“I need to update my CV.” That’s often the first thing lawyers say to me when they want to find a new job. But updating your CV is actually one of the last things you do in a strategic job search.
If you want a role that genuinely builds on your experience and moves you toward your long-term career goals, you need to start somewhere else entirely. Jumping straight to your CV means you are marketing yourself before you even know what you are marketing yourself for.
What Should You Do Before Updating Your CV?
Before you open your CV document, you need to do the thinking that most lawyers skip. That means getting clear on what you actually want, what matters to you, and what your next role needs to do for your career. Without that foundation, you end up reacting to whatever comes along rather than choosing with intention.
The lawyers who find roles they genuinely love are not the ones who sent out the most CVs. They are the ones who did the strategic groundwork first. That groundwork starts with one thing: creating your ideal job spec.
What Is an Ideal Job Spec and Why Does It Matter?
An ideal job spec is a clear, written picture of what your next role needs to look like for it to be the right move for you. It goes well beyond job title and salary. It captures your values, your non-negotiables, the type of work you want to do, the culture you want to work in, and the skills and experiences you need to develop to reach your longer-term goals.
Without this, you are essentially job hunting with no filter. Every role that looks vaguely interesting can pull you in a direction that may not actually serve you. Your ideal job spec gives you a baseline to assess every opportunity against, so you spend your time and energy only on roles that are genuinely worth pursuing.
A Real Example: Why Clarity Saves You From Costly Mistakes
Consider Sarah, a lawyer interviewing for a step-up in-house role. When she worked through her ideal job spec, she identified that her next role needed to develop her leadership and management skills. That was a clear priority because she wanted to be positioned for a Head of Legal or General Counsel role within the next few years.
The role on offer was genuinely interesting. It involved work in a new sector and came with a very generous package. But it offered no management responsibilities. Sarah asked whether she could supervise a junior team member, and the team structure simply did not allow for it.
She turned the offer down.
That might sound like a drastic decision, especially given the package. But Sarah had clarity. She knew what her next role needed to deliver, and this one did not deliver it. Without her ideal job spec, it would have been very easy to say yes and find herself, two years later, no closer to the career she actually wanted.
What Should Go Into Your Ideal Job Spec?
Your ideal job spec is personal to you, but there are some core areas every lawyer should think through carefully. Here is what to consider:
- Your values. What matters most to you in how you work and who you work with?
- Your deal-breakers. What are the conditions that would make a role a definite no, regardless of anything else on offer?
- What needs to be in place for you to thrive. Think about culture, autonomy, flexibility, team dynamic, and leadership style.
- The skills and experiences you need to develop. What does your next role need to give you in order to set up the move after that?
- Your longer-term career direction. Where do you want to be in three to five years, and does this role take you there?
Taking the time to work through these questions is often where lawyers realise they need to slow down before they speed up. It is not wasted time. It is the work that makes everything else in your job search more focused, more efficient, and far more likely to lead somewhere you actually want to go.
How Does This Approach Change Your Job Search?
When you have your ideal job spec in place, your job search becomes a completely different process. You stop scrolling through every vacancy and start looking with purpose. You know which roles are worth your time and which ones are not, even if they look impressive on the surface.
It also changes how you present yourself. Once you are clear on what you want and why, your CV, your cover letter, and your conversations with recruiters all become sharper and more convincing. You are not just describing your experience. You are telling a coherent story about where you are headed and why this particular role is the right next step.
That is the kind of clarity that makes you stand out, not just as a strong candidate, but as someone who knows exactly what they are doing with their career.
Is It Worth Getting Career Coaching Before You Start Job Hunting?
For many lawyers, yes. A career coach can help you get clear on what you actually want before you start putting yourself out there. That clarity is often the missing piece. Many lawyers are technically excellent but have never had the space or the structure to think strategically about their own careers.
Working with a career coach who understands the legal industry means you can build your ideal job spec with proper support, sense-check your thinking, and go into your job search with a plan rather than a hope. If you are at a career crossroads or feeling uncertain about your next move, a structured conversation can move you forward faster than months of applying and hoping.
You can start with a focused Career Strategy Consultation to get clear on your direction before you take any next steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the right time to update my CV during a job search?
Your CV should be one of the later steps in your job search, not the first. Before you update it, you need to be clear on what role you are targeting, what you want that role to deliver for your career, and how your experience tells the right story for that specific direction. Updating your CV before you have that clarity often means rewriting it again once you do.
How long does it take to create an ideal job spec?
There is no fixed timeline, and the depth of the thinking matters more than the speed. Some lawyers work through it in a focused session with a coach. Others need a few days of reflection. What is important is that you do not rush it. The clearer your ideal job spec, the better every other part of your job search becomes.
What if I am not sure what I want from my next legal role?
That is actually the most important sign that you need to do this work before anything else. Many lawyers start a job search without a clear sense of direction and find themselves going in circles. A Career Strategy Consultation is designed specifically to help you get that clarity so you can move forward with confidence.
Can I use an ideal job spec if I am staying in the same area of law?
Yes, absolutely. Even if you are not changing practice area or moving from private practice to in-house, your next role still needs to serve your longer-term goals. An ideal job spec helps you assess whether a role genuinely moves you forward or simply moves you sideways, regardless of how familiar the work looks.
What is the difference between a job search and a strategic job search?
A standard job search tends to be reactive: you see a role, you apply, you see what happens. A strategic job search starts with clarity about what you want, builds a picture of the right opportunity, and then targets roles and conversations that align with that picture. It takes more thought upfront but leads to better outcomes and fewer wasted months pursuing the wrong opportunities.
How does creating an ideal job spec help with confidence during a job search?
Knowing clearly what you want and why makes every part of the process feel less uncertain. You go into interviews knowing this role fits your plan. You make decisions from a place of intention rather than anxiety. That kind of groundedness comes across to hiring partners and recruiters, and it makes a real difference to how you present yourself throughout the process.
Not sure what your next career step should be? Book a Career Strategy Consultation and get clarity.
