How to Hunt For Your First Job

Starting the hunt for your first job in a new field can be daunting. Especially if you are completely new to the legal profession, you may need some help identifying the places to begin and the ways to approach people. Every profession has its little quirks and tweaks; this article shows you what you can do to make landing your first job a little easier.

Deciding whom to contact entails identifying potential employers and narrowing the field to those you think you would most like to work for and those most apt to hire you. Advertising yourself includes writing and sending out resumes and cover letters, but also networking and other methods of bringing your skills to the attention of the right people. Finally, selling yourself involves sitting down face-to-face with the person who has the authority to hire you and marketing yourself to convince that person you are right for the job.

Before You Begin Searching

What can you expect the paralegal job market to look like by the time you finish your training and are ready to launch your career? Expectations are that the market for paralegals will continue to grow over the next several years.

Private law firms will continue to be the largest employers of paralegals as a growing population demands additional legal services. The growth of prepaid legal plans should also contribute to the demand for the services of law firms. A growing array of other organizations, such as corporate legal departments, insurance companies, real estate and title insurance firms, and banks will also hire paralegals.

Job opportunities for paralegals will expand even in the public sector. Community legal service programs-which provide assistance to the poor, aged, minorities, and middle-income families-operate on limited budgets. They will seek to employ additional paralegals in order to minimize expenses and serve the most people. Federal, state, and local government agencies, consumer organizations, and the courts should continue to hire paralegals in increasing numbers.

Things look good, then, for paralegals in the future, although, as this report notes, competition for paralegal jobs will increase as the number of jobs increases. In this article, you'll find out what you can do to help make yourself a prime candidate for a top-notch paralegal job.

Internships

Internships give you valuable experience for your resume, and they often turn into permanent jobs. Law firms often use internships to hire their new lawyers; it's natural that they would rely on the same method to hire paralegals. It provides an opportunity for you to get a look at them and for them to get a look at you with very little obligation. However, if everybody likes what they see, it is to everyone's benefit to hire a former intern for a permanent position. Many internships turn into permanent jobs, so choose an internship that is the kind of work you think you want to do for the next several years.

Temporary Agencies

Some paralegals enjoy doing a variety of legal work and may work through temporary agencies for years. For others, it provides a passage to full-time work. Thus, it can be an excellent start to your career.

Temporary work gives you the opportunity to gain valuable experience. It also allows you to look over several different workplaces and get an idea of where you'd like to work permanently. And as with an internship, it gives employers a chance to get to know you. Many people gain permanent employment through temporary assignments. If, when you graduate from your program, you don't yet know for sure what kind of paralegal work you want to do, working for a temporary agency can be very valuable. If the perfect job doesn't seem to be forthcoming, temp work can lead you into it.

Conducting Your Search

Before you look for a job, you need to know what kind of job you are looking for. By that it means not just paralegal but criminal defense paralegal or intellectual property paralegal, or real estate paralegal Or perhaps, for you, it's a paralegal in a small firm or a paralegal with a corporation or the government.

One person you should definitely get to know as a paralegal student is the placement director. This is the person whose job it is to help you find a job when you graduate. A good placement office will have directories of law firms and other businesses in the local area, information about job fairs, and copies of any industry publications that list paralegal job openings. A top placement director also maintains contacts with the legal and business communities so that your school's placement office will be one of the first places to hear about a job opening and can give you valuable general information about the market in your area.

Researching the Field

You probably assumed that all paralegals worked directly for lawyers. You now know this isn't true. However, most paralegals do work for law firms, so let’s start with how to find information on attorneys and law firms in your area or the area you are interested in moving to.

Law Firms

The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory is a multivolume set that includes the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all lawyers and law firms in the U.S. This information is listed by attorney name, firm name, location, and specialty. The directory also lists lawyers employed by corporations and governments. If your placement office doesn't have a copy, check your nearest law library.

Your state, county, or city bar association also compiles a directory of attorneys. In most cases, it will list the lawyers by name and by area of practice. And don't overlook something as obvious as the phone book. Many Yellow Pages have a section for "attorneys" or "lawyers" that includes lists by practice area as well as alphabetical lists. In addition, many of your professors probably are or were practicing attorneys, and they may know which firms in your area fit your picture of the ideal firm.

