Job Quest for Lawyers: The Essential Guide to Finding and Landing the Job You Want

Finally, a book that makes networking an adventure instead of a chore!

Sheila Nielsen has spent the past twenty-plus years working with over two thousand lawyers and other professionals to help advance their careers. Her new book distills that experience into a step-by-step guide that helps readers understand how to network effectively by using a Quest strategy for each stage of the job search process. The book includes illustrations from her experiences and those of her clients, and provides examples of real world do's and don'ts of how to conduct a productive and successful job search. Unlike so many other career books, Job Quest for Lawyers is a process-focused book that is as applicable to new graduates as it is to senior lawyers. Attorneys at all stages of practice can benefit from reading this book.

Read an excerpt:

Job Quest for Lawyers is published by the American Bar Association and is available for order at their Web site. For bulk orders, please contact Lindsay Dawson at the American Bar Association.

Presentation

Sheila is also available to share her "Map of the Quest" presentation on networking for business development with your organization. An animated guide to achieving career satisfaction, it gets rave reviews, like this one from Pepper Hamilton LLP. Please contact Sheila if you are interested in arranging a presentation.

Book Reviews

Networking to Find Job Opportunities from Make It Better magazine.

What Others Are Saying About Job Quest for Lawyers:

Mel Berger, Marketing and Communications Professional
"In this economy, some 90% of professional level jobs come through networking. Job Quest for Lawyers does a great job of telling you how to seek career 'advice and counsel' in a way that plants seeds and positions you as the walking solution to a hiring manager's problem. Using memorable metaphors, you'll learn the techniques of effective networking, and shorten your job search. The principles described in detail apply not just for lawyers (which I'm not), but for anyone in job or career transition."

Thomas W. Waters, Attorney At Law
"If you can't get to see Sheila Nielsen in person, BUY THIS BOOK! I am an attorney with more than twenty years of practice whose firm down sized ... I was devastated.  Ms. Nielsen's methods and advice were invaluable in securing interviews and in making lasting connections in the legal industry.  This book is an invaluable tool to enable any one to network in a practical way and obtain interviews that would be unavailable to those who do not know the importance of networking.  I highly advise  any attorney who is looking for a job or a method to increase his/her practice to read this book.  Ms. Nielsen's advice will get you the results you are looking for."

Bernita Ferdinand, graduate, Northwestern Law School
"This book is really something special. It's an amazing confidence builder. I've already recommended it to a friend ... Particularly helpful is where you break down what to say in conversations, as well as when to say it, what not to say. This is awesome. This should help the job seeker feel and appear more confident in these interactions."

John A. Challenger, CEO, Challenger, Gray & Christmas
"This book is essential reading for any lawyer who is looking for a job or contemplating a career move. For people who are exploring new directions in their working lives, the book provides an effective framework for making the right choices. For those who are currently conducting a search, Sheila Nielsen provides clear, innovative, and practical suggestions for landing the next role."

Dana Hill, Northwestern University School of Law
"For some of us, looking for a job and figuring out what legal job will make us happy are daunting, depressing tasks. Sheila Nielsen provides concrete, easy to follow steps to make those goals attainable. Her straightforward, practical advice acknowledges the realities of the legal market while providing support and encouragement to readers. Best of all, her method works!"

Elliot Schrage, VP Communications, Facebook
"I started my career in a law firm and would have benefited tremendously from the insight and advice offered by Sheila Nielsen. In a thoughtful and engaging style, she helps any professional--lawyer or otherwise--design and execute their own quest for a great job and career. These tools and techniques are as valuable for someone early in their career as they are from someone well established but looking for the right next opportunity."

Nina M. Knierim, Practice Manager, Axiom
"This book provides clarity into the often murky and lonely trek that is a job search and shows us that completing the 'quest' of finding the right job is just a mastery of skills and tools you already have at your fingertips. Job Quest for Lawyers directs the job seeker to take action using principles practiced by those who have seen incredible results. Sheila Nielsen guides the job seeker through the 'mystical' twists and turns of landing the perfect job."

Franklyn D. Kimball, The Kimball Partner Group
"Job Quest for Lawyers is an indispensable tool for lawyers considering changing the trajectory of their career. Sheila Nielsen's advice is practical, direct, thoughtful and on point on scores of issues. Too many books in this field are abstract, theoretical, and not useful. Sheila distills decades of her experience and thousands of hours of counseling into a text that should be on the desk of every lawyer who is considering a professional transition. It's almost as terrific as having her in your office to guide the way to success."

Susan Irion, Susan Irion & Associates, Inc.
"I have referred many attorneys who needed career counseling and job search advice to Sheila Nielsen, whose unique background as a trial attorney and social worker grounds her 20+ years of experience in that type of coaching. Now her easy-to-read book brings her expertise to anyone who wants help assessing his or her legal career and finding a great job. Sheila offers clear tips, insightful exercises, illustrative analogies, and motivating examples. Her information will enhance any job search and even help to improve networking and opportunities in other areas, such as business development."

Rochelle S. Dyme, Partner, Funkhouser, Vegosen, Liebman and Dunn
"Sheila Nielsen has written a book full of wisdom for lawyers seeking their first job or wanting to make a change. Having worked with Sheila, that's no surprise. This book captures her intelligence, compassion, experience, and humor and sets the reader on a path of self-fulfillment seldom talked about in the legal workplace. Read this book to discover what job you want and how to get it."