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Stymied Paralegal Graduate Receives Brusque Job Search Advice

By Lynne DeVenny

It's very difficult for new graduates in any field to find that first job these days, and there's no question that they need all the expert guidance they can get. They're vulnerable and justifiably scared, and they don't always get the best real world job search advice in their degree programs.

So when they email me, I at least try to be kind. But I thought Dr. Mildred Culp, The Modesto Bee's career columnist, issued a rather curt response when she received the following request for advice:

Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I am 55 years old and recently graduated with distinction from an accredited paralegal program. My background is trademark licensing and I?m particularly interested in intellectual property. I've sent out well over 150 resumes, but clearly something isn't working.I feel as if they look at my resume and think ?too old/overqualified,? even though I?ve left off almost 15 years of work experience and have no dates attached to my college and graduate school degrees. They might be thinking ?not qualified enough,? because I have no SPECIFIC experience. Any thoughts? I've targeted law firms AND corporations. Stymied

Dr. Culp responded:

A: Dear Stymied, While you were becoming a paralegal, your industry faced an enormous downturn, so great that there are attorneys covering paralegal work just to remain in the field. You can?t discount the impact of an imploding market on your job search.

Your questions indicate that:
? you haven?t obtained employer feedback;
? you?re job hunting only by resume; and
? you haven?t done pro bono work to boost current experience.

The last will help you dive into the water and make contacts. Market through people more.

Use your computer on a much-reduced scale and remember to proofread your writing. Your query needed surgery before appearing in print. mlc

I guess there's nothing like a little public humiliation to make you use your spellcheck and grammar tools.

I do see too many poorly written, grammatically incorrect emails, even to the national paralegal listservs where many new graduates seek advice. These emails do not give readers a good impression of the writers' competency level, and a cover letter written in a similar fashion is not going to land an interview. (But it is more polite to tell people that privately, rather than blasting a grammar critique to the entire listserv.)

I agree that gaining some real world experience and contacts through an internship with a private law firm or court offices, and/or volunteer work with a non-profit legal organization, will help Stymied build her local network.

But if I were Dr. Culp, I would encourage Stymied not to give up, although she may have to carefully rethink her game plan. There are jobs out there, but they may not be specifically titled "paralegal" or "legal assistant." That first job may not be the dream job, but we all have to start somewhere.

Stymied should have someone with legal experience review her cover letter and resume, and help her craft a powerful one-page resume that showcases the transferable skills and experience she has that do appeal to employers.

She should also join her local paralegal association to meet area legal professionals, find out what jobs are in demand in her area, and explore other specialty areas.

Instead of using her computer on a "much-reduced scale," use it more efficiently to find out what area employers are looking for and to network with area legal professionals online via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and listservs. Use it to locate specialty area blogs and groups, as well as free online training classes and area CLE/CPE courses that she can take to enhance her skills and make her more appealing to prospective employers.

And Stymied, try to establish a relationship with a local mentor or two who can offer you more constructive feedback - in a longer term, more supportive manner than Dr. Culp.

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on January 31, 2010 (boomark / email).