Introduction: 0:00

• Introducing Joelle Khoury, executive recruiter at Egon Zehnder, a leading executive search and advisory firm.
• Transitioning into executive recruiting from a career as GC at private capital managers like Fifth Wall and Saban Capital Group.

Building a legal career at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Cooley LLP: 3:09

• Starting your career with the goal of becoming a partner.
• Building a legal office from the ground up and discovering an affinity for business, strategy and vision.
• Leaving a career in law firms behind after a random call from a recruiter.

Comparing Saban Capital Group with Fifth Wall: 5:55

• Learning to assess commercial risk at Saban.
• Appreciating the flexibility offered at a family office.
• Gaining institutional capital and capital raising experience at Fifth Wall.
• Taking advantage of opportunities to think through decision making and strategy.

Advice to lawyers raising capital for the first time: 8:16

• Emphasizing communication with internal and external stakeholders and building alignment towards a macro strategy.

Leaving Fifth Wall and reassessing your career plan: 9:55

• Redefining what success means and how you want to spend the second half of your career.
• Resisting the pressure to follow a linear upward career path.

Taking time off before joining Egon Zehnder: 11:22

• Using a career gap to attend conferences and meet people you wouldn’t have otherwise encountered.
• Figuring out what you want to do with your career instead of working through a checklist.
• Making new friends with peers that become your biggest supporter.

Transitioning from a legal career to executive recruiting at Egon Zehnder: 16:07

• Developing valuable relationships with recruiters during a GC placement that led to a role at the recruitment firm.
• Falling in love with the business model, recruiting staff, and mission.
• Making up for short-term financial trade offs with work that resonates with you.
• Going beyond transactional search to handle advisory roles related to board placement, talent review, and more.

Advice to executives looking to executive recruiters for new opportunities: 21:43

• Introducing yourself to recruiters when you aren’t looking for work.
• Using LinkedIn to tell your story so recruiters can better understand what you’re looking for.
• Developing relationships with recruiters that go beyond transactions.
• Being clear about what you want so recruiters can consider you as a solution to a company’s specific need.

Tips for nailing the interview process: 26:10

• Prioritizing transparency and high EQ and being direct about whether you are or aren’t interested in a role.
• Being thoughtful to the recruiter’s needs and reciprocating by offering your own network and resources.
• Navigating the difficulties of virtual interviewing.

Tips for negotiating after receiving an offer: 29:40

• Shattering the myth that negotiating hard gets the best results.
• Managing compensation expectations through transparency and consistency.
• Allowing the recruiter to translate your needs to the hiring team so you get the best results.

Lessons you learned as a recruiter that you wish you’d known as a GC: 33:33

• Following your energy, taking risks, and making changes.
• Being unafraid to explore outside of the legal box and lean into change.

What you wish you’d known as a young lawyer: 35:27

• Taking more time off between college and law school.
• Spending six months living and breathing the work you want to do.
• Letting the path lead you to the place it wants to take you.