Hiring? Hire a Qualified Veteran and Get a Tax Break

Did you know your firm can get a tax break by hiring a veteran?  It’s not always easy to find the right job candidate, and adding another qualifying factor makes it even more difficult.  But the potential tax break is worth the extra effort.  And let’s not forget that a lot of the veterans seeking jobs have a myriad of skills which are suitable for law firms — technology, administrative, and lawyers as well.

In November 2011, Congress enacted the VOW to Hire Heroes Act, which increases aid for vet­erans in education and training, job counseling, transi­tion and placement, and disability programs. It also provides specific tax credits for hiring certain veterans. These tax incentives range from $2400 for hiring veterans who are unemployed for more than four weeks but less than six months, to $9600 for hiring veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been looking for a job for more than six months.

If Your Employment Is Terminated

It always amazes me how surprised some people are when the axe falls.  Over the years I have witnessed the incredulity from attorneys, administrators, and staff at all levels.  Sometimes the signs are so clear you can’t imagine why the person doesn’t exit under their own steam.  But usually it’s obvious to everyone except the appropriate party.

When I was an active member of the Association of Legal Administrators, I used to advise my peers to always be prepared to come to work and find someone else sitting at their desk, with all their mementos packed in boxes, ready to be carried to their car after their keys were confiscated.   (Yes, it happened more than once to respected colleagues.)   Being prepared in my world meant having copies of evaluations, complimentary memos, and particularly excellent reports at home.  It meant keeping the list of contacts updated at home; not just at the office.  It meant always keeping one’s resume current, and on the home computer.   And so forth.

For example, having a current list of key vendor names and telephone numbers at home makes a huge difference when it comes to a job search, because they often know which firms are searching to fill slots.  For an attorney, having access to the names, phone numbers, mailing and email addresses for every active client in which a principal role is played by the attorney is essential.  (But keep in mind that you cannot download and keep a copy of the firm’s entire client list — that would constitute theft of firm confidential information.)

A post on the Attorney at Work blog entitled “Preparing for the Axe to Fall” is definitely worth a read.  I suggest you follow the advice.

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Social Media and Job Interviews

Just in case you haven’t yet pondered the connection between social media and job interviews, (meaning you didn’t read my blog post of 1-4-2011) here is another great blog post on the topic.   The post is entitled “Behind the Resume” and is written under the pen name of Otto Sorts – A Curmudgeon’s Perspective.   His blogs are regularly picked up by Attorney-At-Work‘s Daily Dispatch.   You can read more of Otto’s rants at his own blog site, humorously titled “Hey You Kids Get Off My Site!”

The point in bringing this up again is that if you’re a law firm interviewing candidates for any job, you should be doing an online search of social media to find out more about them.    Admittedly Otto’s final take on how you should handle the information may be different than yours or that of your firm.  But the bottom line is you want to gather as much strategic information about job candidates as you can.

For those of you about to interview for a job, or dust off and update your resume, don’t forget to look yourself up online to see what’s there.  Still showing those wild spring break photos?  Be prepared to discuss anything about you or your life which is found online with a prospective employer.  If you haven’t put anything out there yet, I strongly advise you use real restraint.  As you will find out the hard way, it’s very easy to add stuff, and almost impossible to remove it.

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