Career Advice

Everyone knows that attending a job interview is a nerve-racking experience – and it doesn’t get easier with age!

The reason for the anxiety is that you are being put under a microscope. You are being scrutinised, and sometimes by several people, not just one.

To gain some insight and advice on this topic, our partner Simply Law spoke to our Patron, Amanda Hamilton. In this article, she shares her top tips and techniques for excelling in a Paralegal interview.

Going before a panel increases the anxiety ten-fold. You’ll probably be worrying and asking yourself: do I look okay; will I be able to answer their questions; what if I’m so nervous that I can’t even remember my own name?

Setting goals is an important part of building a long and successful legal career. For many, the ultimate goal as a Legal Professional is to secure a position with one of the biggest legal firms in the City, working on high-profile clients and gaining seniority in a competitive field.

However, increasingly, many people in the legal sector are seeking a good work-life balance as one of their key goals, and may be looking for more control. Joining a boutique firm can offer these benefits, as well as many of the same advantages as working for a City firm, and can be considered as a viable alternative.

The rise of boutique law firms

One of the many exciting aspects of working as a Legal Secretary is the fact that there is so much possibility for career progression. Experienced Legal Secretaries can become executives in their own right, but many also choose to move on to roles such as that of a Paralegal. Making the decision to move forward into a new role such as this is both exciting and rewarding, but you would be forgiven for feeling slightly daunted about beginning. You have made a successful career as a Legal Secretary, so how can you take that next step up to become a Paralegal? And how can you make sure that you stand out in a sea of other legal professionals and law graduates?

The law is not something we have to actively go looking for – it governs our daily lives. Thus, those interested in the subject can use a variety of tactics to become more familiar with it.

In partnership with Lawyer Monthly, ILSPA partner Simply Law hears from John Watkins, Director of Employability at The University of Law, on the five best ways to get started in law.

Attend court

Courts are publicly accessible, and there is a gallery from which to observe proceedings. This will open your eyes to the culture of a courtroom and perhaps develop an awareness that television dramas don’t quite convey the full picture. 

Take a look around your workspace. Is it organised or a disaster area? Can you quickly and easily find things? Are there any items that are just taking up space?

In honour of National Clean Off Your Desk Day, it’s a great time to take a critical look at your workspace. Follow these three steps to make it a more productive area!

1. Create workspace zones. There are three zones you need to think about as you clear the clutter and put systems in place for staying organised. The three zones are:

• Zone 1: Prime Workspace. Zone 1 is the main workspace at your desk – the centre of activity that is within arm’s reach of your computer and phone.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it so many changes, many of which occurred almost overnight. One of the largest that has impacted almost all of us has been remote working. For some, this was temporary, but for many of us, this is the new normal, and with offices unlikely to return to 100% capacity in the future, embracing a remote working style is crucial for us all.

For many years now, the team at Heat Recruitment in Bristol have been collating retrospective analytical data from their in-house software systems. This allows them to create a comparative salary data set across all the sectors that they work in, including legal. This year, they have decided to formalise this data and make it more widely available in the form of their 2022 Salary Survey.

To give enhanced context and insight to their Salary Survey, they asked their Associate Directors to give their key take-aways and perspectives from the year in business, and to reflect on the hiring trends that they foresee continuing to impact the market in the year ahead. Dan Hazzard, Associate Director of Legal, had the following key take-outs for the legal sector.

In many industries, the line between managers and workers tends to be fairly clear. Managers manage; workers work. An employee in a retail setting, for instance, generally isn’t responsible for handling their manager’s schedule, making calls and sending emails on the manager’s behalf, or preparing the manager for important meetings.

At the corporate level, however, things are a bit different. An admin supporting a high-level executive is expected to do all those things and more. Your entire job revolves around making your executive’s job easier. And one of the best ways to do that is to learn how to “manage up”.

Imagine that you’re going on a vacation. You’ve spent months researching your destination. You have a detailed itinerary of everything you plan to do when you arrive. The excitement is building, and it’s almost time to set off.

But you don’t just show up to the airport and board a plane. A lot of planning has gone into this trip – from the airline you chose to fly, to the hotel you selected, and to the restaurants you’ll eat at. You worked with a budget. You made detailed packing lists. You probably arranged for someone to water the plants and bring in the mail while you’re gone. All of this had to happen to make the vacation successful.

Apprenticeships are an arrangement in which someone learns and trains whilst working. Since 2016, a number of organisations including law firms have launched legal apprenticeships programmes. Doing a legal apprenticeship would help one avoid the increasingly expensive costs which may be associated with university degrees. Going through this route, the candidate will be paid a salary throughout the scheme. Those who choose legal apprenticeships can expect to see the same standards as those who choose traditional routes.

This article will focus its discussions on general legal apprenticeships with a focus on apprenticeships which could be used to qualify as a Legal Secretary.

Who can apply?

The requirements of a legal apprenticeship are generally: