Back to Basics: How to Get the Job You Want in Legal Marketing & BD

​In this webinar, legal marketing & BD recruitment specialists Erin Lawler and Sean Sweeney shared essential strategies for candidates pursuing roles in legal marketing and business development.

They covered the fundamentals of writing a high-impact resume, working effectively with recruiters, succeeding in interviews, negotiating compensation, and navigating hybrid work environments. The discussion aims to equip candidates with the tools and insight needed to take control of their job search and long-term career development.

Key takeaways

• You have 10 seconds to make an impression with your resume.

• Avoid using AI to create your resume; it should reflect your voice.

• Include action words that demonstrate impact in your resume.

• Be specific about the practice groups and sectors you've worked in.

• The interview is your chance to showcase your unique skills.

• Prepare thoroughly for interviews; research the firm and its clients.

• Treat virtual interviews with the same professionalism as in-person ones.

• Be ready for compensation questions, but avoid giving a specific number early on.

• Understanding your market worth is crucial for compensation discussions.

• Be transparent with recruiters about your job search preferences.

Watch the full webinar

Transcript

Erin Lawler (00:00)
Hi, everyone, and welcome to the inaugural episode of our new webinar series for candidates. We’re delighted to have you here today. I’m Erin Lawler, a 20-year veteran in Big Law marketing and business development. I’ve held various roles in marketing and BD at several Am Law 20 firms, including Norton Rose Fulbright and Hogan Lovells. Recently, I made the move to Ambition, where I now focus on helping firms build best-in-class BD teams.

Sean Sweeney (00:29)
Hi, my name is Sean Sweeney. I work alongside Erin here on the legal BD and marketing team at Ambition. I’ve spent the past five years recruiting primarily in the legal marketing and business development space. We’re now here in the U.S. to support Am Law 100 firms—and beyond—with their legal marketing and BD hiring needs.

Erin Lawler (00:47)
Thanks, Sean. A bit about Ambition: we’re a specialized recruitment firm that focuses exclusively on legal marketing, business development, and communications. While, as Sean mentioned, we’re new to the U.S., we’re not a startup.

Sean Sweeney (01:01)
That’s right. Ambition has 25 years of global recruitment experience and is headquartered in Australia. Our journey started with offices in Sydney and Melbourne, then expanded to Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, and London—where our legal BD and marketing division began 20 years ago. Initially, we worked with Magic Circle and other international firms.

As time went on, clients began asking for our support on U.S. hires. Naturally, we invested in the U.S. market, and fast forward to today—we now have a dedicated team based in New York.

Erin Lawler (01:42)
Terrific, thank you. A few quick notes before we begin: today’s session is being recorded so it can be shared afterward, and we’ve reserved time at the end for Q&A. As we go through today’s content, feel free to drop your questions in the chat or the Q&A section of Zoom.

Let’s take a look at today’s agenda. We’ll be covering the key elements of finding—not just any job—but the right job in legal marketing and business development. First, we’ll go through how to create an impactful resume. Then we’ll discuss how to use recruiters effectively, tips for acing the interview, and finally, a conversation around compensation.

Let’s start with creating a great resume. The key thing to remember is: you have 10 seconds—at most—to make an impression. Speaking from experience as a hiring manager, it’s usually more like six or seven seconds. That’s why your resume has to make an immediate and meaningful impact.

Before we dive into what to include and exclude, let’s touch on the use of artificial intelligence. AI is everywhere—I use it, and I love it. But please don’t use AI to write your resume. It’s fine as a starting point or to help rephrase ideas, but hiring managers and recruiters can spot AI-generated content immediately, and that may hurt your chances. Your resume should reflect you—your voice, your achievements, your experiences.

Now let’s talk about what to include:

• Use action words that highlight the impact you made. Your resume should not just list tasks—it should communicate outcomes and achievements.

• Quantify your results. Numbers help bring credibility and demonstrate performance.

• Be specific. List practice groups, industries, projects, or campaigns you’ve supported. That detail can set you apart.

• Focus on your current and most recent roles. These are the most relevant, and expanding on them helps keep your resume concise.

• Include a tailored professional summary—not a generic objective. This isn’t a cover letter, but a well-written summary at the top of your resume aligned to the role you're pursuing can be powerful.

Now, a few things to exclude:

• Generic objectives—they add no value. Replace them with a tailored summary.

• Photos or personal information—these are unnecessary and can detract from a professional impression. (Also, side note: keep your LinkedIn photo professional. Doesn’t have to be a headshot, but maybe not one of you at the beach!)

• Unusual fonts or formatting. Creativity is great, but not on your resume. Stick to clean, traditional formats.

• Redundant bullet points. Avoid repeating information—it just adds length and dilutes impact.

• Outdated experience or irrelevant early jobs. We all had student jobs, but unless they directly support the role you're applying for, they don't need detail—just dates and a quick summary.

Your resume is a marketing document—it should clearly showcase your skills, accomplishments, and the value you bring. And above all: keep it to two pages max.

With that, I’ll hand it over to Sean to talk about how to work with recruiters effectively.

​Sean Sweeney (08:56)
Thanks, Erin. Let’s talk about how you can get the most out of working with recruiters.

We can offer a lot—but it works best when we’re collaborating. Our goal is to build a strong, transparent relationship so we can represent you in the best possible light throughout the hiring process.

