I’ve worked in IP recruitment for quite a while now – seen plenty of conferences, attended many a meeting, and weathered one pandemic and two maternity leaves. In that time, it’s safe to say a lot has changed. One thing in particular being a shift in how we go about our business over recent years (for the most part).
It’s worth noting that we’ve always had the long-term goal in mind at Fellows and Associatesand focused on building meaningful and lasting connections with clients and candidates which span a whole career in some cases. However, we always adjust our working style to suit (which has become increasingly more at arm’s length of late).
A major catalyst responsible for this change was of course lockdown and the forceable change to home working throughout this period. Most firms realised when we came out of the other side that productivity was only marginally affected, if at all, and that employee welfare and morale was actually changed for the good. So, some form of hybrid or flexible working became the norm for most. This meant that further investment was made in software that allowed colleagues to keep in touch online and a gradual reliance on scheduled calls and quick information heavy text chats, as opposed to spontaneous and casual meet ups around the office.
When I first started at Fellows and Associates it was not uncommon to have multiple trips to London/the regions planned per month to meet with clients, whether it be at their office or a more informal catch up over coffee or dinner. This is becoming decreasingly frequent with many firms opting for Teams calls or even just an email exchange. We appreciate that these are far easier and more convenient to organise, however we see client visits as a vital tool in helping us sell firms to candidates and determining whether they’re a good fit in terms of culture, tech, etc. We can describe the working setup first hand and really get a steer for the personality whilst meeting in person, as opposed to through a computer screen.
There’s also less of an openness to speculative CVs and firms now have very specific roles to fill with little to no flexibility on the candidates they can consider. This has moulded the conversations we have with some of our clients with more targeted calls scheduled only when absolutely needed. A tick box exercise as opposed to ongoing conversation. A lot of the firms we work with have grown considerably over the years and with that heightened success there may unfortunately have to be some sacrifice. The sheer amount of responsibility and pressure the HR and talent teams now must deliver in a short window has resulted in less time available for more casual chats.
Yes, virtual contact has its positives. Location is no longer an issue, and interviews can be organised seamlessly between candidates and Partners in different cities, countries, and even time zones. We can easily catch up with our regional clients and drop in on networking events that cater for online attendance which once would never have fit our schedule. Roles can be filled quicker and productivity can remain intact, but with that is the risk of potentially moving without time for reflection. Patent attorneys are typically information rich creatures – it’s how they best protect the needs of their clients so of course it is something they will rely on when planning their own career. Most will still have some form of in person meeting during the interview process but there’s always a chance cultural and social cues are missed in the process and ultimately the fit does not work out for either candidate or firm.
There is currently a reduced number of both opportunities and candidates in the IP recruitment sector compared to years gone by, meaning a more considered approach is most definitely key. If it doesn’t work out for the firm, there’s hardly if any other suitable applicants waiting at the door and same is true for alternative options for the candidate. In a busier market, a more transactional approach would have had its place and potentially be necessary given the demand, however in a highly competitive market making meaningful connections is paramount. Firms need to do as much as they can to attract not just the few active candidates on the market, but the passive ones as well. One way in which they can do this is by being increasingly more visible on platforms such as LinkedIn, which has had a real uptick in activity across the profession, and by using methods such as video to help produce information rich content in an easy and digestible form. (By the way, if you’re a firm reading this and you’re not sure where to start when it comes to video, we can help with that. Click here for more).
There’s an argument for either way of thinking, however we lean towards the consultative and chatty approach. Coincidently and somewhat contradictorily one of our main revenue streams currently is with an overseas client where online contact is our only option. The conversation needs to be effective and efficient but never seems perfunctory, so maybe there’s potential for the best of both worlds. Conversations online can be both productive and meaningful and if scheduled regularly and mindfully, have proven to open up business opportunities beyond our local reach. Successful relationships can still be built virtually, you just need to keep in mind the importance of the purposeful over the transactional.
Phillipa Pearson