THE CAREER MIRROR Reflection Questions for Your Job Search By Marc Luber JDCareersOutThere.com Copyright 2015 Marc Luber. All rights reserved.
THE CAREER MIRROR REFLECTION QUESTIONS You can either print these questions out to write your responses or type them in the boxes provided. What skills do you have? If you struggle with answering this, think about what tasks come most naturally to you whether at school or your job. Where do you excel? In case you re stuck, here are some examples: Problem solving, writing, making presentations, managing projects Of those skills, which do you feel are your strongest? Of those skills, which do you enjoy using the most? If you ve completed law school or are at least half-way through, which of your skills do you think law school added to your toolkit or improved? How so? 2
If work or school colleagues were to describe you, what skills would they say you bring to the table? What is your special something? What are the unique talents that you ve always brought with you wherever you go? This is the more philosophical version of the question above. Do you feel you have a calling? A reason for being on this planet? What is it? What would you consider to be a good job? Why? What is your dream job? Why? 3
How do you like to spend your work day? What do you enjoy doing? Ex: Being in an office? Running to meetings outside the office? Sitting alone reading and writing? Brainstorming with others? If you won the lottery, how would you want to spend your time? If you could write your obituary right now for that day long into the future, what would you want it to say? If you were told you only had 3 years left to live, how would you use your time? What does success mean to you? To ask it another way, what do you feel you need in order to consider yourself successful? 4
Does your above answer change if you ask yourself what you feel you need in order for others to consider you successful? What are your top career goals? What are your top goals for your personal life? What are you willing to sacrifice to achieve any of your goals? What is currently in the way of you achieving your goals? 5
In what ways may you be in the way of achieving your goals? Do you do volunteer work? What type of volunteer work are you drawn to? I just met you at a party. What do you want me to remember about you? I just interviewed you for a job. What do you want me to remember about you? What skills and/or special something do you bring to the table that make you a fit for the career path or specific job you re pursuing? 6
What skills or knowledge does that path require that you don t currently have? What are you doing (or going to do) to develop whatever you re missing? Explain why you re qualified to be hired for the dream job you listed earlier. If you feel that you aren t qualified, what do you think is missing & what could you do to fill that gap? What are some stories you can tell to back up your assertion that you re great and that you re a great fit for opportunity XYZ? Who are you? Piece together your story in 1 paragraph from your childhood through your first jobs in high school through all of the work you ve done since including school, jobs, volunteer work and any extracurricular activities and hobbies. Write this for someone who doesn t know you. Try to find a common theme that runs through your whole story and gets you psyched. 7
WHAT TO DO NEXT Good work! You ve just completed Step 1 of my 3-step JDCOT formula for finding a career that fits you and landing your dream job: 1. Self-Assessment 2. Career Exploration 3. Breaking In Self-Assessment is the foundation for Steps 2 and 3. Trying to explore careers and find a job without first taking this look in the mirror is like shooting arrows with a blindfold on. It will likely just lead to frustration. But now what? Now you can use the information you ve gathered about yourself to guide you on to a target. The more a career path aligns with the skills, values and interests you listed in your Career Mirror, the closer that path is to being on your target and being a good fit for you. It doesn t have to be on the bullseye, but you at least want it to be on the target! Exploring careers can take a lot of work. To uncover everything about a career path to see if it even belongs on your target requires a lot of research. Just reading little descriptions on a list of careers isn t going to cut it. Hearing what a wide variety of JDs have to say about their career paths in extensive, candid interviews would provide you the opportunity to measure them up to your Career Mirror answers to see whether they belong on your target. Advice from those JDs on how to break in to their paths would then help you aim for and hit the target. You wouldn t just be removing your blindfold you d be receiving special, laser-guided arrows! This is what happens on JDCOT. 8
JDCOT IS YOUR GUIDE What to do with a law degree AND how to get there. To determine if a path fits you, you need to find the answers to questions like: What do you do as an ediscovery consultant? As a labor lawyer? As a sports agent? Can I see myself in this line of work? What skills are required? Do I have them? Can I acquire them? What s the lifestyle and salary like for jobs like these? Does it match the life I want? How do you break into this field of work? How can I position my background when applying for jobs? These are exactly the questions that I ask my guests on JD Careers Out There. On JDCOT, I conduct day-in-the-life video interviews with accomplished law grads in law jobs and alternative careers. Listening to them describe their paths will help you determine whether it s a good fit for you. You could spend hours doing online research, and even longer setting up meetings with various people (trust me, been there, done that). Or you can find all this information in one place: JD Careers Out There. CLICK HERE TO GET ACCESS TO JDCOT S FULL LIBRARY OF CAREER PATH VIDEOS 9
BENEFITS OF JDCOT When you join JD Careers Out There, here s what you ll get: Marc Luber Full access to the JDCOT library of career path videos Knowledge of what a wide variety of law jobs & alternative careers are really like Strategies for how to break into your desired career path Professional development tips on networking, interviewing, changing careers, and more The career advice that guests wish they had earlier in their careers Discounts on career coaching & MBTI Personality Test analysis Confidence in following a proven path to career fulfillment 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE 10
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING As a lawyer looking to leave the law, but not sure where to go, I found JDCOT to be the most helpful resource out there. The interviews on JDCOT contain honest and complete information because Marc asks the questions that people thinking about different careers really need to know. I appreciated the candor and generosity of the interviewees, and the realistic advice they provided. JDCOT is a great resource for lawyers who are looking for reliable information about other areas of law and alternative careers. -Stacy M. Transitioning Florida Attorney I cannot thank you enough for JDCOT. Not to sound cliché, but it definitely changed my life in that it apprised me of all the options available, and more importantly, that I can be happy with my career. Because of JDCOT, I have a firm grasp on my plan and exit strategy beyond litigation! -Patrick California Attorney If you are a lawyer looking for career guidance, JDCOT is an invaluable resource. I was fortunate to find a great job with a prestigious firm right out of law school. Unfortunately, a few years in, it become clear that I needed to make a transition. More unfortunately, I didn t know how to do it or where to go. On JDCOT, I found video interviews with tons of lawyers who love their jobs, and they discussed in detail what they do and how to move into the field. I was inspired. Using the skills and information I learned from the videos, I started my job search excited about the possibilities. -Alli Transitioning Attorney I was hesitant to subscribe to JDCOT s monthly membership. After all, what could JDCOT provide that I, a brilliant attorney, couldn t research on my own for free? Curiosity and a growing dissatisfaction with the law won me over, and I joined. I do not regret the decision. The JDCOT site provides a wealth of information the videos are extremely useful. I highly recommend the site to anyone who has even a fleeting interest in straying from the law. -Kristen C. Transitioning Attorney CLICK HERE TO JOIN JDCOT I look forward to helping you. See you at the site! Enjoy the journey, Marc Luber, JD Founder, JDCOT 11