New York Lawyer
June 23, 2005

Q:
I am about 10 months on the job (first job since passing the bar), with a terrible boss, but earning a good salary. While I've started to generalize my experience to the practice of law, I realize that not everyone will be like my current boss. Now, I just pray that I can make it a year!

My question is this: when I do leave and apply for other jobs, what do I tell the prospective employer why I left? It's a very small legal community (a town of 300,000 in the Midwest) and I don't want anything to get back to my current employer! How can I look for a job gracefully?

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A:

Good for you for realizing that one awful boss doesn�t mean the whole profession is tainted. You simply need to extricate yourself from a bad situation. The way to do it is to focus on business factors that other firms will be interested in, and ignore (publicly) the personal factors motivating your decision.

Therefore, after at least a year has elapsed, you can start quietly looking. Most prospective employers understand the need for discretion when you are currently employed, so I wouldn�t worry about that aspect unduly. Obviously you might cross paths with someone who knows your boss, but again, it�s widely understood that people look for new jobs all the time, so I don�t think that will be a major problem. In any event, if the job is bad enough, this is a risk you probably need to take.

When you are interviewing, focus on the practice area that you want and emphasize the experience that you have gotten. When explaining why you want to leave, say that you want to move on because you weren�t heading in the right direction for your particular practice area. Your main message should be that you want to help another firm produce superior legal services in the practice area of your choice. Don�t mention anything about your tyrannical boss; prospective employers will not be able to help wondering whether you were a difficult employee and that that was the "real" problem. Keep it professional and high road and you should be able to "gracefully" find something else.

Sincerely,
Holly English