Summer is officially here. School’s out for the kids, vacation mode is turned on, and weekend BBQs are abundant. Yet, it’s also a great time to conduct your own midyear career and brand audit, especially if you’re preparing to make a career move within the next six to nine months. As I’ve previously written, opportunities often present themselves when we least anticipate them, and it’s important to be proactively prepared for a job search whether you’ve been at a company less than a year or more than 20.

Start With Reviewing Your Performance Evaluations

The first step in any midyear audit is review, reflection, and assessment. One of my top recommendations for this process is to review your performance evaluations from the past several years. Performance evaluations often provide good fodder for your resume as they will typically reveal how your reporting leader sees your work, how peers have responded to your leadership, key projects and initiatives you’ve worked on or led, and other examples of your overall performance and impact during various time frames. If you haven’t explored your career or updated your resume in a long time, a great starting place is reviewing your past performance evaluations for ideas.

Additionally, I recommend asking yourself these pointed questions:

Have you grown exponentially in the scope and oversight of your work?
Are you feeling stagnant in your current role (and what’s actually driving that)?
Is there room to grow further, or have you hit the ceiling at your organization?
What’s your five-year plan? Your 10-year plan? Is a board seat in your future?

These are the precise questions I ask all job seekers at the inception of a coaching or writing engagement because they are the foundation of a targeted, intentional job search. Knowing where you want to go and what type of role and organization you’re targeting elevates every interaction, but is also essential before you update your legal resume or LinkedIn profile. If you’re unsure what your next move looks like, executive coaching is a strong consideration. Stepping into conversations with legal or executive search recruiters without distinct clarity on your career story or what you want next puts you at a significant disadvantage.

Build And Update Your Brag Sheet

Before Q3 passes you by, update your brag sheet. As part of any effective career management strategy, I always recommend keeping a running “brag book,” which can be in the form of a notepad, journal, or digital document. It is somewhere easily accessible where you capture projects, deals, and leadership moments as they happen. Far too many executives wait until they need their resume updated to list their achievements. By then, the details can be murky and fragmented.

While the first half of the year is still fresh, ask yourself: What did I actually accomplish from January through June? Consider ways in which you increased revenue or cut costs, participated in significant matters (deals, transactions, litigation), expansion of responsibilities or new leadership oversight, and even recent praise from a peer, client, executive, or board member. Perhaps you attended or spoke at a major conference, undertook additional training courses in emerging practice areas, or obtained a new certification.

Take the time to review emails, client feedback, and performance reviews. Look for specific metrics and outcomes. These are the details that transform a resume from a laundry list of job functions and responsibilities into competency-based achievements. As I’ve previously noted, always keep a file of positive feedback about your work on a specific project or deal. It becomes invaluable when updating your career documents.

Conduct A Candid Resume And LinkedIn Audit

When it comes to auditing your resume and LinkedIn profile, your goal should be brand clarity. While your resume will never include every single initiative you’ve led, or every deal or transaction you’ve closed, it needs to center on your unique value and your best assets. One rule is clear: your resume is a snapshot of your legal career. Do not send the reader on a fishing expedition. It shouldn’t take until page two for someone to realize you served as general counsel at a Fortune 500 company. Front-load your key differentiators. Legal recruiters and executive search firms move quickly, and they’re scanning for specific information. For a deeper look at how to approach this process, read my article, Quick Ways To Refresh, Optimize, And Modernize Your Legal Resume. For further insights into recruiter perspectives drawn from my presentation at the NALSC conference this past February, read my article, What Happens To Your Resume After You Hit Send: What Legal Recruiters Wish You’d Done Differently.

Your LinkedIn profile deserves the same scrutiny. Your headline should include information beyond just your job title. Your summary section delivers a brief career narrative with your key areas of focus and value to the organization and its leadership. Most importantly, dates, titles, and company names should be synchronized with your resume. For insights on how to update your LinkedIn profile, read my article, Quick Ways To Refresh And Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile.

Use The Summer To Strengthen Your Network And Set Yourself Up For A Successful Fall Launch

Summer is ideal for informational interviews and coffee chats, the conversations that feel casual but plant important seeds. As I’ve emphasized previously, the informational interview is one of the most underutilized tools in the senior executive’s job search arsenal, and summer is a great time to put it to work.

Make a list of people worth connecting with over the next 60 days. Here’s one I’ve previously suggested:

Former colleagues and high-ranking executives at prior companies or firms
Leaders and members of industry associations you’re affiliated with, such as the American Bar Association (ABA), Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), Women’s General Counsel Network (WGCN), and The L-Suite
Legal recruiters who specialize in in-house and executive-level legal roles
Lawyers in your niche practice area, at and above your career level, and in geographies you’re targeting
College and law school alumni in relevant industries

If you’re not a member of one of the aforementioned organizations, now is a good time to consider joining. Many have local chapters for extra networking, annual conferences, quarterly events, and even continuing education opportunities.

This goes without saying: your network is not something you occasionally dust off only when you need it. It requires consistent attention and care. You never know who holds the key to the door for your next role.

The key for a successful fall launch is a targeted strategy. You want to enter conversations knowing exactly what you bring to the table and what you’re looking for in that next career chapter. For a step-by-step look at how to approach the fall hiring season, read my article, A Comprehensive Guide To Prepare For And Launch Your Fall Job Search.

Ferris Bueller said it perfectly, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Wendi Weiner is an attorney, career expert, and founder of The Writing Guru, an award-winning executive resume writing services company. Wendi creates powerful career and personal brands for attorneys, executives, and C-suite/Board leaders for their job search and digital footprint. She also writes for major publications about alternative careers for lawyers, personal branding, LinkedIn storytelling, career strategy, and the job search process. You can reach her by email at wendi@writingguru.net, connect with her on LinkedIn, and follow her on Twitter @thewritingguru.

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