Where are those career alternatives? They're in almost every field. Look at your skills: languages, research ability, supervisory experience, knowledge of various industries. Where are they used? You might easily transfer to a company doing business within the legal field, for example.
To really explore the opportunities use networking tools. Find an industry you'd like to work in and figure out how your skills can win you a job!
Would you like to earn a substantial salary? Do you relish the challenge of a new field? Are you the sort of self-motivated person who values independence at work? You might be a good candidate for a career as a paralegal placement counselor. You'll need aggressiveness, sales ability, and a quick, retentive mind for matching employers and employees. The work is challenging and the financial rewards and personal satisfaction can be great.
Essentially, employment agencies are matchmakers. They find employers who need personnel, and they find employees to fill those slots. Almost always, the agency receives its fee from the employer; the employee pays nothing for interviewing, testing and job placement.
Placement counselors work for both parties: the employer and the employee. They find out about the needs of the law firm or corporate legal department, they get requests from these firms for permanent staff, and they find paralegals whose interests and qualifications match those of the employer.
Paralegal placement is a career for independent, aggressive people who have some business savvy and who like working with people. They know that the success is up to them; they're the ones who find the jobs.
Paralegal placement counselors are paid in a few different ways: commission, salary or a combination of the two. Counselors who work for a commission have the greatest earning potential. Their financial success, or lack of it, is solely up to them. They receive a commission, equivalent to a set percentage of the employee's annual salary, for each employee placed. A talented placement counselor can earn $50,000 a year, working on commissions.
Other paralegal placement counselors are salaried employees of the agency. Still others work for innovative agencies that have incentive programs. These counselors are paid a salary, but share in the commissions. The agency management, for example, might set a base level of placements for a quarter or for a month. If the placements for that period exceed the base level, the placement counselors share in the extra commissions. It's a profit-sharing system that provides the security of a salary, encourages teamwork, and rewards talent and hard work.
Before you start applying for placement counselor jobs, ask yourself if you're qualified. It takes a special kind of person to be successful in this career. You need to be a "people- oriented" kind of person. You have to be good at communicating with people, enjoy spending hours on the phone, and feel comfortable meeting and interviewing applicants. Your paralegal background can be important. It will help you to understand the needs of the legal community, and to find people who meet those needs.
But all the aptitude in the world won't help you if you lack two important traits: ambition and aggressiveness. A placement counselor has got to hustle. It's a job for the action- oriented person who's not shy about meeting others and selling.
To find a job as a paralegal placement counselor, do your research. Check the yellow pages, the legal newspapers, and the daily press to find out which placement firms specialize in attorney, paralegal and legal secretary placement. Check the reputation of the agency by talking with paralegals and with attorneys. Have they found jobs for anyone you know? Are they respected by the law firms in your community? If you have the ambition, energy, and people skills we've talked about, your paralegal background just might land you a job with the placement firm of your choice.
One more note. Many paralegals have thought about going into business on their own. Although you can be quite successful working independently, starting your own paralegal placement service is a much more difficult and risky affair. Unless you already have experience working at a placement firm, get a few years of solid experience as a paralegal placement counselor. Then, if you want, think about going into business on your own.
Selling to the Legal Profession
If you're an assertive, independent person with a knack for persuasion, you may find a challenging and lucrative career in sales to the legal profession. Attorneys and law firms use a myriad of goods and services: from florists to air couriers; typewriters to computers. And each business that serves the legal community relies upon its salespeople to make contacts, maintain accounts and convince attorneys to try a product or service. If you have the kind of sales personality that a successful vendor needs, your paralegal background could prove invaluable. Your knowledge of the legal world and the workings of a law office give you an edge over other aspiring salespeople. In this section, we'll look at some of the goods and services that people sell to the legal profession. Of course, there are a host of other options as well. If you're working in a law office, keep track of the vendors your firm deals with.
Talk to them for ideas about the possibilities in legal sales. For a talented salesperson, the salary potential is limited only by one's ability and tenacity. The best salespeople are not necessarily lone wolves; the types who want to succeed or fail on their own merits. Sales is the perfect career for team players. Most salespeople work on a commission basis: they receive a percentage of the total value of each sale. Especially if you're selling a major product, like computers or word processing equipment, your commissions can add up to a substantial amount.
Of course, no salesperson sells a system of this size every day. But it's obvious that if you have the drive and ability, you can parlay your skills into a sizable salary.
