Signs of a Good Candidate:
Accuracy. Be prepared to provide specific details about your experience, your current compensation, your academic record and your reasons for considering a new opportunity. This is critical information that employers expect to receive from legal recruiters. Employers do not respond well to vague or evasive answers, notwithstanding advice to the contrary from some "How to Get a Job" authorities.

Communication. If your goals or requirements change - whether money, location or practice type - let us know. This will ensure that our legal recruiters will call you about all appropriate openings.

Control. Maintain control of your resume. If you ask friends or other search firms to help you, make sure that they understand that your name and resume are not to be released to a potential employer without your prior approval. Do not deal with legal recruiters who will not tell you the name of their client or who want to submit your resume to an employer who has already received it. Sending multiple resumes to an employer can make you look desperate or careless and can result in unnecessary fee disputes, none of which helps you.

Confidentiality. Do not reveal our clients' name to other recruiters. They will simply attempt to submit their own candidates, creating more competition for you.

Signs of a Good Recruiter:
Reputation. When you work with a search firm, the first impression you make on a prospective employer is through your search consultant. Employers learn quickly which recruiters are good and which are to be avoided. The reputation of the search firm you choose is a reflection on you. Using Prescott Legal Search tells employers that you were careful in your selection.

Information. A good recruiter can thoroughly discuss each legal position with you, based on information provided by its clients. At Prescott, before we ask for your authorization to present your resume to our clients, we give you specific information about the position such as the type of work involved, the compensation, the work environment, and of course, the name of the employer. Our recruiters also send you a letter summarizing the information we are providing to employers, to avoid misunderstandings.

Confidentiality. Most recruiters will say that your search will be handled confidentially, but what assurances do they give? We provide several: First, our clients agree in writing to protect candidates' confidentiality. Second, we get your approval for us to present your resume to our clients. Third, we send a letter to your home, confirming where we have sent your resume. Extra steps like these set Prescott apart from other recruiting firms.

Professionalism. How do you know who is good in legal search and who is not? Do you want to use a personnel agency with a "legal division?" Or what about a recruiter operating from an unidentified "home office?" We suggest that you entrust your career to a firm such as Prescott Legal Search that has a demonstrable track record in legal recruiting and that projects an image that will help you as a candidate. No other Texas legal search firm was awarded the highest possible ratings by employers in the two most recent surveys of the nation's legal recruiters by The American Lawyer.

Candor. Keep in mind that the employers who pay the recruiter's fee expect to be presented with a select group of qualified candidates for their legal job openings. It is our job to introduce the best candidates we can find for each opening and we are also obligated to present each candidate in a balanced manner. If you receive an offer from one of our clients, we will give you our best advice regarding the offer package and whether the position will enhance your professional career.

Signs of a Dangerous Recruiter:
Lack of information. Beware of the legal recruiter who does not know basic or detailed information about his or her client's requirements, or who tries to convince you to "Just send me your resume." Remember, this is the person who is proposing to introduce you to the hiring partner or the general counsel of your next employer. If you are not impressed with the legal headhunter's knowledge or delivery, you should say "goodbye," and quickly. If possible, meet the recruiter in person, at his or her office, then decide if you are comfortable with the recruiter.

Shotgun approach. Beware of a legal recruiter who says, "Let me check with some of our clients," then sends out a barrage of resumes - to employers who have no openings or who do not even have a relationship with the search firm. This is at best, unprofessional; but even worse, it can create problems for you. Do not give your resume to a legal recruiter who says his clients' names are confidential!

Extravagant claims. Beware of recruiters who tell you not to work with anyone else because they have all the openings. They could not possibly. A number of law firms and corporations use only one search firm on an exclusive basis. In Texas, that firm is often Prescott Legal Search.