Corporations

If you are considering work as a corporate paralegal, your placement office and public library should have a variety of directories to help you locate potential employers. If you are interested in a particular corporation, there are also directories like Standard & Poor's Corporate Records in which you can find the name of the company's chief legal officer and a wealth of other information about the company. Finally, for corporations, check general news indexes, such as the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature, for articles about a corporation or industry in which you are particularly interested.

Nonprofit Organizations

There are a variety of regional directories of nonprofit organizations. One good national directory is Daniel Lauber's Non-profits and Education Job Finder. If you have been involved in a particular cause, as a paralegal or just as a citizen, ask around among the other volunteers and paid staff for ideas on locating organizations you might be interested in working for.

Government Agencies

Rules and regulations for finding and applying for federal government jobs are changing all the time. Your placement office should be on top of the changes when you begin job hunting, so check with them to verify the information that follows.
If you remember the days when, in order to get a federal civil service job, you had to get a rating and then get on the register and then wait for a call about an opening, you'll be happy to hear that times have changed. The whole process is much more decentralized, with most agencies doing their own hiring. In a majority of cases, the jobs are still "rated," but the rating is done by the personnel office of the individual agency, following guidelines administered throughout the government by the Office of Personnel Management. The point is, if you want to work for a particular department or agency of the federal government, you should start with that agency to find out if they have openings and to whom you should apply.
Many government agencies maintain a Web site that includes job openings. The Department of Justice, for example, is at http://www.doj.gov. Industry-specific periodicals, such as those listed later in this section, often list federal government job openings, as do national newspapers. If the federal job is in a local area, such as the local office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it may be listed in a local newspaper. In addition, each state has at least one Federal Employment Information Center. These centers post federal job openings in your area. Many of these centers are bare-bones, offering only a recording over the telephone or several job announcements posted on the wall, but they're a place to start. State Job Service offices usually list federal government openings, and generally you can call and talk to a live person.

If you are interested in working for state or local government, the state Job Service office is a good place to start as well. Your placement office also should be able to provide you with information about hiring procedures on the state level In addition, most local (that is, city and county) governments post their openings in one or more central locations and advertise in local newspapers. Governments want to avoid the appearance of patronage-that is, giving someone a job in order to pay off a political favor. As a result, they usually advertise their openings pretty thoroughly.

Using Classified Ads

Conventional job hunting wisdom says you shouldn't depend too much on want ads for finding a job. While you shouldn't depend on them totally, there seem to be quite a few paralegal jobs advertised in the newspaper. For one thing, many law firms - especially smaller ones-see it as a relatively inexpensive way to fill positions. And even if you don't find a job through the classifieds, you can learn quite a lot about the market in your area. If you start paying attention to the ads well before you graduate, you'll be able to start a list of the places that hire paralegals

You can get other information from the classifieds, such as typical salaries and benefits in your area. One of the hardest questions to answer on an application or in an interview is "What is your desired salary?" If you've been watching the ads, you'll have an idea of the going rate. You can also get information about temporary and part-time jobs. In some areas, temporary and part-time jobs may be a common way for paralegals to begin their careers.

Online Resources

These days the World Wide Web is changing and growing so fast that it's dangerous to tell you about specific sites; they could be gone by the time you read this! But the major employment sites listed below look like they'll be around for a while. By the way, it's always worthwhile to start with your favorite search engine (such as Yahoo, Alta Vista, or Beatrice) to look for these and other employment sites.

Two good overview sites are The Law Engine, at http://www.fastsearch.com/law and Hieros Gamos, at http://www.hg.org/hg.html. Both contain links to all kinds of help fill legal information. Not only do they lead you to employment sites, but you also can follow the links to do legal research, find profiles of lawyers and firms, and even learn some new lawyer jokes.
Just as with classified advertisements, sometimes you will find job openings advertised on the Web that may be right for you, but there is also a wealth of information. Many Web sites contain legal and paralegal information; you should spend some time early in your student career visiting some of these areas. You can learn about salaries, job frustrations and pleasures, and various specialties that you may not have thought of, and you can even do some cyber-networking.

Networking

The play (made into a movie) Six Degrees of Separation is based on the premise that everyone in the world is separated by six degrees. That is, between any two people, there are only six other people separating them. (You may know a version of this called "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," in which the trick is to get from any actor to Kevin Bacon in less than six movies. For example, Winona Ryder to Kevin Bacon: Winona Ryder was in Mermaids with Cher, who was in Silkwood with Meryl Streep, who was in The River Wild with Kevin Bacon. That's an easy one.) The trick, of course, is to find the right six people. Although it may take you more than six people, it works the same way in networking. You want to get from you to an employer who is hiring by way of the people you know and the people they know.