Here’s what we bring to the table:

• Early access to jobs. We’re in regular contact with HR, line managers, and executives—even before roles go public. That gives you a first-mover advantage.

• Industry expertise. As Erin said, legal marketing and BD is all we do. We understand this space deeply, and we’re here to share that insight with you.

• Advocacy and negotiation. We can represent you to firms, provide context that a resume can’t, and negotiate on your behalf.

• Confidentiality. This industry is small, and privacy is paramount. We take that very seriously.

Here’s what we need from you:

• Transparency. Be upfront about your preferences—location, salary expectations, hybrid schedules, etc. The more we know, the better we can help.

• Your job search history. Let us know where you've applied or spoken to already. It helps us avoid conflicts and better tailor our recommendations.

• Active participation. A recruiter isn’t a “set it and forget it” service. Stay engaged so we can make real progress together.

• Effective communication. Keep us updated—especially about interviews and feedback.

• Responsiveness. Opportunities can move quickly. If you’re slow to respond, you risk missing out.

​Erin Lawler (13:34)
And responsiveness is key, right, Sean?

Sean Sweeney (13:36)
Absolutely. If you're not responsive, you're only hurting yourself. This is a fast-moving market. Missing one call or email could mean missing a great opportunity.

Erin Lawler (14:04)
Great. So now you’ve got a strong resume and a recruiter relationship—let’s talk about acing the interview.

Remember: interviews are your opportunity to highlight both your skills and your personality.

Preparation is everything. Research the firm thoroughly. Know its client base, recent activity, and structure. A lot of this is on their website, but we can also provide inside insights to help you prepare.

Maintain professionalism. Especially in virtual interviews—it’s easy to get casual on Zoom, but every interaction is a chance to make an impression. Dress appropriately, check your Wi-Fi, turn off your phone, and minimize distractions.

Expect the unexpected. Be ready for curveball questions and have specific examples that showcase your skills. If you get a tough question, take a moment to reflect before answering. It’s okay to say, “That’s a great question. May I take a moment to think about it?”

Engage authentically. Be yourself. Interviews aren’t just for the firm to assess you—they’re for you to assess the firm. Bring your best, most genuine self.

Anticipate compensation questions. You’ll likely be asked, but we recommend avoiding specifics early on. You can say something like:
“I’d like to learn more about the role before discussing compensation.”
Or: “I’m looking to improve on my current situation but am flexible.”

Let the conversation evolve naturally, and we’ll support you through the negotiation process when the time comes.

Sean Sweeney (17:32)
Yeah, exactly. And that will take us nicely into compensation. So again, compensation is a very important topic, and rightly so. A big part of your decision-making process when looking at a new opportunity will come down to this. There are a few things that we want to make sure you’re mindful of and a few key themes to keep in mind when navigating this part of the process.

First off, know your worth. Understand the market rates for your level, your expertise, and your geography. It can vary significantly from city to city, from firm to firm. It also depends on whether the position is centralized or specialized, the size of the team, and the overall firm structure. That's something we can help guide you on. We have market data, benchmarks, and real-time examples to help you understand where you should be falling salary-wise.

Another key factor - be realistic. While you should absolutely advocate for what you’re worth, it’s also important to be aligned with what the market is offering and what firms are actually paying for similar roles. So if you’re currently making $100k, and you’re targeting a role paying $150k, there needs to be a solid rationale behind that kind of jump. It’s not that it can’t happen, but again, it needs to be supported with relevant experience and market logic.

Also, we want to emphasize total compensation - not just base salary. Think about the benefits package: bonuses, 401(k), health insurance, PTO, remote flexibility, professional development budgets—all those things are part of the value proposition. A slightly lower base salary might be outweighed by strong bonuses and top-tier benefits. So it’s important to look at the full picture, and again, we can help with that comparison.

Lastly, be prepared to negotiate but also know when to stop. Negotiation is a normal part of the process - don’t be afraid of it. But be respectful and strategic. If you push too hard or too late in the process, you risk souring the offer or giving the impression that compensation is the only thing you care about. Use us as a buffer - we can negotiate on your behalf and help guide that conversation in a way that’s both assertive and professional.

Erin Lawler (19:13)
Well said, Sean. And thank you. So we’ve covered a lot of ground today - how to build an impactful resume, how to work with recruiters effectively, how to ace the interview, and how to approach compensation thoughtfully.

Before we wrap up, we want to reiterate that we’re here as a resource for you. At Ambition, we’re not just filling jobs—we’re helping build careers and supporting this amazing legal marketing and business development community. If there’s one thing we hope you take away from today, it’s that you have support, and you don’t have to navigate this process alone.

We’ll now open it up for questions. You can drop them into the Q&A or chat box - we’re happy to dive deeper into any of the topics we discussed or answer anything else that’s on your mind.

Sean Sweeney (19:51)
Yes, please don’t be shy. If there’s anything we touched on that you’d like more detail on, or even if it’s a topic we didn’t cover, let us know. We want this to be useful for you, and we’re more than happy to keep the conversation going.

Erin Lawler (20:05)
Thank you again for joining us today. We’ll also be sending a recording of today’s session if you’d like to refer back or share it with anyone in your network. And stay tuned - we’ll have more episodes coming up in this series. Lots more to share about building successful careers in legal BD and marketing.

Have a great rest of your day, everyone!