How to get chosen by the one you want

I’m not the first person to make the comparison between recruitment and dating agencies. At its essence, we are about connecting individuals with organisations, we are the link bringing the two together. As with dating, sometimes through sheer good luck, fortunate timing or just being ridiculously attractive, you find the right match for you without any help from anyone else. Other times you need a bit of help, someone to help you look your best, or at the very least introduce you to a few like-minded people and see if there is a connection.

So as recruiters, we need to have a good understanding of what you like, what will be good for you, and what your hopes and dreams are. We also need to know what each firm is like to work for, what sort of people work there, will they take good care of you? Like dating, sometimes it doesn’t work out, but the more we know, the better the chance that it will work out for both parties and be a long and happy relationship.

So how do you improve your chances of being picked by the organisation that is the right match for you? Here are 3 tips to improve your recruitment success, and possibly your dating life.

1. Help us help you

Like any intermediary, there are some that don’t really care, they just want to make the connection, clip the ticket, and get paid. There are lots of recruiters like that, so don’t bother with the ones that just take your CV and shotgun it to as many firms as they can, hoping something might hit the target. At Legal Personnel, we really do care, and we take the time to meet you, get to know you and find out what you are really looking for. So let us help you! Be honest, tell us if you like long walks on the beach, or if you just like to sit on the couch and watch Netflix. Think about what has worked for you in the past, what hasn’t, and where you want to go. We can only help you if you are real and honest with us. Sometimes you might not know for sure, but we can help you work that out, provided you are willing to be open with us.

2. Be realistic

If you want to date Taylor Swift, but you live in NZ, you can’t dance, don’t really like pop music and have no connection at all to the music industry, you may just end up disappointed, and lonely. In the legal sector, whether we like it or not, your grades from your law degree will be one of the first things a firm will want to see, especially if you are a grad and have no experience. Some firms have much higher expectations than others, and unless there is something truly incredible about you (see number 3) you’re unlikely to be considered. So, if you’re a B-, don’t set your sights on a firm where they will only look at an A, you will only be disappointed. But there are plenty of great law firms that will look at a B-, and you might even find they are a better match for you and you’ll be happier in the long term.

3. Make yourself more attractive

Recently I was at the LawFest Innovation & Technology in Law conference in Auckland, which by the way was a great event. The moot for the great debate at the end of the day was “Technology will render future law degrees obsolete.” The star of the debate, in my opinion, was Phoebe Clifford, a current student at The University of Otago who argued that so much of what is taught in a law degree does not even remotely prepare you for legal practice. She gave the example of Blockchain, a technology which could revolutionise law, but one in which she has learnt very little about at university. Fortunately, Phoebe will have at least got a basic understanding of Blockchain at one of the earlier sessions.

If you want to stand out from the crowd, get noticed by a person or organisation you really want to be with, sometimes you might need to hit the gym, find a hobby, dress to impress, whatever you think is going to make yourself more attractive. For your career that might include attending conferences, doing volunteer work, writing articles, speaking at conferences, attending networking events, getting connected in your industry. If you are a grad looking for your first role, highlight the things that make you different, prior work experience, sporting achievements, academic achievements.

Finding the love of your life, or a fulfilling and rewarding job is not easy. You probably won’t get it right the first time, but that is all part of the learning. If you are looking for a legal job, we can help, but if it’s dating help you need, you might want to call on a different team of

Filed under Blog

May 27, 2024

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Is your workplace changing you?

By Sarah Bartlett • September 9, 2026

Does your workplace change you? This was written (full disclosure by another consultant) a while ago but I feel is still relevant now, what do you think? I was watching the movie Fury, a very good yet very disturbing film set at the end of the Second World War. The main character, Norman, is a reluctant young soldier trained as a typist but forced to become the assistant driver/gunner in the tank "Fury" after the death of the previous gunner. Initially, he refuses to shoot the enemy, but he is forced by his Sergeant, "Wardaddy" (played by Brad Pitt), to shoot a Nazi in the back as he kneels begging for his life. As the movie progresses, he realises he has to kill in order to stay alive and save the lives of his crew, and begins to relish killing Nazis. I was fascinated by the transformation from Norman to "Machine," his nickname from the crew. He had to change, and change fast, in order to survive. The typist who refused to fire his weapon became a ruthless, efficient killing machine. What disturbed me more was the thought that this transformation could happen to any of us in the same horrific situation. Many of those who fought would have been considered ordinary men, not trained killers, before they joined the army. To survive in war, soldiers must be prepared to kill the enemy, and to do that, you have to dehumanise them, view them as lesser people. An interesting counterpoint comes at the end of the movie, when Norman is hiding under the tank and is found by an SS soldier (the worst of the Nazis, according to Wardaddy). Instead of dragging him out and shooting him, or worse, torturing him, as he'd been told would happen, the soldier leaves him alone. The movie ends with Norman being rescued and labelled a hero. It's easy to see how war could change someone dramatically, but how much do other changes in our environment change us? We all know people in relationships who have changed, for better or worse, when they started a relationship with someone new. Sometimes change is necessary to make a relationship work, compromise is essential, you have to think of someone else, not just yourself. Other times, one or both people are forced to change, and not for the better. One test of a good relationship: do you make each other better people? It's a bit of a stretch to compare work to war, but there's no doubt in my mind that your workplace can change you. At the extreme end, some people become depressed, overwhelmed, or burnt out by their work, whereas others grow, thrive and become better people. Sometimes it's just called the culture of the organisation, you either fit, or you don't. Those who don't "make it" weren't cut out for the environment, or didn't have the right attributes to succeed. If you don't think your workplace changes people, take a look at the senior people in your organisation, especially those who've been there a long time. Are there similarities in values, working style, management approach, communication? Is that self-selection, recruiting people who are all similar or is the organisation moulding people to fit, or some combination of all three? Do you find yourself wrestling with your conscience, bursting with the need to disagree, challenge or object, but suppressing it because you know you'd be swimming against the tide? Are you justifying decisions to yourself that you'd previously have called just wrong? Do you feel the need to comply with the company line? It might not be an ethical dilemma, it could simply be that you feel you need to suppress who you really are to fit in. You might manage that for a while, but eventually, it becomes suffocating. If you find yourself in this situation, you have three options: Adapt, change and compromise - just like Norman did in Fury. Stay and swim against the stream , becoming an internal agent of change. (In my experience, unless leadership is also swimming against the current with you and genuinely trying to change the culture, this is futile.) Get out and find a place where you can be yourself, thrive and excel. There are plenty of workplaces that don't make better people, some even do real damage in the pursuit of winning. But there are others that make people better, not worse. If you need help getting out of an environment that's changing you, and not for the better, get in touch, let's talk about your options.