Lawyers and others got some career tips from professionals at Kyiv Post’s Employment Fair on Oct. 10.
Dmytro Fedoruk, counsel at Clifford Chance Ukraine, talked about three distinct job options: in-house jobs, private practice and civil service.
“If you are interested in limited specialization and level life with working day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., role of in-house counsel with big corporation is for you,” Fedoruk said. However, those looking for a multifaceted work will find private practice more attractive.
And the good news are: law firms are hiring again.
Tetyana Korchynska, public relations and communication coordinator at Lavrynovych & Partners law firm says recruiting has considerably enhanced in 2015 in comparison with the previous year at all markets, including legal.
Since some legal practices lost popularity because of crisis, law firm shifted focus from net jurisprudence to advocating brand of Ukraine abroad. And held three international business forums ‘Ukraine: Just business’ in Budapest, Prague, and Warsaw to promote investment into Ukraine.
Sergey Denisenko, counsel with AEQUO law firm, which is looking for both graduates and more experienced lawyers, says employment fairs are the unique opportunity to find talented lawyers. “Communication gives an opportunity to understand needs of people, and find talents… We are innovative firm … We believe that innovations are build up on talents,” Denisenko told the Kyiv Post.
He also tipped that education, knowledge of languages, professionalism, talent and interest in legal work are the main criteria for selection.
For those interested in Ukraine’s civil service, Yulia Marushevska, deputy governor of Odesa Oblast, made a tour into Ukraine’s “stagnating” and “outdated, post-Soviet bureaucracy.”
“You have to be ready that civil service in Ukraine is undergoing changes and you are going … to be a steward of these changes,” Marushevska, an aide to Governor Mikheil Saakashvili, said.
“Ukraine’s bureaucracy is stagnating. It hangs on by the skin of teeth,” Marushevska said.
Marushevska became famous with her “I am a Ukrainian” video, released as the EuroMaidan Revolution reached its climax in February 2014. It has drawn more than 8.5 million views and inspired a new documentary by the same name from Hollywood director Ben Moses.
Her recipe of success is simple:
First, pick a goal and stick to it. Back in 2014, her goal was to show foreigners who Ukrainians are. Now she is a civil servant. “When I understood that serving people motivates me the most I decided to shift to civil service,” she explained.
Second, forget about a straight career. It is possible to climb a ladder, but it is boring, Marushevska said.
Third, be an idealist. “Only by intrinsic stubbornness, you can influence how Ukraine and world change,” she added.
Since June, the Odesa team succeeded in launching an open competitive selection for the regional heads and cut down the number of Odesa State Administration’s personnel twice, from 800 to 400 employees.
“We have people with MBAs (masters in business administration), from abroad, working as regional heads… We call them Ukrazians (crazy Ukrainians),” Marushevska said.
Kyiv Post’s legal affairs reporter Mariana Antonovych can be reached at [email protected]
