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Law Practice Today

July 2024

Strategies for Prioritizing Well-Being in Attorney Job Searches and Career Development

Skip Horne and Susanne Aronowitz

Summary

  • Good mental health practices can equip you with the resilience and confidence needed to persevere through a job search.
  • The SCARF model — status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and fairness — can help job seekers minimize perceived threats and maximize rewards throughout the application process and when transitioning into a new role.
  • Recognizing the links between well-being, career satisfaction, and job search success empowers job seekers to reframe their experiences, build resilience, and navigate setbacks, enhancing decision-making and employer communication.
Strategies for Prioritizing Well-Being in Attorney Job Searches and Career Development
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The often challenging and lengthy nature of the job search process can have an impact on attorneys’ mental health and well-being by generating stress, anxiety, and feelings of rejection. Investing in good mental health practices can equip you with the resilience and confidence needed to navigate setbacks and persevere through the search, enabling you to make better decisions and communicate more effectively with prospective employers. And once you land that next position, you will be better positioned to engage your adaptability and creativity as you transition into a fresh set of job responsibilities and navigate a new career path.

Empirically, research sheds some light on the importance of mental health and well-being in the job search and new career launch. According to NALP Foundation data gathered from its “Study of Law School Alumni Employment & Satisfaction” — an annual study conducted jointly with the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) — attorneys in the early stages of their legal careers are highly mobile: 70% of the class of 2020 alumni surveyed have held two or more jobs during their first three years following graduation. We also know:

  • Over a quarter (27%) of graduates identified a desire for better mental health and well-being support as a reason they had changed jobs.
  • When queried about their satisfaction with aspects of their current job, graduates gave support for mental health and well-being one of the lowest scores (3.8 out of 5), just ahead of compensation (3.7 out of 5).
  • Educational debt has a profound negative effect on graduates’ mental health and well-being: 44% of those with debt of up to $100,000 reported this, while 56% of those with debt over $100,000 did so.
  • While the pandemic may appear to be waning, its negative effect on young lawyers’ mental health continues, especially with women overall (37%) and women of color (36%) reporting this at higher levels than their male peers (31% and 27%, respectively).

In the job search journey, these data points intersect with overall mental health and well-being, shaping both the process and the outcomes. When exploring new opportunities, you might find yourself running away from a toxic work environment or seeking growth beyond your current role by proactively looking for positions aligned with your values and supportive work cultures.

Legal employers are increasingly recognizing the importance of mental health and well-being by incorporating questions about work-life balance, stress management, and team dynamics. You should thus inquire about company policies regarding mental health support, further emphasizing its significance to your decision-making process.

While it is generally understood that conducting a job search can be stressful, understanding this dynamic from a neuroscience perspective can offer strategies to ameliorate the challenges of the transition process on the job seeker’s well-being.

In his paper “SCARF: A Brain-Based Model for Collaborating With and Influencing Others,” Dr. David Rock, the director of the NeuroLeadership Institute, identified five key domains that influence our perception of psychological safety. These are represented by the acronym SCARF:

  1. Status: our relative importance to others.
  2. Certainty: our ability to predict the future.
  3. Autonomy: our sense of control over events.
  4. Relatedness: how safe we feel with others.
  5. Fairness: how fair we perceive the exchanges between people to be.

According to Dr. Rock’s research, experiencing these five social domains activates the same threat and reward responses in our brain that we rely on for physical survival, which explains the strong emotional reactions that we can have at work and throughout the job search. By leveraging these insights, job seekers can reframe their approach to the job search to counteract perceived threats, thereby increasing their resilience and well-being throughout the application process and when transitioning into a new role.

Here are some strategies for engaging each of the SCARF domains to preserve your well-being both during the job search and when evaluating the viability of your future employment options.

Status

To satisfy the brain’s quest for achievement, focus on setting individual goals that you can accomplish. While we may be wired for competition, our brains do not differentiate whether we are competing against others or ourselves.

In the Job Search

Set specific, tangible job search goals that you can achieve, like the number of applications you want to submit in a week or the number of people you contact for networking conversations. Make note of when you meet or exceed your targets.

If you are between jobs, look for opportunities where you can continue to leverage your skills and even serve in a leadership capacity, such as getting involved with pro bono work, writing an article, or leading a bar association committee.

In Potential Roles

Reflect on how you like to have your successes recognized. When assessing potential jobs, evaluate how achievements are celebrated and whether that approach aligns with your preferred style of recognition.

