/ Page 4 - Articles by Halden Ingwersen

You're fresh out of law school and looking to start your own firm, or you've been with your firm for a while and want to try something new. Either way, if you're thinking of going rogue, you're going to need a good place to do it. And that means it's time for a road trip!

Let’s face it, knowing the price of something is hugely important. Be it your home, your car, or your HR software. Not knowing what HR software in particular may cost is frustrating.  Not to mention it makes it difficult to budget for your business or department.

According to Gartner, by 2018, 70% of mobile professionals will conduct work on their personal smart devices. With worldwide smartphone shipments topping one billion per year it’s not surprising that businesses and employees are putting these tools to use with forward thinking BYOD (bring your own device) policies and mobile-accessible resources.

Spending a long time in a particular career guarantees that you'll see some level of ebb and flow in your industry. And while experience can be a hard teacher, the payoff is wisdom. No law practice management software, no matter how stellar, can replaces the wisdom of experience.

It’s a tough economy out there, even for law firms and lawyers. Firms just aren’t hiring like they used to… but maybe that’s a good thing. Many lawyers are starting to look outside of the law firm world—and it’s working for them. Legal groups and networks present a different way to connect attorneys to clients, and they’re attracting some of the best and brightest freelancers out there. That’s good for lawyers, and it’s good for those looking to hire them.

My best friend used to work as a warehouse employee at a very large online retailer. Her job had a lot of great benefits and perks. The funny thing was that the benefits that actually contributed to her enjoyment of her job were largely accidental—she got tons of exercise and liked her unconventional shift hours. However, the company didn't plan these perks and didn't do anything to promote or track them.

The job market is constantly in flux. It can feel like you're searching in the dark—there's something out there, you just aren't sure where it is or what it'll look like until you find it. As a hiring manager, you need all the help you can get finding a solid new hire. And you love your applicant tracking system, but there's only so much it can do.

Update 5/31/2017: In the three years since this article was written, gamification and game-based learning have both come a long way. Find out what changed below.

Bills. Bills. More bills. Everyone's got bills, but it can be a fun change of pace to be the one sending them for once, instead of just paying them. It's an especially sweet update after years of paying those student loan bills from law school.