A true story from the early days of Holtz & Bernard.

I was working with a young, bright attorney who wanted out of insurance defense and into maritime law. There wasn’t a single maritime opening posted anywhere, and his background didn’t align with maritime at all.

I’d been recruiting since 2008, but the legal industry was still new to me. I had just started the agency. This was a chance to apply an approach I already knew very well:

  1. Identify how the candidate can add value.
  2. Position them properly.
  3. Aggressively attack the market.

The approach

First things first, I got on the phone with him. I needed to understand where he was and where he wanted to go. Then I built a presentation that made his value obvious to maritime firms.

Not his resume. His value.

Next, I made a list of every maritime firm from Miami to Palm Beach, the geography he was open to, and I knocked on every single door.

In the recruiting world, we call this marketing a placeable candidate. Done right, it’s a very effective strategy. What’s important is being upfront with your candidate about the approach, including which firms on the list you already know and which you don’t, and getting their permission before approaching each firm.

The result

3
Interviews
2
Offers
1
Dream firm

Long story short: three interviews with three maritime firms and, ultimately, two offers. He accepted the offer from the most prestigious maritime firm in South Florida, up in Palm Beach.

What it taught me

That placement reinforced two things.

Number one, you can create opportunities where there aren’t any if you position things correctly. There doesn’t need to be a public opening, but you do need to know how to do this effectively. It’s both science and art.

Number two, it was an extremely rewarding placement. He got into his dream practice area at his dream firm, and I helped put him there. I made a difference.

That shaped how I run my agency. I’m more focused on getting attorneys where they want to go than on filling law firms’ openings.

I’ve got countless stories like this one. Seven years in, I’ve been in touch with just about every firm in South Florida and have agreements with more than 100 of them.

If you’re somewhere you don’t want to be and you know where you’d rather be, even if nothing is posted, let’s talk.

Originally published on the Holtz & Bernard blog.