New York Lawyer
April 24, 2001

Q:
I�ve been thinking about leaving my large firm and moving into the not-for-profit sector in an advocacy role that draws on my legal skills. I�ve answered a few ads, and I�m not getting any responses. Am I doing something wrong?

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A:
Your situation presents several possible problems.

First, the people who screen ad responses frequently screen out any applicant who does not have an existing career history that supports candidacy for the specific job in the ad. �I�m sure I could learn to do it� is not very reassuring to the screeners.

Second, any major career change rings alarm bells with almost any employer: Is this person running from something or running toward something? No employer likes to be someone�s default choice, and when someone has worked long and hard to obtain admittance into a demanding, usually high-paying profession, a decision to �drop back� into a fundamentally different � and probably much lower-paying � role raises concerns both about your ability and your motivation.

The third issue is focus. Invariably, more is better. That is, although anyone who completes law school is widely-regarded as having good communication and persuasion skills, merely wanting to be an advocate for something or other does not convey enough motivational focus.

If there is some particular cause or issue that burns bright in your heart, you can make a much more convincing case for shifting gears. In such cases, though, your best tactic is try to circumvent the ad-screening process � in which your resume is buried in a tall stack with a bunch of others � and try to do some personal networking with people who are in a NFP organization that shares your particular values. In fact, for any career shifter/changer, networking is always the best technique because it lets others see the real person, not just some printed credentials.

Sincerely,
Douglas B. Richardson
President, The Richardson Group