Attracting top college graduates to your small law firm might initially appear taxing because they lack experience. Still, new talent can offer innovative ideas and are more familiar with new technologies. One in three law firms cited recruitment as one of the top challenges in this 2019 survey, saying that there is a talent shortage.
The benefits of injecting new energy into your firm include a broader talent pool for a better competitive edge and the possibility of some great future leaders.
How You Can Attract Top College Graduates to Your Small Law Firm
There are several places where you can scout young legal talent, but grabbing their interest requires more than just showcasing the excitement of your day-to-day operations. Young people today search for work that also aligns with their core values. They also search for mentorship and career advancement. These and other factors make it easier to get them to commit to your smaller law firm.
Follow these five simple tricks to attract these star graduates:
1. Understand Their Core Values
Young people in all careers today want to work for a company that aligns with their values. Therefore, you must show them that your values conform with theirs. Two areas of particular concern for most young graduates are flexible work and sustainability, so make sure that they know where you stand on these.
The digital era and the lockdowns of the past two years have proven that productivity does not require long stints of sitting behind a desk. A flexible work schedule that incorporates remote work is more appealing to young legal graduates, and they will prefer your law firm if you offer these.
Moreover, young workers also look to see what causes your law firm champions and whether your efforts towards these are meaningful. Therefore, keep your website, recruitment pamphlets, and social media up-to-date with your corporate social responsibility efforts so that young graduates can see what you do.
If your efforts in this area are lacking, remember that it’s never too late to start. First, find a social or environmental cause to support (especially locally) and set up a money-raising drive to help the effort. Then, keep notes of your efforts and post them everywhere, ensuring that you align with the values of emerging young legal talent.
2. Make Your Law Firm Technologically Efficient
Technology allows young people to work from a mobile device while on the go. Therefore, if your office still relies on paper files and fixed computers, the chances are that those top college graduates won’t even consider you over others. Nowadays, everything has moved to the cloud, allowing access to files from anywhere and making it easier to keep an account of billable hours and issue invoices. Surprisingly, many of these systems are neither impossibly expensive nor challenging to adopt. The faster you modernize your system and let it be known, the easier it will become to attract bright new talent to your law firm. Let the potential recruits know what efforts you are making toward adopting a digital system, and ask them for their feedback; you will be surprised at their response.
3. Offer Career Incentives Like Advancement and Mentorship
The top incentive for young legal talent, according to the 2019 survey, are the non-monetary ones of advancement opportunities and mentorship. Law school gives these graduates all the theoretical knowledge required to become lawyers, but they gain practical experience on the job. Therefore, mentorship from the best lawyers at your firm will offer them the guidance and skills they need. In addition, your willingness to provide mentoring shows that you want to see growth from the talent you recruit and that you wish to provide them with further advancement. These young graduates will work hard to prove their commitment and loyalty.
4. Offer Continuing Education For A Certain Time of Tenure
New legal graduates are not ready to tackle all legal work, particularly court appearances. Therefore, attract young legal graduates by offering them the incentive of further legal studies after a specific time with your firm to help them move up in their legal careers. Incentives like this also help you retain talent and show your commitment to their career advancement within your legal firm.
5. Offer Competitive Salaries
As mentioned earlier, money does not offer as much an attraction as career advancement when recruiting. However, a salary that reflects the current market trends and remains competitive is undoubtedly an attraction for young star college graduates. In addition, compensation directly affects how worthy people feel about their jobs, so adjust these accordingly with time and promotions; otherwise, you will lose these talents to other firms.
Final Thoughts
Young incoming talent has the potential to help grow your legal firm, but you need to offer them the incentives they crave. Use these five small tricks to attract the best college graduates as you prepare to inject new energy and dynamics into your law firm.
