I second what the PP said. Also, in this economy, firms are looking for very specific skills or a book of business, which your husband obviously doesn't have. Most lawyers I know that have found new firm jobs in the past several years did so through personal contacts, or, very occasionally, through headhunters.

I asked my DH about your post because he is a partner involved with hiring at a big law firm that recruits heavily from the SEC. Almost everyone they hire from the SEC comes to them either from a headhunter or from the personal recommendation of someone at the SEC who has contacts at the firm. He doubts that he would even see the resume of someone who applied cold through the website because it would never make it to his desk. He also said the cover letter barely matters. It would be removed before a partner sees the resume and as long as it doesn't have glaring spelling or grammatical errors, it will not make a difference one way or another. His recommendations were for your husband to find a headhunter and to speak with his supervisors at the SEC about what he is interested in so they can reach out to firms where they have past colleagues. Also, make sure your DH is aware that 4 years in government does not translate into coming to a firm as a 4th year associate. My DH said that they would consider such a person for at most a 2nd year position. If your DH is applying for 4th year jobs, that may further explain why he hasn't heard back.

Anonymous wrote: Is he talking to the sr. people in his Division so they know he wants to go? Is he recusing himself from all matters involving any firm he has provided his resume? Doing the first thing will help make sure "mistakes" are not made.

This. If your husband has sent his resume to 20+ firms, and only those that fit his work experience, there's a good chance he's hit one that's representing someone in an ongoing matter he's involved in, and he may be in ethics trouble. He should fix this before doing anything else.

I second the recommendation for a headhunter. They'll know which firms are currently trying to fill positions. He should also make sure all of his friends in biglaw know that he's looking, and network with SEC alums in biglaw (as PPs recommended).

I would also think about using a headhunter.

Is he talking to the sr. people in his Division so they know he wants to go? Is he recusing himself from all matters involving any firm he has provided his resume? Doing the first thing will help make sure "mistakes" are not made.

He needs to reach out to people he knows at firms and go through these people to get his resume passed along to the right partner.

Anonymous wrote:Quick Question my husband is trying to jump from gov't agency to a big law law firm. He has 4 years+ of experience in the field and is only applying to jobs that fit his work experience. He has been applying online through firm websites. He has applied to 20+ jobs and has not heard much back over the past few months. Question about following up... do the recruiting contacts prefer email or phonecall follows ups and how long should he wait after his initial application to reach out the the HR recruiting contact. He has a good resume. geogretown law, cum laude, journal experience, 4 years at SEC so he should be qualified for the jobs he is applying for... any other tips out there on how to make the jump successfully? he cover letter is well written but kind of blah, any tips on making a strong cover letter?

He should be heavily networking among SEC alums who are in big law.

Anonymous wrote:This isn't a quick question, OP.

But to give you a quick response, in this economy, your husband may have to apply to 200 jobs before he gets any response.

I know the economy is bad - just writing to see if he is missing something obvious.

This isn't a quick question, OP.

But to give you a quick response, in this economy, your husband may have to apply to 200 jobs before he gets any response.

Quick Question my husband is trying to jump from gov't agency to a big law law firm. He has 4 years+ of experience in the field and is only applying to jobs that fit his work experience. He has been applying online through firm websites. He has applied to 20+ jobs and has not heard much back over the past few months. Question about following up... do the recruiting contacts prefer email or phonecall follows ups and how long should he wait after his initial application to reach out the the HR recruiting contact. He has a good resume. geogretown law, cum laude, journal experience, 4 years at SEC so he should be qualified for the jobs he is applying for... any other tips out there on how to make the jump successfully? he cover letter is well written but kind of blah, any tips on making a strong cover letter?