A Conversation with Laura Cloney | Interview by Gina Taranto, PhD
[EDRM Editor’s Note: The opinions and positions are those of the author.]
Previously Published in This Series
- Part I: A Sea Change
- Part II: Redesigning Work (or, The Only Thing Certain is Change)
- Part III: The Evolution of Career Planning (Modern Career Assets for a New Era)
Today we wrap up the conversation I had with Laura Cloney, founder of LC Talent Labs, who has helped us understand my claim (see Part I) that 2026 marks the End of eDiscovery as We Know It (And We Should All Feel Fine). We have already had a broad look at the changing world of work and the shift in how we talk about the business problems that need to be solved and the durable skills that professionals can bring to solve these problems (see Part II). And then we talked about the career assets that help people showcase their ability to solve problems and navigate new technology and shifting business needs (see Part III).
In our fourth and final installment, we zero in on the enduring value of human relationships in a world of work that is being re-written in the Age of AI.
08 | Networking as a campaign
GT: You’ve sold me on the value of maintaining career assets. How do job seekers grab attention in a candidate saturated market? Can you say more about networking?
LC: Networking is key, and recruiters rely on the human connections now more than ever. The rise of AI-generated content helps people apply to more jobs than ever. What’s more, we now have bots submitting applications for fake people. Having a network and a person make the introduction and direct attention to your candidacy – and your career assets – is vitally important.
GT: So, what are some concrete steps. In our prep sessions you talked about networking as a campaign, even more intentional than a habit. Campaign sounds so political, which, sometimes is viewed as insincere when we think in terms of “shaking hands and kissing babies.” Can you share some of your ideas about authentic and intentional networking
LC: Yes, of course. I talk about campaigning deliberately, because I want people to understand that networking isn’t passive, and it’s not reserved for only when we are active in a job search. Campaigns require intentionality, consistency, and clarity. Networking is investing in relationships far before you ever need an intro, or a favor. It keeps you top-of-mind for people and making it easy for them to help you.
Here’s what I see most often: someone reaches out and says, “Hey, I am looking for my next role,” and then talks a lot about what they are moving on from, and only vaguely about what they’re looking for. That puts the burden of problem-solving on the other person. They have to figure out what you do, who might want it, and how to make the connection. Contrast that with a situation where over time you have developed a relationship and someone knows where you come from and what you are about, and onto that foundation you add a clear request, e.g.:
- “I saw from your last press release you are working on X, that’s right up my alley, here are some examples of how I’ve done this would you be open to a call next week,
- I would love to pick your brain about Y
- I’m looking for an introduction to someone working on Z”
- or “I’d love your feedback on this.”
People want to help. Make it easy for them. Clear requests and direct statements are easy to act on. When you need someone to act, ask them specifically.
The most important career investment you can make right now, especially in eDiscovery, which has always been a relationship-driven industry, is tending to your professional relationships with the same rigor you’d bring to production guidelines or a document review protocol.
Laura Cloney, Founder, LC Talent Labs.
The most important career investment you can make right now, especially in eDiscovery, which has always been a relationship-driven industry, is tending to your professional relationships with the same rigor you’d bring to production guidelines or a document review protocol. Be deliberate. Be consistent. And be specific about what you’re looking for, because specificity is what makes it easy for people to help you. Pay it forward, if people do end up in your inbox, try to pay it forward, make the connection, introduction, give the feedback. It’s hard out there, and this is our opportunity to lean into our humanity.
09 | Differentiating Marketing Problems from Skills Problems
GT: I want to pick up on what you said about being really specific about what you offer and what you’re looking for. You’ve also said – and this really stuck with me – that for a lot of people, it’s not a skills problem, it’s a marketing problem. Explain that.
LC: I want to start by acknowledging that it’s hard right now, this isn’t at all about trying harder, it’s about levers people can control in a messy market, not a moral failing.
When it comes to the art of finding your next opportunity, I like to go back to basics and ask two questions. The first is, do I have marketable skills for what is needed in today’s market? Confirm that you are keeping up with advancements in your field, such as how tools are developing and how customer needs are evolving. Pay attention to how you are developing AI fluency. The minimum is knowing what the tools can do. Better is showing you’ve led with curiosity to build or deploy something outside of your comfort zone. If there are gaps you may need to fill or upskill – and there may be, given the pace of change – then do it. The good news is there’s never been more access to learning than there is right now. Everything from podcasts to YouTube to LinkedIn Learning or Coursera.
