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2024 Legal Accounts Salary Survey 15-May-24We've crunched the numbers and the results of our 2024 Legal Accounts Salary Survey for London are now in. Thank you to all of our contacts and members of the ILFM who contributed to this years survey. The aim of our survey is to provide the most comprehensive salary benchmarking guide covering all disciplines that make up the modern day legal finance function, with additional commentary on the hiring trends we've observed over the prior 12 months. Of course, there may be some outliers or bespoke roles that a universal salary survey won't be able to accommodate. If you'd like to discuss salary benchmarking for specific roles, please reach out to Richard Hooper on 02039411067. Download your pdf copy here: https://www.balancerecruitment.com/docs/Balance-SalarySurvey24.pdf...
Market update - February 2024 12-Feb-24See our latest Legal Accounts Market Update (February 2024) covering hiring trends for law firm accountancy and finance systems roles. To download the full document in PDF please click here...
Market update - November 2023 01-Nov-23Our latest Legal Accounts Market Update (November 2023) covering hiring trends for law firm accountancy and finance systems roles. To download the full document in PDF please click here....
Your first conversation with a recruiter. What do you need to consider? 13-Mar-23Your first conversation with a recruiter. What do I need to consider? If you’re active in your jobsearch, there’s a good chance you’re going to speak to a recruitment consultant for help at some point. Whilst the conversation with a recruiter is very different to the one you’ll have with a prospective employer, it’s still important to establish an effective relationship if you’re to get the most benefit from working with them. Each time a recruiter introduces you to one of their clients, they’re staking their reputation on you after all, so you’ll want to ensure that you build trust and rapport. Good recruiters can open doors that can be tricky to do directly. You’ll therefore want to have them fighting your corner ahead of your competition. Here’s a few tips to help you get off to a good start: **Be specific about your career goals** Being open minded to everything and anything will be a concern for recruiters. Employers want to see enthusiasm from interviewees. If you’re not able to articulate what you really want from your next role, recruiters won’t feel confident recommending you to their clients. A recruiter should be willing and able to help you consider what options you could explore however, so if you’re really unsure, ask for advice to help make some decisions. **Be open about your motivations for a move** Recruiters aren’t going to judge you for wanting to be paid fairly, nor for hating your boss. We’ve heard it all before and we want to help. Tell it like it is. It’s builds trust and allows us to fully understand your motivations, which will help to avoid wrong moves. If you’re vague or reluctant to discuss your motivations for a change it creates doubt, which won’t help you to reach their shortlists. We can also offer help in how to effectively discuss these motivations with a prospective employer. **Ask them questions about the market in which you specialise** There’s two reasons you should do this. Firstly, it shows enthusiasm and that you’re serious about making a move. A specialist recruiter should be a valuable resource of information that you can tap in to for free. Take advantage - we generally like talking and it helps build that rapport. Secondly, it allows you to assess them too. It’s a two-way relationship after all, and you want to be working with a credible, knowledgeable recruiter who knows their market and shares advice and expertise generously. If you work within #legalfinance and are looking to build a relationship with a recruiter who’ll support you throughout your career, please get in touch and we can arrange a convenient time to talk. If you've enjoyed this article, why not follow me on LinkedIn for regular blogs and exclusive content: www.linkedin.com/in/richardhooper1...
Market Update - February 2023 22-Feb-23Our latest Legal Accounts Market Update (February 2023) covering hiring trends for law firm accountancy and finance systems roles. To download the full document in PDF please click here...
Does interview feedback help or hinder your job search? 06-Jan-23The answer is obvious, surely? Of course it helps. You need to know where you’re going wrong and what you’re doing right. Right? Well, yes, but this also depends on how you process and internalise this information. And this becomes even more problematic when you’re unknowingly interviewing for opportunities you only have an outside chance of securing. In many cases, the main reason people don’t secure an offer is simply that they’ve been competing against someone who has more relevant experience and skills for that specific role and firm. Sometimes they simply don’t hold enough of the necessary experience the employer requires. In these situations, even if your interview technique was flawless, the outcome will be the same. But constructive feedback can still be expected and actively requested – one of the most common complaints about hiring firms and recruiters (external or in-house) is the lack of sufficient feedback for unsuccessful applications. You’ve invested time and energy in to the process after all – the least you can expect is guidance on what you could have done better. So at this point you can, and hopefully will, receive some constructive feedback which, crucially, may not be the reason you didn’t secure the role, but can be offered in the spirit of providing you with some help and guidance. And this is where the problem can start. If you suffer from imposter syndrome (the majority do at some point) this feedback can fester. You can over analyse it. It becomes ‘the reason’ you didn’t secure the job, even when that’s very far from the case. When this happens a few times over, it’s going to hit your confidence and it’s going to tie you up in knots for future interviews. You’ll be in your head and not in the room. Which becomes a vicious circle. Feedback will always be important. The good and the bad. But listen to *both*. Take on board the positives, see constructive feedback for what it is and don’t let it derail your confidence. When you secured your current role it was your turn to be the most suitable applicant, and that time will come again. When using recruiters, be wary if you’ve got the impression your recruiter will submit you for each and any role you show an interest in, with the bare minimum information shared and no discussion. You’ll almost certainly be entering application processes to make up the numbers, regardless if you may only have a slim chance of securing the role. If you work within legal finance and this resonates and you feel your interview technique is the problem, get in touch and let’s have a chat. Send me a note, give me a call or book a time in my diary from the following link: https://calendly.com/richardhooper/career-planning If you've enjoyed this article, why not follow me on LinkedIn for regular blogs and exclusive content: www.linkedin.com/in/richardhooper1...
