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Student loan pause or nah?
Just got an in house offer annnnnnd
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Mentor
Schedule a month vacation (or more) in between positions. You do not want to start a new job already burned out! Trust me, i made this mistake!
and don’t feel rushed to start the new position immediately. They will always push you to come in as soon as possible.
A1 - I’m planning to list the day I begin at the firm. If anyone asks about the resume gap, I’ll tell them I travelled to X amount of countries and thoroughly enjoyed my life. If they don’t wanna hire me because I took 3 months off, I don’t wanna work with them.
A2 - you totally should. The firm obv wanted me to start asap but I was pretty firm about it. They ended up agreeing and I was very happy about that - and made me realize I’m working with the right kind of folks who value that.
If you don’t ask for it, you probably won’t receive it. Don’t shy away from asking for what you feel you deserve/your peers who are similarly situated have received just because you’re nervous or grateful for the opportunity.
Mentor
Find out whether the new firm is truly open to laterals or they still favor home grown associates. When was the last time a lateral made partner there?
Ask for ramp time or a prorated bonus.
Find out why prior attorneys left. Lateralling is awful if you jump into a group of nasty partners.
-Take time off between jobs! I took a month and it was amazing.
-Don’t shy away from asking the questions you really want to ask, particularly in post-offer rounds.
-Be kind to yourself. I had a super smooth process, but it was still draining. Leading up to giving notice was also more emotional than I expected it to be.
Towards second half of the year for lateraling are guaranteed full year end bonuses are common too?
It was a V50 in NYC. I think it’s fairly common but probably firm dependent
Negotiate a guaranteed year end bonus because you’re going to be slow in your ramp up period, and won’t wanna make that up with 50-60 hr billable weeks on the back end
Okay haha thought I was missing something re taxes. If I am not actually eligible for a bonus at my current firm is there any way new firms will know and deny full year end bonus?
I wish I knew enough to use a recruiter so I had someone to navigate the process and handle all this stuff for me.
In some cases, yes. Sounds like you chose the wrong one(s). Heard many, many success stories using certain recruiters, however.
If your hours are prorated, ask for the prorated amount immediately. You don’t wanna over-exhaust yourself needlessly
A3 — also confirm the total amount of the bonus. The bonus is sometimes also prorated.