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advice, article, blog, employment, get a paralegal job, how to get a job, job skills, kathryn gordon, pointers, the paralegal society, tips
By: KATHRYN GORDON
New Paralegals: This article is for you!
Experienced Paralegals: We know you don’t “need” this article, but we could use your help! Read it and let us know if you feel we left something out! You’ve probably been there, done that, right? We welcome your participation and feedback. The newbies need you! We need you! Please leave your comments below.
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One: If you know what type of law that you want to concentrate on, join as many professional associations that focus on that area. While there are professional paralegal associations, there are also practice specific associations that have members from all walks of life, attorneys, judges, vendors, paralegals. This will help you to be able to network as much as possible.
Two: Find a mentor that has the career that you envision for yourself. They could be local to you or not. Complete a search of paralegals on LinkedIn, read profiles and reach out to them. If they don’t have the time to mentor you, they may know someone who could.
Three: If you have not completed an internship, start looking for one now. Believe me – I know it sucks to have to work for free, but in the Legal Profession, experience is worth three times as much as the education for most organizations. I remember when I was in my undergrad and I had to suck up not only working for free, commuting downtown, paying parking but also paying for a three credit class to work for free. However, my internship gave me invaluable contacts in the legal industry and taught me what it means to be a professional. When you start the internship, ask them if it is okay to use any of your work product (briefs, motions) as part of your portfolio if you blackline or redact it.
Four: If you have completed an internship, ask the internship if you can get a written recommendation from them (either your supervisor or one of the supervising attorneys). Ask them if it is okay to use any of your work product (briefs, motions) as part of your portfolio if you blackline or redact it. Keep in touch with those you interned with because a position may have opened up and they may think you found another position. If you really liked your internship, ask them if you could continue to work there until you find a full-time gig.
Five: Volunteer in the community. This could be for Legal Aid, a homeless shelter, Habitat for Humanity, CASA, etc. It is during these types of experiences where you make the most crucial networking. All walks of life volunteer at these establishments and most opportunities are through word of mouth.
Six: Do mock interviews with your school’s career services center and local law firms. If your school has resume writing or dressing for success seminars, take them and take them to heart.
Seven: Write and rewrite your resume. Get a ton of people to review your resume and cover letter. Make sure they are perfect in relation to tone and grammar. Grammatical errors and improper tone will make a candidate seem incompetent and careless. If you are a “career changer,” make sure that you writing your resume as a functional candidate and not chronological. I have worked with career changers on their resume and while it hurts to not have all of your work experience on the first page, the legal education and experience is what is going to matter hiring managers. I suggest having a separate section entitled “Other Professional Work Experience” for non legal experience.
Eight: Research where you want to work. This could mean looking up all the law firms in your area on Martindale and compiling a list of law firms that have the practice area you are interested in or are the size you are looking for. Review the law firm’s website, find out who the hiring manager is or the paralegal manager. Research everything you can on them, send them a letter that evidences that you have some background on them and the firm and send your resume. Follow up with a phone call and if they indicate there are no positions, ask them to meet you for an informal coffee so you can make yourself a better candidate.
Nine: Brush up on your technology skills. Become an expert at Word, Outlook, Excel and Access. Get certifications in them. Learn everything you can about e-discovery because whether you work at a law firm or in-house, e-discovery is going to affect your working life.
Ten: Read any and all articles in your local legal community newspaper or blog. Follow the cases of the local attorneys because you never know who you might land an interview with. If you can bring up some notable cases while on the interview, you will win many points.
Eleven: Assemble a portfolio of your work product, whether it is from a class, an internship or work experience. Make sure everything in your portfolio is pitch perfect.
Twelve: Put together a one page marketing brochure of yourself that can be handed out that is both professional and well-written. You should consider this to be in addition to your resume and cover letter. This should only be handed out in person.
Remember, an employer who sees that you have tried to better yourself during the period you couldn’t find work will be more likely to hire the candidate with the initiative to seek improvement rather than the one that did not. Best of luck!