The Business Awards Show Interview With Kath Reynolds 15-Dec-22Kath Reynolds is the founder of Balance Recruitment an independent, multi-award winning Legal Finance recruitment consultancy, exclusively within the legal sector, with a UK & international client base. Based in London, Balance is the ‘go-to’ firm for the Legal accounts space in the city. Kath and her business have won 17 awards, and in this interview we discuss her business journey, and why awards have been so important in her business. Listen to the podcast now or click below......
Affinity bias; what is it and what can you do about it? 14-Dec-22“They could do the job, but they just weren’t the right fit for the team.” Feedback I’ve heard countless times throughout my career and I’ve understood it. I’ve been there myself. It’s human nature to seek out commonalities. It’s how we’re all wired. But when it applies to hiring, it’s an unconscious bias that we need to discuss and bring attention to: affinity bias. We all experience affinity bias and it’s not intentional. If you find yourself in a social environment where you don’t know anyone, your subconscious will seek signs of familiarity. A common interest, a similar age/gender profile, or just a shared view overheard in conversation. It’s a shortcut to forming friendships and easing social anxieties with strangers. In the workplace however, if affinity bias goes unchecked it can lead to the building of homogenous teams; lacking diversity, innovation and creativity. Both at the point of hiring and for promotion opportunities when managers may be prone to promote those they ‘click’ with better. So what can be done about it? Firstly, the conversations around this need to be about bringing awareness, not criticism, shame or judgement. After all, it’s effectively a ‘native app’ we all have in our brains operating system. Being aware and curious helps elevate it above the subconscious. Decisions makers and interviewers need to be familiar with what affinity bias is - how it manifests, the problems and missed opportunities it can create. Reminders to remain self-aware at the start of every hiring process shouldn’t be considered patronising. Gut instincts need to be explored. Was it familiarity that made a favoured candidate stand out? Did they evidence greater abilities and more relevant experience than others, or were they given an easier pass because they mentioned a shared acquaintance or grew up in the same town? Firm “culture” needs to be understood as tangible values - not the office ‘vibe’. Each step of the hiring process and decision-making needs assessing to reduce the impact of unconscious bias. Can data or scorecards be utilised? Are diverse opinions deliberately being sought-out amongst the interview panel and listened to? All of the above will help your firm to promote greater inclusivity and to harness the potential that a truly diverse workforce will bring. If you've enjoyed this article, why not follow me on LinkedIn for regular blogs and exclusive content: www.linkedin.com/in/richardhooper1...
What can I say in an interview if I'm leaving because of my boss? 06-Dec-22**Don’t speak negatively about a previous employer** This is forever enshrined in the interviewing rule book. So then, what do you say instead if you want to leave because your boss is just plain toxic or incompetent (or both) and making your life hell? Just make something else up and hope it sounds credible? The issue with that is that your alternative reason might not sound credible. The reason might not align with what the firm you’re now interviewing with can actually offer you. Or it could sound vague, making them suspect you’re not telling the full story, leaving a question mark against your application. Our advice: be honest. Be professional in how you communicate the issues and have some non-emotive examples prepared which highlight an unreasonable management style or expectation, or other signs of an unhealthy work culture. Avoid a character assassination, but if things aren’t ok in your current firm/team to the point you want to find somewhere more enjoyable/healthy, that’s a perfectly legitimate reason which shouldn’t need to be unspoken. Talk it through in advance with someone neutral to see if it makes sense to them. And talk to an experienced and consultative recruiter who can offer candid feedback and further advice. Follow me on LinkedIn for regular blogs and exclusive content: www.linkedin.com/in/richardhooper1...
What questions should I ask at interview? 01-Dec-22"What questions should I ask at interview?" A common question we hear from jobseekers as they prepare for interviews. A quick search online will help fuel the misconception that this part of the interview is nothing more than your chance to impress with the questions you ask. But should that be the case? We ran a LinkedIn poll a little while back asking how you chose which questions to ask in an interview. 29% prioritised asking an intelligent question ahead of finding out need-to-know information. Admittedly, we’ve no doubt there will still be employers and hiring managers who see this stage of the interview as part of the assessment process, but if you’re to be judged negatively for seeking answers to simple questions, is this a firm you want to be joining? Interviews are a two-way street after all – shouldn’t this be your time to find out what you genuinely want to know about them? We all have different priorities and markers of job satisfaction after all. Our advice; rather than focusing on which questions sound the most impressive, spend more time thinking about what's most important to you. It matters and this information won’t always be offered up during an interview. What are your core motivations to move currently and will this opportunity satisfy them? What are the must-haves? What are the red flags? Will you have the tools/team/resources necessary to be able to do what's being asked of you? In what type of environment do you perform to your best? From this you can help build appropriate questions to help fact-find and assess whether or not this opportunity would be right for you. Most firms will appreciate it. It shows you’re being thorough and that you take your career seriously. Asked in the right way these questions can still impress, whilst also providing you with vital information that you need to know to avoid a wrong move. If you’re working in legal finance and would like to get some help with your approach to interviews, please get in touch and we’d love to offer some guidance. Follow me on LinkedIn for regular blogs and exclusive content: www.linkedin.com/in/richardhooper1/...
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