There are a number of ways that you may come into contact with NagataConnex. It could be through this web site, responding to an advertisement, on a recommendation of a colleague or receiving a call directly from us. Whatever the form of contact, we can guarantee that you will be treated in a professional and courteous manner.

Many people contact us to have a preliminary confidential discussion about making a possible career move. To do this all you have to do is
e-mail us or call us.

The "Process"

If you wish to apply to a posted position the best way to start the whole process is to forward your material to us (cover letter, c.v. and, in some cases, transcripts). Our preference is to receive applications by e-mail, however if this is not possible please feel free to fax or post it to us. By forwarding your material, we will have an opportunity to review it before speaking with you. The process is completely confidential and you can be assured that we will not send out your c.v. to any of our clients without first informing you of the opportunity and receiving your authorization to do so. If you are not certain if you are interested in an opportunity, we are happy to have a preliminary discussion with you.

If you are responding to a specific job posting, please refer to it in the reference line of your correspondence. We will be in contact with you, either by telephone, letter or e-mail to acknowledge receipt of your material.

If your experience fits with one or more of our job postings, we will contact you by telephone to ask you further questions based upon your c.v. and, if appropriate, arrange a face to face meeting.

Our initial interview with you will last approximately 1 hour. We make certain not to overlap our interviews with other candidates to ensure that your confidentiality is protected. Be prepared for quite a thorough interview where we will ask you questions about your present practice, your past work experience, your reviews, your academics, your salary expectations and why you are interested in the position in question. During the interview, we will provide you with more information about our client and the position and, if you would like to proceed with your application, will obtain your authorization to do so.

After meeting with you, and if it is agreed that you wish to proceed with a particular position, we will compose a cover letter setting out some of the information we collected in our interview with you (such as why you are interested in the position, why you moved positions in the past and information about your most recent reviews). This letter will market your strong points and expand upon some of the information contained in your c.v. We will attach this letter to your material and forward it to our client.

We will advise you as soon as we have a response from our client. If they wish to meet you, we will arrange the interview and assist you in preparing for it. Following the interview, we will follow up with both you and our client, advising both parties of the other's feedback.

We will arrange any further interviews between you and our client, keeping in constant contact with both parties throughout this process. If you have any concerns or questions about the opportunity, you should contact us and we will try to answer them. As well, if our client has any questions about you, we will advise you and try to address them.

We will remain involved in the process through to the offer stage, including assisting both parties in negotiating the terms of the offer.

Whether you find your next position through us or by other means, we hope to maintain a relationship with you. Many of our past candidates continue to keep in touch with us, advising us of the progress of their careers and contacting us when they wish to discuss important career moves.

Your Resume

Your resume provides your 'first impression' to the prospective employer - it's your one chance to convince them that they should grant you an interview. Your resume must be concise, easy to read and informative. It is important that the reader be able to determine your marketing points in a 10 second scan of your resume.

Here are samples of a typical domestic resume and an
international resume.

The format and content of your resume must be carefully compiled.

• Determine what your 5 main marketing points are. These should appear on the 1st page of your resume(examples could include academic awards, languages, portable practice)

• Use bullet points and point form throughout your resume so the reader can easily and quickly scan it. The reader will not want to wade through long paragraphs describing your practice.

• Also use bolding, different fonts and capitals in order to make your resume easier to read. Make certain the law firms/corporations where you have worked stand out.

• Place your Education section at the beginning of the resume, stating your degrees, the universities you attended, any academic prizes and your year of call.

• The next section should be your Work Experience section. State the name of your firm, your position (eg. Associate) and what type of law you practice. This description of your practice should be quite brief and should refer them to the Transaction Summary. Be precise about dates (specify month and year that you joined/left an organization). Explain any gaps in the resume.

• Do not list references on your resume. You will want to maintain control over who and when your references are contacted. If you list your references on your resume, this is an invitation for anyone who receives it to contact your references.

• Transcripts are often required, especially for associate level and overseas positions.

Transaction Summaries are very helpful, both to your recruiter and potential employer. They set out in more detail a sampling of the type of transactions/files you have been working on. Here are samples of a domestic transaction summary and an international transaction summary.

• To make it easy to read, this Summary should be subdivided into different categories of law, if applicable (eg. Securities, M&A, Finance).

• You should use bullet points so it is easier to read.

• In order to maintain your clients' confidentiality, you may need to describe your clients generically, such as "major multinational beverage manufacturer".

• This Transaction Summary should only be a page or 2, depending upon how much experience you have, and should be appended to your resume.