While networking is about meeting people, it's also about much more than that. The point of networking is to use the relationships you have and new ones you make to help you find a job. A successful network continues to grow; it doesn't die once you get a job. As your network of acquaintances expands-one person leading you to the next and that person leading you to the next-eventually you will get to the person who is hiring.

Legal Employment Sites

Here is a list of legal employment sites that contain paralegal jobs. With a couple of exceptions, this index includes only legal employment sites. There are also a large number of general job sites on the Web; many of them probably include paralegal jobs. The following, though, are sites at which I've found paralegal jobs listed or that claim to list paralegal openings. Also, especially in the case of the nonprofit job lines, there may be situations where the job won't be listed as paralegal or legal assistant but will nonetheless be right for you.

You should start your network with your family, friends, and classmates. The aim at this point is to get information. It's easier for most of us, especially when we are new networkers, to remember that the only favor we're asking for is information. You shouldn't expect Aunt Alice or the person who sits next to you in English composition class to hire you as a paralegal. But they just may know someone who can start you down the road that will end with a job.

In addition to family, friends, and classmates, be sure you remember your paralegal teachers as well. Many of them are or were practicing attorneys or paralegals, and they worked in law firms, corporations, the government, or nonprofit groups. They still know people there, and they may be able to lead you closer to your goal. Students sometimes feel a little intimidated by their professors and avoid getting to know them. This is a mistake; professors can be a wonderful job-hunting resource for you. It's unofficially part of their job to help students launch their careers, and they usually are enthusiastic about helping. But they are also quite busy, so you'll have to seek out their help. And, as mentioned earlier, make the placement officer part of your network early in your student career.

You can expand your circle of contacts by joining professional organizations while you're still a student. Both the National Association of Legal Assistants and the National Federation of Paralegal Associations have discounted student memberships; most professional organizations do. Be sure that you join both the national organization and the local chapter. Though the national organizations can give you valuable information, it's on the local level that you will be more effective at networking. Go to local meetings and ask questions-people almost always like to talk about their jobs-and volunteer for committees.

Writing Your Resume

Whether you are responding to an advertisement, following up on a networking opportunity, or making a cold contact, your resume usually is the first means by which a potential employer learns about you. Your resume is the advertisement you write to help sell yourself, and it helps to think of it that way. Think about ads you've seen in the newspaper or a magazine that made you want to go to a store and look at the item. Maybe you didn't end up buying it, but the ad made you consider it. That's what you want a resume to do for you.

A successful advertisement catches your attention by combining several elements: composition, clarity, content, and concentration. Falling short in any of these areas can cause a reader to pass over the ad; you want to make sure that a prospective employer will not be tempted to pass over your ad. There are many sources available to learn about writing resumes; my goal here is to address the specific issue of resumes for paralegals.

Even if you've written dozens of resumes in your day, it is probably worth your while to find a good resume-writing book or article to help you draft a resume for your new paralegal career. Your placement office may have a bank of former students' resumes that you can look at as well.

Once you have a rough draft, consider the four important elements of resume writing.

What Should A Resume Look Like?

If your resume doesn't look acceptable on a very basic level, it will probably get no more than a quick glance. You can find all kinds of advice about lengths of resumes, the kinds of paper they should be on, and what fonts you should use, as well as some suggestions for resumes that are real "eye catchers." When looking for a job in the legal field, keep in mind that it is a profession that is, in large part, defined by tradition and therefore fairly conservative.

Make conservative choices when it comes to your resume. Forgo the neon red paper; stick with something tried and true, such as white, cream or gray. Many larger law firms will want to scan your resume into their computer system to make it accessible to all the partners. Employment agencies will want to do this too. To help with the scanning process, send out originals of your resume, not photocopies. Light-colored, 8 ½ x 11 paper, printed on one side only, will scan more easily. Try to avoid using tabs and any graphics or shadings. Don't use vertical or horizontal lines. Finally, don't staple the pages of your resume. If you stick to fairly conservative style, it should scan fine. There's more information on computers and resumes in the next section.

