retirement funds, stock options, loan forgiveness eligibility, etc.) and may not actually boost your take-home pay. If the new role involves relocation or a change from remote work to hybrid or in-person work then cost-of-living expenses, including travel/commute or additional child or elder care costs, may also need to be considered.
As you evaluate your current financial situation and anticipated needs, you can decide whether it is worth exploring a new job opportunity that will help you progress towards your professional goals and provide the financial growth or stability needed.
Are you content with your day-to-day activities?
Focus, dedication, persistence, and hard work are key to professional success; nevertheless, there is more to life than work. Health is irreplaceable and taking care of your physical, emotional, and mental health is paramount. As such, it is important to have a job that affords reasonable opportunity to live a full, healthy, and balanced life. For example, do you have time to meditate and/or exercise; are you sleeping well and enough; are you content with the time you spend with your friends and family; or more specifically, do you enjoy going to work or do you cringe anytime a certain supervisor or colleague contacts you?
Work is not always easy, fun, or pleasant, and there will be times when work must take precedent over other responsibilities and activities. Yet, work should not be a significant or primary source of stress, and it should not prevent someone from taking basic care of themselves.
There is value in staying in a role that you enjoy and where you are valued and compensated fairly. Like with the other categories (e.g., professional goals and financial considerations), only you know your personal needs and responsibilities and where those fall in relation to each other to decide whether it is worth exploring a new opportunity or if your current role is just right to meet your needs. Our Self-Assessment and Action Plan are useful resources to further aid in identifying your unique needs and goals.
Further, our recruiters at Zerega Consulting are available to offer guidance on your career path in the legal industry. Ultimately, only you know what matters most to you, what drives your passion, your individual, family, or financial circumstances. If you decide to work with a recruiter to explore new opportunities, being open and honest with them about your goals (professional, financial or otherwise) will allow them to match you with jobs that align with those desires.
We wish you a balanced and successful year ahead! Use this time to check in with yourself and truly listen to your needs.
To download the free Self-Assessment or Action Plan, click the links below:
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