The Paralegal Society™ 
Great article! I can only add: find a local association or a group of paralegals that will help you to meet your peers. Your local association can be an invaluable source for pro bono work that will enhance your resume and CLE seminars, as well as networking and mentoring. In addition, many local associations have their own job banks or are connected to staffing agencies. Good luck to all of you!
Thank you for this article. I am already doing several of your tips, so it was nice to know I am doing things right. It is hard trying to keep positive, with no previous experience and everyone wanting 1-3 years experience, and in the back of my mind is worry over being able to keep a roof over my son’s head and food on the table. I graduated with honors from an ABA credited College with an Associate of Business-Paralegal Studies. Should I mention on my resume that the college is ABA credited? I was lucky in my internship, to have an excellent training experience and even though I am now a graduate, I am still interning with them twice a week while hunting for an opportunity in the legal job market.
Danita,
Congratulations on your achievements! And please, keep your attitude positive. This is what will get you into the door.
The answers are yes and yes. “Yes” to mention that you graduated from ABA approved program and “yes” to mention your honors and high GPA. Also, keep the internship on your resume. As you are still working for the company (and internship is the JOB), you can list it as, for example, “March 2011 – present”. You can go into more details when you get your interview for a payable job.
Posted by TPS on behalf of Kat Gordon:
Absolutely put on your resume that it was an ABA approved paralegal program. Just be careful that you are saying it is an ABA approved school and not accredited because those are two wholly different spheres. The ABA does not accredit schooling. When job searching, don’t get caught up in the titles of the positions that you are looking for. I find the very best paralegals are the ones that have done every aspect of the firm life, from receptionist to case assistant to litigation support to paralegal assistant to paralegal. Just remember having well rounded skills will help you greatly later in your paralegal career. I know during the job search can be daunting, but a great attitude pays dividends in every way. Keep your chin up and the job opportunity you have been looking for will happen.
Excellent advice, Kathryn! And great info on the titles as well!
Excellent article!! I especially liked encouraging people to brush up on computer and eDiscovery skills! The more tech saavy you are, the more hire-able you are.
One suggestion – join a legal temp. agency and be open to positions other than a “paralegal” one. For me, it was how I got started (as a receptionist) and how I gained experience and worked my way up. I also have a good friend who started in her firm as a file clerk and, based on her enthusiasm and intelligence, she was promoted to the paralegal position in six months. Other staff roles can lead to paralegal roles!
One quick question, Kathryn. The one-page marketing brochure is a new concept for me. What should it contain? Is a photo pretty standard for the brochure? Thanks!
The one page marketing brochure can contain numerous different items based on your career level and really should be geared towards the job you are looking for. For an entry level candidate, I generally recommend a headline, picture, contact information with an asterisk next to the preferred contact method; education (include degree, ABA approved, GPA if it is over 3.00 and breakout your major GPA if it is higher because we have all had that calculus class that tanks our GPA, honors, specialties; legal classes taken, etc.); work experience (includes internship and non-legal experience); skills (soft factor skills like time management, organizational, etc.); technical skills (computer programs, legal research); certifications; and why you should hire me. Please note that the picture doesn’t have to be of you but should be something law related (for instance, if it is a litigation position, a picture of the court room, etc). For a more senior level candidate, I recommend headline, picture, contact information with an asterisk next to the preferred contact method; key highlights/milestones of your career; summary of work experience (this should be more of a high level summary twelve years of in-house experience at tech start-ups); education (include degree, ABA approved, GPA, honors, specialties); skills (soft factor skills like time management, organizational, etc.); technical skills (computer programs, legal research); certifications; and why you should hire me. When creating your marketing brochure, please remember that the legal industry is still very traditional so the brochure should be professional, crisp, no crazy fonts and very limited use of color. In other words, remember that the movie Legally Blonde is fictional and thus if you perfume your submission materials, your job offer will be just as fictional. I would highly recommend if you are looking for design ideas for your marketing brochure to look at the Microsoft Publisher templates on http://www.mircrosoft.com.
Fantastic advice, Kat. Thanks for taking the time to spell it out so clearly for all of us! After reading that, are there any questions? ha ha. I’m guessing not…but if there are…send them our way!
Good Article!!
I’ve been looking into learning software specific to the legal industry. The classes I’ve come across aren’t for new paralegals that have never seen these computer programs before. The option of teaching yourself is cost prohibitive. Any ideas?
Paste your resume all over the net – everywhere you can. There are a number of sites that will make your resume available for firms and attorneys looking to fill a position. I think you can even include a cover letter. The cover letter will give you an opportunity to explain your willingness to do whatever and work your way up to paralegal.
Its hard to look for work, it can be really hard on the ego, it’s like dating – he seems to like you, the date went well – but never calls! Eventually though, the right one does call and you have your opportunity.
A lot of the legal software companies do offer free trainings on the software. See the following links to obtain those trainings:
Free Trainings (not certifications):
Concordance- http://law.lexisnexis.com/concordance/free-training
CaseMap- http://law.lexisnexis.com/casemap/training
LiveNote- http://www.livenote.com/support_faq.asp
Sanction- http://www.sanction.com/training/
Trial Director- http://www.indatacorp.com/Products/Trial/trialDirector.aspx
Summation- http://www.ctsummation.com/Support/tutorials.aspx
iConect nxt- http://training.iconect.com/content/courses/weekly_webinar.asp
Also, a lot of the temp agencies will have training programs in software that they will give certificates in because if you are better trained, you look better to their clients. Additionally, don’t overlook asking legal specific software companies for free demos of their software since any exposure to their software will leaf frog you over other entry level candidates. Its a win for the software company as well since paralegals generally play a vital role in choosing and interacting with legal vendors.
These are not free, just checked Concordance and there is a rather large fee associated with it.
Polly, a fellow TPS member (Jess C.) posted this information on our LinkedIn group regarding legal software, you may want to check it out! Summation is all the rage as well in the larger firms, but maybe this will at least help you with Concordance.
Dataflight Software, http://www.dataflight.com, publishes the free Concordance litigation management software.
Please also feel free to join The Paralegal Society on LinkedIn!
Thank you for such valuable tips!
Kat, these links are the BOMB!!! Thanks so much!
I am encouraged by every post or every comment in this group. Thank you for the information. Like Danita, I have done many of the things listed in the article, but I did not know about the brochure. I will take the information provided by Kathryn and start a rough draft of my brochure!
I heard about “branding” from one of my Career Advisors. I cannot say that I really undertand the method of branding as much as the usefullness of it. Is the brochure intended to have the same affect?
Any comments on branding would help.
Thank you.
Jennifer-the marketing brochure and branding go hand in hand. Think of a brand company such as Starbucks or Nike, they use the same languge, fonts, colors and logos so that if you read anything by them, you would know it was Nike or Starbucks by just their font or language style. That is probably what your career advisor was getting at. We all have to brand ourselves in a certain way. Marketing is where I think a lot of paralegals fail. I know a great deal of highly experienced paralegals who do not know how to sell themselves. Your resume should tell a story, whether it be you love litigation and that is your story or you started in house and decided that you wanted to be a compliance or e-discovery guru. Your resume, your cover letter or marketing brochure is the way you can control your story. As I have said, the legal industry is very conservative, but it still should be marketed to as every other industry. As such, be professional but make sure you are telling your story and why they would be an idiot not to hire you because every paralegal is highly employable if they are marketed correctly.
I have to say thank you to all of you for your encouragement and great advice. I have put ABA approved on my resume for college. I have changed up the wording on some of it, and I have listed my internship as my current job. Overall I think my resume now sells me better than ever.