Stick to more common computer fonts, such as Ariel, Courier, and Times New Roman. Ignore advice on how to make your resume stand out from all the rest. Especially avoid composing your resume so that it looks like a pamphlet or a pleading or a court decision. Like many other nontraditional tactics, it will send the message that you don't believe you can get an interview on your merits, so you've resorted to flashy advertising. Legal employers feel the same way about flashy resumes as the rest of us feel about that guy who comes on TV late at night screaming about stereos or used cars and causes us to dive for the remote's mute button.

Some resume advisers will tell you that you should never send out a resume that is more than one page long. I'm not convinced that is necessarily true. If, however, you have prior work experience and you draft a resume that is more than two pages, or you went straight from high school to paralegal training and you draft a resume that is more than one page, it probably means you are including irrelevant information or are being unnecessarily verbose. Read the rest of these suggestions and then try to cut it down. In the end, though, the content of your resume and how effectively you get it across to a prospective employer is what matters; if you need two or three pages to do that, use them.

Say It Clearly and Concisely

No matter how gorgeous your resume is, it won't do any good if a prospective employer finds it difficult to read. There is only one hard and fast rule of resume writing: Never send out a resume that contains mistakes. Proofread it several times and use your spell-check. For most people, writing a resume is an ongoing process, so remember to check it over every time you make a change. There is absolutely no excuse for sending out a resume with misspelled words or grammatical errors. After you proofread it, ask one or two friends to read it over too. If you are uncertain about a grammatical construction, for example, change it.

In addition to checking spelling and grammar, you want to make sure that your resume is well written. Resume writing is quite different from other kinds of writing, and it takes some practice. For one thing, most resumes don't use complete sentences. You'd rarely write, "As manager of the housewares department, I managed 14 employees and was in charge of ordering $2.5 million worth of merchandise annually." Instead you'd write, "Managed $2.5 million housewares department with 14 employees." Still, all the other rules of grammar apply to writing a resume. Tenses and numbers need to match, and double negatives and other awkward constructions are not acceptable. It is also important to be concise when writing a resume. It creates the impression that you are an efficient person.

The ability to communicate well is vital in the law field, and it is a skill that legal employers value highly. If they read something on your resume that causes them to say "Huh?" you won't look good. In addition to effective communication, paralegals need to demonstrate their talents in organization and analysis. These three skills can easily be reflected in your resume.

You demonstrate your communication abilities not only by making sure everything is spelled correctly and is grammatically accurate, but also by how well you write your resume. Word choice contributes to the clarity and persuasiveness of your resume.

More and more job applicants are posting their resumes on the Internet, and many large firms are scanning resumes into their computer system, which allows people to call your resume up on their computers. Once your resume is on the Internet or in a computer system, potential employers will access it by searching for keywords. Keywords are simply words or phrases that indicate areas of expertise within an industry, in this case, the legal profession. They tend to be nouns, not verbs.

There is no way to know all of the possible keywords an employer might look for. If you are posting your resume on the Internet, look for the categories that Web site uses and make sure you use them too. Start with the obvious; make sure the word "paralegal" appears somewhere on your resume. That sounds silly, but it is possible to write an entire resume without it. Then make sure you use the accepted professional jargon. Don't, for example, write that you are interested in doing trial work. Someone scanning your resume will probably look for the word "litigation," so make sure that's the word you use.

For scanned resumes, "manager" is a better bet than "managed." And you can almost be sure that words like "initiated," "inspired," and "directed" won't be keywords. The good news is that as long as the system is working correctly, you only have to use a keyword once. So as long as you get "litigation paralegal" (or whatever) in there once, you can go on and talk about the things you initiated and directed. Also remember that keywords are often connected by "and" rather than "or." If an employer is looking for a person interested in being a litigation paralegal in a criminal law firm, your resume won't come up if it only contains "litigation paralegal" and not "criminal." It can be helpful to look at some of the resumes posted on the Internet; think about the keywords you use to search for them. The successful hits you get will indicate the words you should be using.

What Goes In a Resume?

When you are just starting out, it is tempting to try to put everything you can think of in your resume to try to make it look more substantial. Don't. Stick to what's important and pertinent. Surrounding the important stuff with a lot of white space will make it stand out more, and that's good-it's a basic principle of advertising.