A job in sales has another important advantage. Along with finance and marketing, it's a traditional route to corporate management. Read the biographies of some top corporate executives; you'll be surprised to discover how many began as salespeople. In some industries, starting your career in sales is almost essential. Many editors and publishing executives began in sales, often as "college travelers," selling textbooks to university faculty. And there's some sound logic behind beginning a career in sales. If you know what sells, you know what to create and where to direct the energy of your company.
If you want a career in sales, investigate the companies that could draw upon your paralegal background. Talk to the salespeople who come to your office, and let them know of your interest. Read the legal publications to see what kinds of companies advertise to attorneys
What sorts of vendors service the legal community? Below, is a list of a few types of companies who sell their products and services to lawyers. It's by no means complete, but it should give you some ideas about where to start in your search for a sales job:
- computers and data processing
- independent telephone companies
- word processing
- telephone answering services and answering machines
- dictating equipment
- law publications: books, magazines, directories
- legal research services
- litigation support services
- photocopying machines
- financial printing
- messenger and delivery services
- courier services
- office supplies
- mailing machines
- florists and plant
- limousine services
- caterers
- warehouses and records
- management
- office designers
- art consultants and galleries
- court reporters and
- deposition-taking services
- translators
- video tape and film services
- personnel services (including head-hunting for attorneys)
The skills one needs to be a journalist or non-fiction writer- researching, organizing information, and writing-are skills that many paralegals use every day. So assuming you have the desire and the writing talent, you might go on to a career as a writer or journalist. Note that we mentioned desire as one of the necessary qualifications. As you probably know, journalism is a very competitive field. The competition for even the lowliest newspaper or magazine jobs is great, the work is hard and the pay is notoriously low. Nonetheless, it's a profession that attracts thousands of aspirants each year. That's why talent is never enough: motivation is essential for a writer, especially on those dark days when you've received yet another rejection letter in the morning mail!
How can you get started as a writer or as a journalist? Ask any published author, and he or she will give you the same answer: by writing. There are no shortcuts to a writing career; you learn your craft by practice. Of course, there are some excellent classes in writing and journalism that you can take, and some renowned graduate programs in the field. These can be invaluable, especially if you've never had the advantage of a sharp-eyed editor to evaluate your work. But the bottom line remains the same; you'll have to sit down and write.
In some respects, journalism is one of the most democratic fields. No one cares where you went to school or where you're from: they just want to know if you can write. Apply for a job on any newspaper or magazine, and chances are the editor will ask you one question: "Do you have any clippings to show me?" Clippings are copies of your published work. They could have been published anywhere, from Time to National Wild life. What's important is that you have something to show a prospective employer.
So your next question must be, "How do I get published?" As a paralegal, you have an advantage over many writers. You have experience and knowledge about a specific field-legal practice and procedure-that's always a hot topic for writers. Think about ideas for articles, based upon attorneys you've spoken to or based on work you've done. (One caveat here: don't try publishing anything about your work that breaches the confidentiality agreement with your employer.)
Start small. Submit your work to small magazines, especially to those that specialize in legal topics. Your library should have directories of periodicals, listed by specialty; Writer's Market and Literary Market Place are two of the best reference books. Before you submit your work, try to get a copy of the magazine and a sample of the publication's guide lines for writers. This will give you a better idea of what the editors are looking for in terms of subject matter and style. Also, most editors recommend that you query first. Write them a letter, describing the article you're interested in writing, and ask if they'd like to see it. That way, you won't waste your time writing and researching a piece that no one wants to publish. In the beginning, you'll have to write most of your articles on speculation. The publication will tell you whether or not they're interested in the topic, but they won't guarantee payment until they see the completed work. Writing "on spec" is a gamble, but well worth the risk if you want a career in writing or journalism.
Remember, when you first begin as a writer you can't expect to make a living from it. Your most important goal is to get published-anywhere-whether or not you get paid. Investigate community and non-profit publications. They generally pay little or nothing, but they're often open to work by freelance.
Many local associations also publish newsletters or magazines. Try your local bar association publication and your daily legal newspaper as well. And don't get discouraged. The road to the Pulitzer Prize is paved with rejection letters!
If you're interested in book publishing, investigate the many companies that publish books in the paralegal and legal fields. Most good libraries will have a large collection of law and paralegal textbooks, directories, and general interest books. Take a look at a few and note who publishes them. Most aspiring editors or publishers start at the bottom: as "college travelers" (textbook salespeople to universities), secretaries, or editorial assistants. The salaries aren't great, but the work can be exciting and the advancement rapid for people with a flair for editing and publishing.