Since my first letter I have also join LegalCareerSite.com where I created a portfolio to help market myself, I also attached my portfolio to my LinkedIn page, which I also updated. I changed my photo to a more professional head shot. I have started to use the links that Kat posted to familiarize myself with the different software, I am going to Microsoft help center to check out their free lessons to make sure all my Microsoft Office skills are at their peek and to learn more about Outlook as I do not work with it right now.
I have had two interviews and I am remaining optimistic about my future! All I need is one great firm to take a chance on the undiscovered gold mine that my resume presents to them. I may not have the years of experience working in an office or a law firm, but what I do have is years of dedication, determination, and absolute grit when it comes to seeing a job completed.
As I said earlier, thank you all for the encouragement & advice. Hoping to be the next hired.
Jennifer, we’re really glad you like our posts and took the time to read the comments, as well! We are here to help you, so please feel free to connect with us (the mentors and Theresa) on LinkedIn. We would love to get to know you better. Please also let us know if there is ever a particular topic or issue you would like to see us to write about! We welcome your suggestions and feedback and hope you’ll continue to follow TPS! We’re nothing without our members.
I do believe the brochure is intended to have the same effect as branding. It will help to give you a competitive edge over another candidate that may otherwise be equal to you. Image goes a long way and so do references.
We hope to see you “around.” Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
Kat, fantastic article. Really excellent information and guidance for new paralegals and experienced paralegals. Many times the experienced paralegal hasn’t interviewed or looked for a job for a long time; due to the economy, now they are out there pounding the pavement as well. Excellent!
Danita, It sounds like you’re doing all the right things! It will be very exciting to begin your legal career. Just remember…we’re always here if you need us. If you have a quesion, need advice, want to bounce an idea or ask for suggestions — that’s what we’re here for! Best of luck. Please do let us know when you find something!
Coming back to the brochure issue – this one is new for me. I will need to check if it a common thing in NY. However, reading thru all advises, I found that the brochure cannot and should not be a substitute for a resume, but a follow up after an interview. If interviewer saw, let’s say, 20 people in 2 days (and this scenario could be a true one), there could be a problem to connect a face to a resume. A professionally prepared brochure with a professionally done picture can be a big help and put a candidate on top of the list.
Keep up the great work.Thanks for posting this informative article.
This is excellent advice, I’m not only a career changer but I’m re-entering the the NY job force after 17 years. I never new temp agencies offer training. This blog offers valuable information.
What temp agencies and associations do you suggest in New York ?
@MAK’s Va Services, I would highly recommend that you connect with Mariana Fradman (if you aren’t already) and ask her this question! She is a Mentor for The Paralegal Society and the President of the NY Paralegal Association, in addition to being one truly amazing and friendly lady!
Best of luck on your career journey! Thanks for stopping by TPS.
I did, I connected with Mariana Fradman , I have spoken with her a few times she’s very helpful and very friendly. I’m also volunteering at the Obama Association, I’m really excited! Thank You for your advice.
Just stumbled onto this blog as a paralegal student set to graduate in about a month and a half. I was on my Facebook page, saw one of those annoying ads for “Paralegal Certification On-line Classes,” clicked on the comments, and read about a hundred comments on how horrible being a paralegal was, how there are no jobs out there, and to not waste money becoming a paralegal. It scared me enough to Google “the truth about paralegal jobs 2013.” Your blog came up and I think I’ve spent almost two hours now just reading away without having realized it. I just want to say thank you for this really awesome, informative blog.
After reading a number of your posts under the “New Paralegals” section, I feel a lot better about being in the program I am in. I genuinely enjoy the classes I am taking, and I have enjoyed learning what I have been taught so far. I am doing really well in the program and I was sincerely hoping that I did not just invest so much time, money, and effort into a (yet another) degree I would not find a job with. So thank you for the tips, the insight, and most of all the humor in your posts. It is such a nice change of pace from the sites and forums with terrible stories and warnings.
As an add to #8, if you live in a metropolitan area many companies have internal legal departments and are a great resource for job opportunities. They also are a bit flexible with background requirements and can offer experience in a wide range of practise areas, corporate, litigation, employment, etc.