Don't include hobbies or interests. Quite frankly, a potential employer doesn't care whether you enjoy constructing card houses and practicing bird calls. Under no circumstances should you include personal information such as age, gender, religion, health or marital status, or number of children. For one thing, it's illegal for employers to ask about those things, and it's illegal for a reason: it has nothing to do with how well a person can do a job. The only personal information that belongs on your resume is your name, address, phone number, and fax number and email address if you have them. And by the way, your name should be on every page you send somebody, in case the pages get separated.

People often overlook or discount volunteer work when composing their resumes. Don't! For one thing, you gain skills and experience from these jobs just as you do from jobs you are paid for. Volunteering also indicates that you work well with others and that you are committed to your community. (Keep this in mind as you go through your paralegal training; if you are short on experience, you might think about volunteering.) Also make sure your resume includes any memberships and activities in professional organizations; they help demonstrate your commitment to the profession.

Another way to make yourself look more experienced is by including your internship. Some new graduates overlook this, considering it "just part of school." But for most newly graduated paralegals, it is their only legal experience and perhaps their only work experience. The point of an internship is to give you on-the-job training. You learned things on that internship that will help you on a new job; be sure to include them.

Make sure you don't overlook any previous experience. Applicants who are changing careers sometimes think the things they did in their previous work life don't apply to being a paralegal, but that's just not true. Any job you held taught you something that will make you a better legal assistant. At the very least it taught you the responsibility of showing up for work regularly and on time. No doubt you also learned about working with others and organizing your time. Beyond that, many jobs provide you with experience that will be highly valued by legal employers. Careers such as medicine, accounting, real estate, human resources, and insurance, as well as many others, will be considered hiring plusses by potential employers.

In addition to work experience, you may have life experience that should be emphasized for legal employers. Did you help a spouse in a business? Were you a candidate for public office? Any number of experiences can add to your attractiveness as a paralegal candidate. Especially if you don't have a great deal of work experience, be creative with other things you've done in your life. "Be creative" doesn't mean "lie." Just sit down and think about the things you've done; which have taught you lessons that are valuable for a paralegal to know? Find a way to include those experiences on your resume or in your cover letter.

How to Tailor Your Resume

Each time you send out a resume, whether in response to an ad, following up a networking lead, or even a cold contact, you should concentrate on tailoring your approach for the employer you are contacting. Let's say you're interested in being a civil litigation paralegal, but you're particularly interested in insurance litigation, because every summer in high school you worked in your mom's insurance office and you really enjoyed it. You'd probably also be willing to take a position in the human resources office of an insurance company or anywhere in a large firm that does insurance work, just to get your foot in the door. Insurance litigation is your dream job; the others are your close-to-dream jobs. And if enough time passes, you'll be happy to take any litigation position in any kind of office. Right there, you need at least four resumes.

The resume for the insurance litigation job stresses the work you did in your mom's office, the litigation skills you learned at your internship, and how well you did in civil procedure in paralegal school. Although it depends on what format you are using, you may very well stress them in that order. For a litigation position in a large firm that handles insurance, you'd probably stress your internship and education-but make sure your insurance experience stands out too. For the human resources job, you'd emphasize your insurance experience and any employment law classes or experience. Finally, for the basic entry-level job, you d want to construct your resume to show that you are a generalist.

Most books that tell you how to write a resume include advice about the information you should gather before you start. If you keep all of that information at hand, it won't be that difficult to construct a resume that targets a particular job-that concentrates your information so that a prospective employer will see that you are a likely candidate for this opening. In many cases, a few changes to a basic resume are enough to make it appropriate for a particular job opening. One good way to approach tailoring your resume for a particular opening is to sit for a minute and imagine what you think the job would be like. Imagine, based on the description of the job, the major things you will be expected to do day to day. Then look at your experience and education and decide how to present your information so that the employer will know that you are capable of doing those tasks.

Finally, make sure you get your resume to the appropriate person in the appropriate way. If you got the person's name through a networking contact, your contact may deliver it or suggest that you deliver it in person; most likely, though, you should mail it. If you are making a cold contact-that is, if you are contacting a firm that you found through your research but that is not actively looking to fill a position-make sure you find out the name of the hiring partner or head of the paralegal department and send your resume to that person. If you are responding to an ad, make sure you do what the ad says. If it directs you to fax your resume, fax it. If it indicates you should send a writing sample, make sure you include one. (If you are using a sample you wrote on a job or internship, you must black out all names and any other identifying information.) Demonstrate your ability to attend to detail.

