Originally published on May 4, 2009 in our free BigLaw newsletter.
Finding a job these days is about as tough as it gets. The legal market has been especially hard hit. The news is awash with stories of unemployed attorneys sending out hundreds of resumes with few or no positive responses. To stand out from the pack, some attorneys are "tailoring" their resumes and fudging their experience to enhance their qualifications for the job. Nearly everyone embellishes their accomplishments on paper (except for the author when applying for this job, of course), but when does embellishment become falsification? How far is going too far in the quest for employment?
A Tale Told by an Idiot
"Carl" was a fourth year litigation associate at a medium-sized firm in NYC. He had a reputation as a competent, if not superstar, attorney with average to low billable hours. Unfortunately, Carl's firm, like many others in New York, was burned by the 2008 market crash. The firm laid off attorneys in November 2008, and Carl was among the first let go. He received two months' severance, outplacement services, and a week to finish up his work.
As part of the outplacement services, the firm put him in touch with a recruiting agency that specializes in "re-working" resumes. Shortly after being fired, Carl met with the recruiter to discuss his options.
The recruiter told him what many other job-seeking attorneys hear these days: there's not much out there except for bankruptcy work. Did Carl have any bankruptcy experience? the recruiter asked.
Not really, said Carl. He mostly worked on IP and commercial litigation matters, but he did briefly work on a creditor's rights matter in which the debtor was bankrupt. The recruiter suggested that he list the bankruptcy experience on his resume, and hope for the best. But she said that she could not pitch him as a bankruptcy associate to firms that were looking, and as such, she thought his best bet was to pass his resume along to his network of contacts.
Full of Sound and Fury
Carl initially sent out resumes listing himself as a general litigation associate, citing experience in IP and commercial litigation and in bankruptcy. No hits. He then sent out a second round of resumes to different firms listing himself as a general litigation associate, specializing in bankruptcy. To his surprise, a large firm called him up to schedule an interview.
At the interview, the partners described how the group had recently received several new bankruptcy matters and they were in need of mid-level associates who could work without much supervision from the partners. Carl trumped up his experience on the creditor case and impressed the partner by discussing the technical aspects of several bankruptcies in the news which he had specifically researched in anticipation of the interview. Against the odds, Carl landed the job. He started the following week.
Carl privately figured he could brush up the Code on his own or learn quickly on the job, but it soon became apparent that Carl did not have the bankruptcy proficiency indicated by his resume or his interview. He took too long on assignments and sometimes flubbed them. He stumbled on the phone with clients. The partners thought that he appeared to be "winging it," which he was, and in March 2009, after about two months, they asked him to leave.
Signifying Nothing
By portraying himself as a bankruptcy associate, Carl thought he was doing what other unemployed lawyers with some bankruptcy experience were doing.
"I wasn't trying to con the firm into hiring me, I was just emphasizing my bankruptcy experience because those are the available jobs. I thought you're supposed to tweak your resume to reflect the job specs."
While many people do gear their resumes to fit specific job criteria, there is a fine line between tinkering with a resume and outright lying, and Carl's actions fall uncomfortably close to the latter. It may be tempting to emphasize desirable experience, such as bankruptcy, but if you don't have the relevant expertise or experience, don't pretend you do.
Firms watch all associates like hawks. Any shortcomings in laterals hired to fill a specific need won't go unnoticed in this market. There are plenty of unemployed attorneys with legitimate relevant experience who are eager to fill open positions, and firms have every incentive to lose underperforming laterals and trade up.
If and when firms fire recent lateral hires, the terminated attorneys do not necessarily return to the same status they inhabited prior to taking their most recent job. For instance, Carl must now omit or explain the two month blip on his resume to future employers, plus he has soured his reputation at the second firm and perhaps beyond. And since he was terminated for cause, he cannot file for unemployment in New York.
Carl regrets overstating his bankruptcy experience and wishes he listened to the recruiter's advice: if you don't have it, don't flaunt it.
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