Excellent advice and much of it I utilized to land my first several interviews. Unfortunately, it didn’t help me AFTER I landed the job.I graduated in November and stayed on with my intern attorney, unpaid, just to gain more experience. It worked! I landed my first real job in March, only to be fired 6 weeks later for not being experienced enough. Talk about a blow to the ego! I didn’t go back to my intern attorney because it just seemed like a step backward and I was traveling 65 miles round trip to work for free. But now I can’t even get an interview. Should I go back to interning? I’ve signed up with several temp agencies but none of them have found anything for me yet. I was honest about that short-lived job and have hid nothing from them but did not list the company on my resume. Should I be as honest in upcoming interviews about losing that job? I am afraid it will keep me from getting hired but also don’t like lying by omission, either.
Hi Sharon! I know this must be a difficult time, especially so soon after graduation, but you are not alone. I had a similar experience, although, I quit my first paralegal job due to a prolific “screamer” boss and a volatile work environment. Awesome, right? Yep, I gave my notice to a fantastic paralegal internship, with a well-respected professor, and found myself in the paralegal twilight zone. I do not list my twilight zone job on my resume. Instead, I officially have a gap on my resume (3 months of working in the paralegal twilight zone and then an additional 2 more months finding another job). Like you, I strongly believed that if I slipped back into my previous internship, I would be heading in the wrong direction. Instead, I obtained a strong letter of recommendation from my internship employer, along with written recommendations from a few of my professors (while casually inquiring about any potential employment opportunities). Also, I made absolutely sure to always carry a polished portfolio and resume with me — everywhere. If a potential employer asked about the “gap” on my resume I simply told them that I decided to take a small break after graduating college so I could concentrate on looking for a reputable job. I did not elaborate. I just left it alone. Yes, I know some resume gurus will gasp in shock at this admission, but I believe that if I document my twilight zone job on my resume, it could potentially develop a false sense of my future potential, and also open the door to uncomfortable interview conversation. Quite frankly, I wanted to have a fresh start and forget about my experience in the paralegal twilight zone. So, although my experience may not shed specific advice, I am hoping that you know you are not alone. Please feel free to email me at jen.m0817@hotmail.com if you need someone to talk to or bounce ideas off of.
Jennifer MacDonnell
Thank you so much for this article. I am trying to get my foot in the door, I have narrowed my focus and I am working specific certifications. I will be looking into specific groups or associations to join.
If anyone reads this from the Maryland, DC area I can use all the help I can get.
You can reach me at er.brooks@hotmail.com
This is bullshyt. My wife went to one of the best schoools in the country for paralegal and not only did all of the above 12 steps but more. Nobody wants to hire a paralegal without any experience. Thats the bottom line. The few who are willing to hire are cheap bastards and only pay minimum wage like mcDonalds. Whoever wrote this article hasnt gone out into the work place. A paralegal was in demand many years ago, but no more.No kid yourself. This article is bullshyt.
Steve is correct. That is the bottom line, experience and without it you will not get a job. I know, I have been at it for several years now and it is very tiresome.
I volunteered for CASA. That was my stepping stool into the legal world. Having it on my resume, plus office work experience, and an ABA approved program certificate, helped propel me into the legal field. I’m glad I jumped on that CASA opportunity during junior year in college. It was the experience of a lifetime.
Reblogged this on paracentral ˚ paralegal.
Great article and a lot of great advice here. Thank-you all so much & please keep it coming! I can use all the help I can get 🙂
Sincerely,
Future Paralegal
Thank you for sharing. Valuable advice worth sharing.
I would add just to get a job. Get a job you might feel is beneath you as a file clerk, staff person, receptionist, temporary dictation, whatever you can obtain in a law setting. It’s a big risk for an employer to take on and supervise someone without experience. I tell my mentees just to get a job. Once you’ve proven yourself in the little tasks, it will be much easier for them to trust you with more substantive work.