Our firm holiday party is tonight and I already feel the social calculus. How festive is too festive? Do you nurse one drink all night or risk being that person? It’s supposed to be fun, but it feels like a performance review in cocktail form. I want to relax and be human without creating regret. How do you handle holiday parties?

Hello Fishes,

So far I received offers from PwC India, Capgemini and Lexmark for Data Engineering.

More are in pipeline from KPMG GS, TechM, Accenture.

But one peculiar thing is happening. I have appeared for 4 Cognizant interviews but in all I have been rejected. Whereas most of my friends had easily cleared Cognizant. I am switching tech, so I am a bit concerned like whether my knowledge is too shallow😐

Is it sign of an Imposter Syndrome 🥺

Pls help🙏🏾

Yoe - 3.2

Anyone haves OB/GYN in the Chicagoland area you would suggest? Looking for west suburbs, Elmhurst, Lombard area. Thanks!

Has anyone moved from tech consulting to strategy in MBB's. Anyone willing to guide on how you made the move?

Is it worth moving to strategy consulting or do strategy business ops in industry?

Sacramento Big 4 folks: What is your office culture like? Which is the best Big 4 in town in terms of market power?

What's the fuss about Diwali party. New to ZS and want to know more about what to expect in the party. Can someone share more details?

What are your thoughts about putting an explanation for the current gap (as in, I haven’t been working for several months) on your resume, LinkedIn profile or cover letter? If you think it should be included in one of these places, how would you do it?

Hey fishes, let's do a poll!
What would you prefer between these two?
1. Great wlb, decent if not so good pay
2. Great pay, poor wlb

Edit: you are welcome to include a one liner reason supporting your choice.
I am trying to understand how people prioritise life & work.
Thanks in advance.

If any seniors or managers are looking for a referral and would consider CohnReznick, please DM me. Happy to help you get an offer and elaborate more via DM.

Hello new to the Fishbowl, currently seeking new employment in the Cash Application Accounting, system implementation, order to cash Management or non management roles. Also, open to new opportunities in other areas. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated ☺️

Random question, my boss wants me to become a notary so I can handle notarizing all of the official documents myself. Has anyone else been asked to do this for their employer? Is it ethical?

Leaving this summer to PE, bonus pays in June. When should I give notice? Don’t want to burn bridges but don’t want to risk a slashed bonus (or none at all)

***Is there any organization who trains candidates to become a GCP data engineers ***

Guy,

How can I get into Microsoft without an MBA in a Program manager role?

I am currently an Associate Product Manager. Overall Exp 4yrs.

Is it possible to get in or MBA is a must...

We are looking for Microsoft Hololens 2 developer and architect any leads will be appreciated

What’s the different between business analyst and data analyst? Sometimes I see them merged or people say “business/data analyst”

How did you give notice you were lateraling to people you like? Particularly if you haven't been there that long?

I'm lateraling to another firm because frankly I think the management of this one is terrible, but the people (and individual partners) I actually work with are awesome. I've only been here for about 18 months, so I imagine that short time frame will make it extra awkward 😬

Howz it working with DBS Hyderabad?

Looking for full stack developer to join my early startup. We are a small team but hoping to grow a lot this year. Must love books and geeky stuff

Layoffs. Most big firms say they're sitting on a conservative pile of cash - which I believe is true - but work will obviously not return to pre-COVID levels in the short term, probably not even in the medium term. Are Biglaw layoffs coming?

Big Law Dads: How much time do you usually take off when your wife has a baby? And do you actually get to take off, or do you just end up working from home half the time? My wife is due Mid-December, and I’m staffed on 4 M&A deals trying to close by year end, so it’s not looking promising.

How often do temporary "might-become-permanent" type jobs (at small/mid size firms) actually become permanent?

Rising 2L here…Just found out yesterday that one of my top target law firms is not participating in OCIs (they don’t have offices in my state). Any advice on the best way to move forward with them? Still planning to apply, just want to know what I should be doing. Thanks!

Have a call on Friday with the CEO of an environmental entrepreneurship non-profit. It could lead to a professional opportunity and maybe even billable work I can refer to my firm down the line. I’m going in with an open mind but little concrete information on his entity and goals and ways I could get involved. What questions would you ask such a person?

Second year associate here who recently switched from litigation to corporate law. I am absolutely swamped while simultaneously having no idea what I’m doing ever and I’m feeling so burnt out. The partners are pretty great and feedback is constructive which I’m grateful for, but I’m so desperate for a compliment I’ve been saving any scrap of positivity in a folder 😭 it’s December 22 and I haven’t done my Christmas shopping because I don’t feel capable of thinking about it. I need a hug.

I'm a third year plaintiff's employment law attorney and I'm looking to move to defense, preferably still in employment law. I received an offer from a midsize firm that primarily focuses on PI with little-to-no employment law practice, so I'll have a bit of a learning curve. Offer is $90k, billable hours of 2100. Is this reasonable? I'm dead-set on leaving my current job, and this would be a $20k pay increase - which makes me believe I'm leaning towards taking it for those reasons only.

Has anyone taken  ACAMS Certified Global Sanctions Specialist (CGSS)? Any comments/ reviews? How has it enhanced your employability? Why did you take the CGSS?

All of my experience is in litigation but I think I might like real estate more. Any advice on how to sell myself to a real estate firm?

Those who are voluntarily returning to the office — how often are you going and what days seem to work for you? Looking to slowly incorporate a few days here and there for change of scenery etc. — will add there is no pressure to do so (yet).

I'm a junior associate. A couple people have left my small firm and I'm now the lone associate at our main office. I've now been told I am "temporary senior associate or permanent or partner whatever that results in." Please send help. I'm just a baby attorney still.

What is a reasonable pay increase? This will be my first pay increase. I make 70k now and will be starting my second year at big law. I had 3 years of prior experience before joining the firm.

What is the most “do as I say, not as I do” thing you’ve been told or punished/reprimaded for as an associate?

Anyone at Pryor Cashman have intel on firm culture, work/life balance, and comp?

Shout out to @nonequitypartner. We see you. Keep up the good work, and pls fix, thx.

Second year associate here. How should I deal with the one partner in my practice group who seems to exclusively give me lousy assignments that we’ll never get paid for? I get great work from everyone else.

For associates who have lateraled in the last 6 months or so, what made you decide to move? Has your situation improved since moving? I’m a transactional mid-level & I’ve interviewed with some great firms recently. I’m struggling to get excited though…it just seems like no matter where I go I’ll be overworked & under appreciated. Hoping there are some positive stories out there to give me hope. Haha

Did anyone not meet their billable hours requirement during their first year of employment? If so, how did your firm react? 😬

Hi new here. Idk what my value is and if I’m getting paid an amount that reflects my hard work. I am a paralegal for a small law firm (family and immigration) w only 1 attorney. I have about 20 files or more in my rotation at a time. I work on various types of cases at once. Some are simple, others are extensive. I feel like it’s very unstructured and one of the managers micromanages. It’s like every man for himself. Take home pay is $50k. I am working on my bachelors deg. Do I get paid enough?

I am lead counsel on a case - we’re suing 3 businesses and my supervisor is a named incorporator of one of the businesses although he is not an officer. He is asking me to bring the file and meet with him about the progress of the case. I reminded him of the conflict and he stated that the conflict was resolved because he also has a claim against 1 of the companies that he recently filed separately. I don’t see how that resolved the conflict…and he’s fully pressuring me to meet. How to respond?