In addition to a skills assessment and staying current with skills to compete, the second question to ask is Do I have a marketing plan? And if you have the skills and have been looking and are not progressing, the more pointed question is: Do I have a marketing problem? Are you taking the right steps to drive attention to your skills, and candidacy that result in interviews, conversations and eventually an offer?
This second question gets at deeper issues underneath the portfolio conversation we just had. Why does a portfolio work where a resume doesn’t? It can reposition you from “here’s my history” to “here’s the problem I solve and here’s the evidence.” That’s a marketing insight, not just a formatting one. Then utilize your career assets outside of the traditional apply-and-wait recruiting game? Sure it may still be a numbers game, but I do believe it changes the conversation.
For many mid-career professionals, especially in fields like eDiscovery where expertise is genuinely deep and hard-won, skills are often not the issue. The issue is how we talk about those skills. When people skip that honest assessment and immediately assume they need more school, or more certifications, they risk neglecting that second piece – developing a winning go-to-market strategy. It takes time and effort to be strategic about visibility and build your reputation in the spaces where people making hiring decisions pay attention. Take LinkedIn, for example – are you using it to share company news, or are you using it to demonstrate your point of view, your expertise, your way of thinking? Those are very different activities with very different returns.
10 | The Future of Work — Reasons for Optimism
GT: We’ve been talking about individual professionals navigating this moment – their tools, strategy, and mindset. Can we zoom out now? I know you have some genuinely optimistic ideas about where all of this disruption might lead. What’s your optimistic vision of the future of work?
LC: I genuinely get excited talking about this. We may be at the beginning of a significant shift toward smaller, more agile working structures. Whenever we have big shifts, innovation and creativity spring up. Maybe its companies of one to fifty people, built around specific problems – not world domination – just really excellent, focused solutions at a human scale. Maybe it’s portfolio or modular careers that present opportunities to expand our knowledge and scope, working on things that are new and exciting to us. We’re already seeing a surge in solopreneur activity, LLCs formation, fractional work, and portfolio careers.
And what drives this? People are starting to ask: “Was it actually working for us?” And where the answer is “no”, perhaps a redesign in how we work and think about opportunity is exactly where we should be headed. People are smart and talented and creative. I see a lot of people feeling disillusioned by the current market and rethinking how they want to use their skills, who they spend their time with, and what work they want to be doing. The current disruption is forcing a reckoning. And one of the things that could come out the other side is a future of work that actually has room for life outside of work again. Community. Family. Identity that isn’t just your job title and I kind of love that.
GT: That certainly is a positive view. For the last question, how does this optimism translate into any final thoughts you have for eDiscovery professionals intentionally managing their careers?
LC: Don’t wait for the dust to settle. It’s not going to. The pace of change right now is fast, and it’s not going to slow down to let you catch up. Your skills are hot. Whether you are currently searching or not, consider how your skills need to be reframed for a changed world. Instead of describing yourself in the language of the job you hold or the jobs you held, start describing yourself in the language of the problems you solve.
That shift – from job-title identity to problem-solver identity – is the thing that opens up everything else. It changes how you network, how you write about yourself, how you build your brand, and how you recognize opportunity when it doesn’t come in a familiar package.
That shift – from job-title identity to problem-solver identity – is the thing that opens up everything else.
Laura Cloney, Founder, LC Talent Labs.
Maybe your next opportunity doesn’t look like the last one. Maybe it’s fractional, or consulting, or it’s in a different industry that’s suddenly hungry for whatever you know how to do. The professionals who are going to thrive aren’t the ones who had the most job security.
They’re the ones who stayed curious, stayed visible, and were willing to redefine what “opportunity” looks like. That is all of the things – scary, exciting, even exhilarating. And it’s a genuinely rare moment to have some agency in what gets written next.
As a closing thought, and we’ve heard this before, but worth saying. Get comfortable with change, this is a moment in time, it will all change again in a few years. What won’t is our ability to navigate, pivot, adapt and embrace change so that we can continue to stay off the bench and in the game.
Assisted by GAI and LLM Technologies per EDRM’s GAI and LLM Policy.
