Changing jobs offshore is a delicate business. Everyone knows everyone, and that makes career moves…interesting. You’re ready for a change, but you’re bound to know people at some of the firms you’re considering. So, do you go through your contacts, or work with a recruiter?

For any cynics thinking ‘I see your job title…let me guess!’, yes, sometimes it makes sense to go direct. When? I’d ask three questions:

• Is your contact senior enough to recommend you rather than simply pass on a CV?
• Will you be comfortable chasing them to follow up if a response is not forthcoming?
• Are you confident that any approach will remain entirely confidential?

If you can answer yes, and it’s someone you know well and trust, go for it. But if you’re not sure, I would be cautious (‘here he goes…’).

Something we hear often is ‘a friend sent my CV to a Partner three months ago, but I never heard anything’ , typically followed by ‘could you send it again?’ (Probably not, by the way).

It makes sense. A friend wants to help so they offer to pass on your details. It’s a nice thing to do but it’s entirely different from someone who is willing to ensure your CV gets to the decision maker and then go into bat for you until you get an answer.

In a small market, with limited options, can you afford to see any applications disappear into the ether?

There are a bunch of other reasons to use a recruiter (sorting out your CV, organising interviews, negotiating salaries, witty repartee) but I’ll spare you that sales pitch.

The best approach? Get in touch and let’s talk it through. I don’t give self-serving advice. If you’re in this market for the long-term, and I am, it would only come back to bite me.

There may well be a firm or two where approaching through an agent might seem a bit odd (‘you’d have thought he would have asked his wife to pass on his CV!’)and that’s okay. We can explore other options confidentially and give you a proper perspective on the market so you can make the right move.

After all, you don’t want to be doing this again in 12 months do you?

One final thought. Offshore law firms might prefer not to pay an agency fee, but let’s be honest, if they weren’t confident that your contribution will absorb that in no time, they wouldn’t want to talk to you anyway.

If you have any questions about an on-island move, or you’re looking for advice on the offshore legal sector in general, just drop Jason Horobin or Charlotte Hooper a line and we’d be happy to help.