Career Advice

The job market can be very competitive, and it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you are not being successful in job applications simply because of that factor. It could be that you are jeopardising your own job search without knowing it, and a few simple changes could help you to be much more successful in finding employment.

Make sure that you are prepared

Legal Secretary roles can be varied. Make sure that you understand the particular specialisms and workings of the company you are applying to work for before applying for a job. It is also important to make sure that you are fully aware of all of the tasks that you will be asked to perform on a daily basis and ensure that you have the right skills to conduct them to a high standard.

Take time with your CV

If you are looking for an interesting, varied and fulfilling job, then becoming a Legal Secretary is the career path for you. It’s not just law firms and Barrister’s chambers but also local authorities which need to rely on the skills and services of a good Legal Secretary, and most financial firms and large companies have Secretaries working in their legal department. This gives you great scope to choose the sort of working environment which would best suit you.

There are lots of different reasons to become a Legal Secretary, including the varied working life, the opportunities to advance your career and increase your earning potential, and the chance to learn about our legal system in depth so that you gain a better understanding of how it governs our society.

Variety

Small talk matters in the business arena. It’s part of good business etiquette and helps build rapport with others. Small talk often leads to bigger things such as new clients and new business. Here are five timeless tips to enhance your ability to make small talk anywhere your business takes you:

1. Keep the spotlight on others

Be genuinely interested in others. It’s about them, not you. Get the other person talking by asking open-ended questions: the who, what, when, where, how, why questions. Ask about their job. If they are new in town, ask where they previously lived and worked. People will think you are fascinating if you get them to talk about themselves and their interests. 

2. Be well read

Whereas “the Magic Circle” may not be the official name of the group of UK law firms that the term denotes, there is definitely some magic surrounding the firms. The Magic Circle are a group of five firms that are considered to be the leading law firms in the UK. All five are headquartered within the UK itself with offices around the world. Although some of the firms traditionally rank among the top earners in the world each year, all of them command the respect of clients around the world.

Here are the five members of the Magic Circle, as well as some information on what makes each one so special.

Allen & Overy

You’ve found a job sent from the employment gods. You’re perfect, the company is perfect and the interview will be only a formality.

Before you apply and change your life forever, there is one vital thing to remember.

The CV.

Have you fallen foul of the classic CV mistakes that hundreds of thousands of job seekers make when applying for jobs? Well, with our guidance, you’re guaranteed to avoid the dreaded “no pile” and get that interview.

1.    Spellcheck

Despite the obvious problems it presents, you wouldn’t believe the number of CVs that have grammatical errors and typos in them when sent to prospective employers. If your CV has spelling errors, it WILL be binned, no question.

In the eyes of the employer, if your attention to detail is poor enough to allow typos, what does that say about you as a person and a worker?

Legal Secretaries have an important role in a legal office, providing administrative support to the Lawyers of the firm, and they are a vital part of the cooperative efforts of legal teams. Legal Secretaries need to have not only significant administrative and organisational skills, but also need familiarity with legal procedures and the law in general. Of course, the more specialised training a Legal Secretary has, the more valuable he or she is to the firm.

Finding and securing a job can be a protracted, often frustrating activity, but there are ways to streamline your search for the perfect law role, cutting out time and stress as you go. A massive trend in recent years has been the growth of highly targeted, specialist job boards, covering just about every career sector under the sun – from law to automotive to aviation to sales to travel sector jobs, to name just a few.

For some Legal Secretaries and PAs, acquiring Paralegal skills is a natural progression in their careers. Many ILSPA Members gain experience naturally through work at their firms or have taken  specific courses of study to further their skills. Legal Secretaries have a great opportunity to advance their careers in this respect and can be fee earners in their own right.

Recently I’ve been reading through dozens of letters from people who are interested in working together, and I want to share some insights regarding what makes for an effective cover letter and what doesn’t.

If you consider these tips from the employer’s perspective, I think you’ll agree that most of them can be considered common sense. However, my experience thus far suggests they aren’t commonly applied. Because most people make these avoidable mistakes, I reject about 80% of applicants based on their cover letters alone.

Most of the time, the mistakes people make in their cover letters actively disqualify them. I don’t even need to look at their resume or CV.

While these tips are based on my recent personal experiences, I believe they’re general enough to be of value to others.

1. Avoid spelling and grammar mistakes.

How committed are you to having a career you absolutely love?

Your level of commitment plays a key role in the process of creating a fulfilling career.  When people are undercommitted to their careers, they tend to get lousy results.  When they get clear about what they want and commit themselves to creating it, however long it takes, they usually get there in some fashion.

Action reveals commitment

How do you know how committed you are?  You can tell by your actions… by what you consider important enough to carve out time for.