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May 18, 2010 Recently, I had the good fortune of attending my first Paralegal Education Conference, presented by the Illinois Paralegal Association (IPA). It was entitled Spring Your Career Forward in 2010, and offered six selections of 23 distinct workshops covering general categories such as commercial law, office management, interpersonal relations, electronic discovery and evidence management, career management, and personal branding. The conference provided a chance for me to discuss with paralegals about careers they have built as professional paralegals. After listening to individuals introduce themselves, I questioned everyone I spoke with about how they began their respective careers. Generally, responses revealed that most participants found work through an internship or lateral moves while working for real estate, trust services, or tax preparation companies. Many studied for certificates part time while working full time, and were later given promotions without having to leave their companies. All the paralegals I spoke with were optimistic about their future potential for growth despite the current state of economic recovery, and rightfully so. The Department of Labor informs that the profession is projected to expand at an above average rate of 28% through 2018. However, the job industry remains competitive, which is why networking and additional education is essential to stay marketable. For students at Robert Morris who loathe CMT (Career Management Training) classes, the lunchtime speaker, who presented to everyone in attendance, may have offered a different perspective. Her speech, entitled Networking in a Recession: Out with the Old and in with New, cited several studies that indicate some interesting details: (1) only a fraction of the internal ideas we hold about others is tied to conversation, (2) first impressions are made within seven to seventeen seconds of meeting, and (3) a false or inaccurate impression can take an average of 21 interactions, of any length, to reform. This can unfortunately be disastrous in interview settings, where candidates have seconds to shine and hopefully begin to establish good rapport with a potential boss. This sounds overwhelming to individuals like me who move about with a solid poker face, but gives most of us a chance to positively leverage that dynamic by presenting our best superficial selves to the world, because that is, after all, what really counts in the beginning. Another notion she shared was the idea of brand: you . This involves individuals taking responsibility to become their own Chief Marketing Officers in an effort to advance their careers, a skill taught in RMU CMT (Career Management Training) classes. The brand: you concept is consistent with my own personal observations. After 23 years of service as a Teacher Assistant, my mother was laid off last fall. In reorganizing their staff, the Chicago Board of Education decided to cut first those who were not bilingual and who lacked technological skills to cross train into other roles. Sounds unfair? Maybe. But, in those 23 years, a career marketing plan may have given her the long term vision to pursue activities that were in line with the values of the elementary school she worked for, thereby increasing her chances of retaining her job in a difficult job market. Now aware of the need for personal branding, she has observed a significant increase in the number of call backs from employers after sending her resume to job postings and including a link to her digital portfolio, which was the first blog I created. It was an easy task due to the fact she had lots of content after thoroughly documenting her experience over throughout her career with pictures, certificates, recommendation letters, and employee evaluations from her boss in a hard copy portfolio, once I got an understanding of basic html codes. It can be viewed at http://www.teacherassistantportfolio.blogspot.com/. 1
May 18, 2010 The IPA conference is held bi-annually at the Union League Club in the spring and the fall. I would encourage Paralegal and Law Office Administration majors to join the Association at the student rate of $40 and take advantage of the many opportunities for additional education and networking events it has to offer, including an upcoming boat cruise in July. See their website at www.ipaonline.org for more details and membership information. Also, if you are interested in obtaining an internship, working in the legal profession, or in attending law school, please contact me at
[email protected], as I plan to launch a Legal Professionals Club here at Robert Morris this summer.
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