Valerie A. Fontaine earned her JD from UC Hastings College of Law and her BA, Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, from UCLA. She was on the Editorial Board of COMM/ENT, a Journal of Communications and Entertainment Law. Valerie practiced law with a prominent Los Angeles law firm and entered the legal search profession in 1981. Valerie is Secretary to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC) and Chairs its Newsletter Committee.
“You’re fired!” No one wants to hear those words, or anything to their effect, whether prompted by economic realities or performance issues. Being fired or laid-off is a career setback, but need not be a career-ender. Although prospective employers generally favor candidates who currently are employed, being terminated has been losing its stigma as excellent…
Read article
Figuring out how to successfully juggle multiple offers is one of the best problems a job seeker can face. In an ideal situation, all offers will be on the table at the same time, and only after interviews with all prospective employers are completed, so you can make an informed choice between them. In the…
Read article
Prospective employers expect you to do your homework before you set foot in their offices for your first interview. If you ask or answer questions in such a way as to reveal a lack of easily acquired information about prospective employers, they will react negatively. With the Internet, there is no excuse, since there is…
Read article
The hidden dangers lurking in virtually any interview are those tough questions for which there seem to be no right answers but many wrong ones. When one rears its ugly head, listen carefully, determine what underlying information is being sought, and answer directly and succinctly without giving away any negative information. Attempt to sell yourself…
Read article