Explore the advancement and leadership opportunities that will be available with your prospective employer. Do they resonate with you, and will they serve as positive motivators?

Certainty

To fulfill the brain’s need for certainty and predictability, create structure and establish patterns that help you initiate job search activity.

In the Job Search

Design a predictable daily and weekly job search schedule that allocates appointments to specific activities. For example, you might assign Tuesday and Thursday mornings as the time to send outreach emails and Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons as the times to review job postings. Automating your schedule can infuse your routine with calmness while supporting your productivity.

Lean on your self-care routines, such as exercise and meditation, to create predictable patterns in your day by building these activities into your daily and weekly schedules.

In job interviews, seek clarity on the employer’s next steps and timelines at each stage of the process.

In Potential Roles

Make it a priority to understand how work is assigned, what drives “peak” and “quiet” periods of work, how and when performance is evaluated, and how compensation (including bonuses and raises) is determined.

Learn about the business model of the organization you are considering joining and understand the economic drivers that impact its financial success.

Autonomy

Many job seekers feel that their future success is at the mercy of their prospective employers, undermining the brain’s need for self-determination. Instead of passively waiting to be selected for an interview, focusing on “performing” well at that interview, and being given a job offer, find ways to assert your own agency through the affirmative choices you make in the process.

In the Job Search

Identify clear criteria for the opportunity you seek. Assess prospective roles against these criteria and do not pursue roles that do not measure up.

Approach interviews as a conversation, not an audition. You are evaluating the employer and the opportunity as much as they are evaluating you.

Engage with your network so that you are more likely to hear about opportunities rather than waiting for positions to be posted.

In Potential Roles

Assess the extent to which you will control your daily schedule, the matters you will work on, the level of responsibility you will have for your work, the extent to which you must conform to a particular style, and the extent to which you can attract the clients you want. Compare what you learn to the criteria you have already established to evaluate whether this is the right opportunity for you.

In addition, understand your prospective employer’s policies and expectations regarding such criteria as in-office work, response times, and billable hours.

Relatedness

Feeling a sense of connection and belonging is essential to mental well-being. Without the opportunity to interact routinely with colleagues or feel connected to an organization, job seekers can feel adrift. This sense of isolation can be exacerbated by interpreting an employer’s choice not to interview or hire you as a personal rejection. Be mindful of the narrative you create about your job search progress, and prioritize staying connected to others.

In the Job Search

Instead of characterizing an employer’s decision not to hire you as a “rejection,” consider a more neutral interpretation, such as there being a lack of fit between you and the role. While disappointment is an inevitable part of the process, avoid interpreting employers’ decisions as a referendum on your worthiness as a person or legal professional.

Be vigilant about staying connected to peers, family, friends, and mentors. Take responsibility for staying in touch by email, text, or phone; schedule times to meet for coffee, lunch, or walks. Gather on a regular basis with colleagues who are also looking for work to provide mutual support and accountability.

Expand your network through informational conversations.

Participate in activities where you can collaborate with others on projects of mutual interest, like bar association committees, pro bono work, or other community service.

In Potential Roles

Evaluate the extent to which your employer’s values are aligned with yours.

Understand with whom you will be working and whether your new employer facilitates connections through affinity groups, mentor programs, and team meetings.

Identify whether you will be working alone or on teams, as well as the employer’s practices regarding in-office and remote work.

Assess whether you will be available to remain engaged with your personal and community commitments outside of your job.

Fairness

Most job seekers desire fair access to opportunities; operating in a system that feels “rigged” with unwritten rules demoralizes us by undermining confidence and well-being. To guard against this, make it a priority to uncover the underpinnings for how decisions are made in the hiring process and in the workplace.

In the Job Search

Understand the qualities your prospective employer seeks and use your application materials and interviews to clearly demonstrate those elements.

Ascertain the criteria the employer will use to determine where an applicant falls within a salary range so that you can best advocate for yourself when negotiating your compensation.

In Potential Roles

Learn how work is allocated and evaluate whether you can request opportunities that will support your growth and development.

Understand how performance is measured and the relationship between evaluations, compensation, and advancement.

Seek clarity on the promotion process and evaluate whether it is transparent, fair, and predictable.

Conclusion

Understanding the strong connections between well-being, career satisfaction, and job search success can help job seekers reframe their experiences, build resilience, and better navigate setbacks, ultimately enabling more effective decision-making and communication with potential employers.

This article is on behalf of the ABA Career Center.

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