Writing a Cover Letter

You should never send out a resume without a cover letter. The cover letter aims your resume directly at the available job; your resume, in turn, describes in detail why you are the person for the job. If your cover letter is a failure, your resume will get only a cursory glance at best. Your cover letter should give the impression that you are a good candidate for the job.
Most people seem to feel that writing cover letters is a real pain. You should view it, however, as another opportunity to demonstrate your writing skills, as well as your ability to organize and analyze. Although you tailor your resume to some degree for different job openings, employers expect that you will send the same resume to several potential employers. The cover letter, on the other hand, should be personalized and directed to the particular job opening.

How to Format Your Cover Letter

Your cover letter needs to grab the attention of the reader, but not because it s so bizarre that it will be posted on the office bulletin board for everyone to laugh at. As with your resume, avoid fancy fonts and stationery; choose something that matches or coordinates with your resume. Your cover letter should always be typed (printed) on good paper, and use letterhead with your name, address, phone and fax numbers, and email address. You don't have to spend a lot of money to have letterhead stationery printed; you can make it on your computer.

A cover letter should be composed in the same way as a business letter. It should include your address (preferably in the letterhead), the date, the name and address of the person the letter is to be sent to, and a salutation. At the end of the body of the letter, you should include a closing (such as "Sincerely"), your signature, and your name typed out below. Other formatting choices are up to you-for example, whether you prefer block paragraphs or indented paragraphs and whether you write "enc." at the bottom, indicating there is material (your resume) enclosed with the letter.

Rarely do you need a cover letter that is more than one page. On occasion, an advertisement for a job will ask for a resume and a detailed statement of interest (or words to that effect). Sometimes ads will even ask you to address specific questions or issues in your letter, such as your goals, what you can contribute to the organization, et cetera. In such cases, you may need to write a letter that is more than one page. Normally, however, your letter should be contained on one page.

Write Clearly and Concisely

You should never send out a cover letter with a grammatical or spelling error. Even when you are pressed for time and rushing to get a letter out, make sure to spell-check it and proofread it carefully. If writing letters doesn't come naturally to you-and writing cover letters doesn't come naturally to most of us-have some one read it over. It should be accurate, clear, and concise. It serves as a letter of introduction, an extension of your advertisement. Your cover letter needs to convince a prospective employer that you are one of the people who should be interviewed for this position.

Your cover letter should begin with some sort of introduction, followed by an explanation of why you are right for this job and a closing paragraph. As with your resume, it is vital that your cover letter be well written; however, it requires a different writing style. Sentence fragments don't work in a cover letter. In addition, a resume offers a somewhat formal presentation of your background, but a cover letter should let a bit of your personality come through. It should be written in an almost conversational tone. The resume tells employers what you know and what you can do; the cover letter should tell them a little bit about who you are.

What to Include in Your Cover Letter

Much more than a resume, a cover letter is targeted to a particular job. The concentration on a particular job opening is the major component of a cover letter. A cover letter should never read like a form letter; the best way to avoid that is by writing a new letter for every job you apply for. A cover letter does more than just repeat the information in your resume. It tells the prospective employer why you are the one for a particular job.

In the first paragraph, you should indicate why you are writing this letter at this time. You may write something like

• "I would like to apply for the litigation paralegal position advertised in the Sunday Post!'
• "I am writing in response to your ad in the Sunday Times"
• "I am interested in obtaining an entry-level paralegal position with your firm."
• "If you are looking for a legal assistant with insurance experience and top-notch paralegal training, you will be interested in talking to me."
• "We met last July at the NALA Convention. I will be graduating from my paralegal program in May."

The first paragraph also usually indicates that your resume is enclosed for consideration, although this may also be in the closing paragraph.

In the body of the cover letter, you want to explain why your training and experience make you the right person for the job. The cover letter provides you with the opportunity to include something that is not on your resume. For example, life experience can be difficult to incorporate into a resume, but it is much easier to talk about in a letter. Also, the body of the letter should highlight and summarize the information in your resume. You have to assume that the employer is going to read your resume, so don't just repeat things. For example, instead of writing, "Before paralegal school, I worked at The Store for two years, and before that at The Shop for three years," try something like, "I have five years of retail experience in which I interacted with the public on a daily basis." The body of the letter is your opportunity to explain why the employer should care about your experience and training.

