Ann Israel is the legal profession's Dear Abby. A New York legal recruiter since 1979, Ann is a past president of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants. Advice for the Lawlorn is updated every week.

Q: In the list of job-hunting-tips [from your last column], I think number 20, advising applicants to use fake names and misrepresent themselves as recruiters, would constitute an ethical violation in the states where I've worked as an attorney.

Thank you,
Unemployed and Going Crazy

Dear Readers: My column last week included a list of job-hunting tips from a site I found on the Internet written by someone who calls himself Legal Andrew. I wrote in my column, "while I don't subscribe to every single technique, for the most part Legal Andrew has some great ideas." Additionally, the column itself puts up a disclaimer stating that the tips do not necessarily focus on jobs for attorneys.

However, as the email above that I received this week demonstrates, I was remiss in perhaps not putting a stronger disclaimer on Legal Andrew's methods. The reader from Phoenix/LA/NYC who questioned the ethics of job tip #20 is right to do so. And I fully agree. Let's take a look back at tip #20:

20. Call on behalf of yourself. "Hi this is Tom Alexander calling and I'm looking to place a superb salesman in a position within your company. His name is Brandon Hopkins and he's won numerous sales awards. Are you looking to hire someone with his qualifications?" If the answer is anything positive, "yes" or "maybe" then schedule yourself an interview. When you schedule this interview, make sure you set the tone and pace. Say, "Mr. Hopkins is available from 2-4 p.m. on Tuesday, does that work for you?" If he says, "No. I'll be in a meeting until 4:15." You can be flexible but will need to remind this guy that you're in charge. Make sure you add the fact that you'll need to check with Mr. Hopkins to see if he can clear his schedule. Return with a call the following day letting this guy know that your client (you), has cleared his schedule and you'll see him at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Oh boy. I can see so many issues here and I really want to thank my bi-coastal friend for calling me out on this. First of all, why would you need to misrepresent yourself as someone else? It makes no sense whatsoever to me. If you can get the right person on the phone, introduce yourself and make the call on behalf of yourself, AS YOURSELF. Don't pretend to be someone else. That's a great way to start a relationship ... in a lie. It doesn't matter if it is a professional or a personal relationship -- never start it out in any other way but truthfully and ethically.

Secondly, when you start a sentence out as tip #20 does with the words, "I am looking to PLACE ... " it is assumed that a fee is involved. Now this gets really interesting. Are you about to set up a phony company and collect a fee on placing yourself? How many ethical violations are involved here? Not to mention which laws are being broken.

My advice -- and I never waiver from this -- is to always tell the truth. So if you come across any advice in these tough job hunting times where you are encouraged to stretch the truth or not tell the truth or out and out lie, DON'T DO IT. It will catch up with you sooner or later and you will be out the door quicker than a blink of an eye and unemployed with a black mark on your resume rather than just another job-seeker in tough times.

And even if that bad advice comes from someone you trust ... just as it inadvertently did from tip #20 in this column last week ... question it as my tri-city friend did rather than blindly following it. I thank you for catching that for me ... that is a tip I would never recommend to anyone in any profession.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are getting ready for some holiday cheer during the upcoming month ... . I know we all deserve it! Best wishes!

Sincerely,
Ann Israel
President, Ann Israel & Associates