5 Tips for Landing Your First Paralegal Job
Paralegal careers offer a range of specific positions like working for a law firm, government office or nonprofit organization. You can concentrate on criminal or corporate law or other legal specialties such as personal injury, tax or family law. The training and education required vary by legal specialty, practice type, region of the country and other variables. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, median pay for paralegals averaged $48,350 annually or $23.24 per hour in 2014.
Earn an Associate Degree in Two Years
You can qualify for a paralegal career in only two years, but getting a job with a desirable firm depends more on your post-school options. These five tips will help you find …show more content…
Network Aggressively
Lawyers network aggressively to find clients in a process commonly called rainmaking, and since you're working in the legal profession, networking is important for showcasing your tenacity and legal savvy. Create profiles on the top social sites including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Be sure to include any relevant office skills, writing experience, internships, education and organizational memberships. An important part of networking is joining local and national organizations -- especially paralegal associations like the National Federation of Paralegal Associations. As a paralegal, you can also join the American Bar Association and other national, state and local paralegal organizations.
2. Develop Technology Skills
Paralegals often function as de facto office managers for the lawyers with whom they work, so developing computer literacy and familiarity with legal software, accounting systems and electronic databases for researching legal issues could be a big advantage. Depending on which legal speciality you prefer, other skills and certifications that you might pursue include these résumé builders:
American Alliance Certified Paralegal or AACP
Professional Paralegal or PP Document Preparer or …show more content…
Most schools, however, don't offer credit for internships in an associate degree program, so it's up to you mail your résumé to local attorneys, departments of justice and city or country prosecutors. Include a cover letter to explain that you're seeking to gain experience by working for free or college credit. You might want to put some research into finding an internship with the right firm or organization because unpaid or paid internships can and often do turn into full-time paid
Paralegal careers offer a range of specific positions like working for a law firm, government office or nonprofit organization. You can concentrate on criminal or corporate law or other legal specialties such as personal injury, tax or family law. The training and education required vary by legal specialty, practice type, region of the country and other variables. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, median pay for paralegals averaged $48,350 annually or $23.24 per hour in 2014.
Earn an Associate Degree in Two Years
You can qualify for a paralegal career in only two years, but getting a job with a desirable firm depends more on your post-school options. These five tips will help you find …show more content…
Network Aggressively
Lawyers network aggressively to find clients in a process commonly called rainmaking, and since you're working in the legal profession, networking is important for showcasing your tenacity and legal savvy. Create profiles on the top social sites including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Be sure to include any relevant office skills, writing experience, internships, education and organizational memberships. An important part of networking is joining local and national organizations -- especially paralegal associations like the National Federation of Paralegal Associations. As a paralegal, you can also join the American Bar Association and other national, state and local paralegal organizations.
2. Develop Technology Skills
Paralegals often function as de facto office managers for the lawyers with whom they work, so developing computer literacy and familiarity with legal software, accounting systems and electronic databases for researching legal issues could be a big advantage. Depending on which legal speciality you prefer, other skills and certifications that you might pursue include these résumé builders:
American Alliance Certified Paralegal or AACP
Professional Paralegal or PP Document Preparer or …show more content…
Most schools, however, don't offer credit for internships in an associate degree program, so it's up to you mail your résumé to local attorneys, departments of justice and city or country prosecutors. Include a cover letter to explain that you're seeking to gain experience by working for free or college credit. You might want to put some research into finding an internship with the right firm or organization because unpaid or paid internships can and often do turn into full-time paid