In the body of the letter, you can also include information about how soon you are available for employment or why (if it's the case) you are applying for a job out of town. You may also include specifics that you are looking for in a job-if they are either nonnegotiable or flattering to the employer. You should definitely make some direct reference to the specific position and organization. Here are some examples:

• "I will graduate on May 16 and will be available for employment immediately. A position with your firm appeals to me because I understand you do a great deal of plaintiff employment work, and this is a field I am very interested in. Employment law was one of the electives I chose as a student. In addition, at this time I am looking for part-time employment and I believe you currently have a part-time opening."
   
• "Although my internship was with the County Attorney's Office, I have come to realize that while that work was intensely interesting, I would prefer a position in the private sector that will afford me the opportunity to call on my real estate experience and my paralegal training. I believe your firm is the place for me and I am certain I would be an asset to you."
   
• "As you look at my resume, you will notice that although I am just now finishing my paralegal training, I offer a background in administration and problem solving. Since your company has recently undergone a major expansion, I believe you would find me a valuable addition to your staff."

Finally, the last paragraph (some people prefer it to be two short paragraphs) should thank the person, make a reference to future contact, and offer to provide further information.

• "Thank you for your consideration. Please contact me at the address or phone number above if you need any further information."
   
• "I look forward to meeting you to discuss this job opening."
   
• "Thank you and I look forward to speaking with you in person."
   
• "I would welcome the opportunity to discuss the match between my skills and your needs in more detail. You can contact me at the address or phone number above, except for the week of the 27th, when I will be out of town. Thank you for your time."

A cover letter provides the opportunity for you to sell yourself for a particular job, and it should be tailored that way. The letter should indicate some knowledge about what makes this job better than all the other jobs and what makes you a better candidate than all the other candidates.

Preparing for Your Interview

When you study the law, you hear judges and lawyers talk about a "level playing field." As you know, this means that two parties are equal in contract negotiations or applying for a job or whatever. Generally, in the law, we think a level playing field is a good thing, although it can be tough to achieve. If you prepare for your interview adequately, you'll go a long way toward leveling the field between you and the big bad interviewer. As with writing resumes and cover letters, there are many fine sources of information about job interviews; go over some things that are specific to paralegal job hunting, especially when you're after your first job in the field.

Most interviewers will ask, "Why do you want to come to work here?" Some times the true answer to that question is, "I don't necessarily want to work here; I'd be just as happy down the street, but you ve got the opening." This is not a good answer. I'm ashamed to admit the number of times I've been surprised by that question in an interview. Every time you get an interview, you should prepare an answer to it.

If you managed to get an interview without researching the firm ahead of time, do so now. (If, as you should have, you researched the firm before you applied, make sure you saved everything so you can use it now.) Keep researching until you find something that makes you excited about working there. Sometimes that can be difficult, but there will be something. Don't forget to keep an eye on the newspapers; if you read about an interesting local case and they mention an attorney, find out where that lawyer works; someday that may provide you with a reason you want to work at this firm.
Even if you're not asked why you want to work at a firm, find an opportunity to let your interviewer know you've done your research. Is it a fairly new firm or has it been around forever? Is it the largest or one of the smallest firms in town? Did it just win (or lose) a big case?

Of course, before your interview you'll check the exact address and find out how to get there and where to park. You'll try on your interview outfit and make sure it's comfortable for both walking and sitting. The night before, make sure you'll be armed with everything you need by reviewing the following list:

• Bring your resume (a few copies) and a list of references. Carry them in a decent, but not expensive, briefcase. Remember, it's called a briefcase because it's for carrying briefs; it's a legal thing.
   
• Make sure you have a decent-looking pen that works and a legal pad, in case you want to take notes.
   
• Also, I would suggest having a writing sample with you, even if no one has mentioned it specifically.
   
• You should also have copies of your transcripts in your briefcase.
   
• Bring an extra pair of pantyhose; men, of course, may prefer to have an extra tie.
   
• I also bring a handkerchief, although, I am proud to say, I've never begun sobbing until the interview was officially over.

The world won't end if you stumble or don't know how to answer a question or forget your phone number, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare. At a minimum, get out your resume and look at it and think about what you would want to know about this person. For example, you may be asked why you want to be a paralegal. You'll probably be asked which areas of the law you like best and least. And once you answer, you may be asked, "Why?" If you are changing careers, you may be asked why you're changing and what you liked and didn't like about your former career. Spend some time thinking about and practicing ways to answer these questions.

As you look at your resume, note any "unusual" aspects that might elicit questions. If you have a gap in your work history, be prepared to explain why. Be prepared to talk about the kinds of legal computer software you are familiar with, as well as the kinds of work you've done in an internship or a previous job.

If you are not fresh out of paralegal school but are leaving one position for another, you will no doubt be asked why. You will probably be asked about your billable hours at your previous paralegal job, and you may be expected to discuss what went well or poorly at that job, how you handled difficult clients or attorneys, and what you hope will be different about your new job.

The toughest of the tough questions that you will have to deal with are the illegal ones-and, yes, attorneys sometimes ask them. A potential employer is not allowed to ask you about your marital status, whether you have kids or plan to, your age, your religion, or your race (these kinds of questions may be asked on anonymous affirmative action forms). Nor can an interviewer employ sneaky techniques to find out. (Such as, "I bet your husband and kids are really proud of you!") If someone does ask you such a question, you can say, "It's illegal for you to ask me that" and then sit silently until the interviewer says something. Or try to get a handle on why they are asking, and address that. So the answer to "Do you have children?" becomes "If you're asking if I can travel and work overtime, that's generally not a problem." Or you can say something like, "I don't understand the question; what is it you want to know?"

Remember that illegal questions aren't always obvious. Most interviewers know enough not to say, "How old are you, anyway?" But they might say, "Will it bother you if your supervisor is younger than you?" If you encounter this kind of situation, think long and hard before you accept a position with this firm. Also, if you were referred to this interview through an employment agency or your school's placement office, notify that source that you believe you were asked illegal questions.

Asking Questions

When we think about the kinds of questions an interviewee should ask in an inter view, we often concentrate on what kinds of questions we think we are expected to ask. But the main goal is to ask the things you really want to know. One exception is that you should probably save questions about salary and benefits for a second interview; a first interview is an opportunity to learn more about the firm.

Beyond that, ask about almost anything. You may want to know about the kinds of assignments you can expect, whether you will be able to follow cases from start to finish, whether you'll have the opportunity to specialize, who manages paralegals and determines their assignments. These are all legitimate questions. You may also have questions about the resources of the firm, such as the computers and library. The number of billable hours you will be expected to produce is certainly something you will want to know.

If the firm is large, you can ask about its structure. For example, is there a paralegal department or are paralegals assigned to attorneys? Do paralegals have secretarial support? Is there a paralegal training program in place? If the firm is small, you may ask how long it has employed paralegals, whether it plans to hire more in the future, and whether paralegals are expected to do significant clerical work. In any size firm, you can ask about chances for promotion.

Follow-Up Procedures

Whatever your letter looks like, it should include a warm thank you for the interviewer's time and should reiterate your enthusiasm for the job. You should also say something specific to your interview to give it a personal touch. Thank-you letters are generally quite short. Here are a few examples.

• "I enjoyed meeting with you yesterday to discuss the paralegal position at Barrister, Counselor, and Solicitor. In addition to providing a good deal of information, you made me very enthusiastic about the position. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to meet Mr. Law; I can see that he will be difficult to replace. I am gratified to be considered for the position."
   
• "Thank you so much for the time you spent with me yesterday. I really appreciated the tour of the office and the information you shared about the paralegal position. By the way, I double-checked when I got home, and the case I was trying to think of was Marbury v. Madison!'
   
• "The legal assistant position we discussed yesterday certainly sounds like a challenging one. After reviewing the information you gave me about your needs for this job, I am convinced that I am the right person for the position. Thank you for the time and consideration you gave me. I look forward to hearing from you again soon."

Basically, a follow-up letter serves to remind employers who you are and make you stand out from the crowd, to clarify (but only if necessary) anything that you were unable to make clear in the interview, and to let employers know that you really want this job.

As you begin your job hunt, keep in mind that you are not just looking for a job; you're looking for a good job, one you will enjoy and feel challenged by. At each stage of the hunt-researching the market, sending out resumes and cover letters, having interviews, and accepting or rejecting offers-keep in mind the principles of job hunting. You need to decide who you are going to contact, you have to advertise yourself, and you have to sell yourself. Remember that each of these involves particular activities and particular ways of thinking about yourself and what you want, as well as marketing yourself to appeal to employers. Once you’ve finished paralegal school and an internship, you have a lot to offer to any legal employer. Keep that in mind throughout the process: You're not begging for a job; you re trying to find an employer who will be a match for your skills and talents.