Career Advice

Changing your chosen career is often a daunting thing to consider, especially if you have already dedicated a number of years to your current career path. If you have thought about joining the legal profession but worried that it was too late in the day to make the change then here is some positive news for you. With people generally working well into their 60’s a person’s working life is now a long one, and career switches are often happening at later stages.

You probably chose to pursue the job you’re in now years ago. The passion could well have faded, and you don’t enjoy it as much as you once did. If you are having doubts, maybe it’s time for a career change.

Not sure where to begin? Here are some tips on how to get your career transition journey started:

Consider every factor

Asking for help at work can sometimes seem daunting. You may question whether you should already have the answer, or worry that you may appear incapable. This article aims to help you embrace the concept of asking for help, explain how to go about it properly, and also show that it is a benefit rather than a hindrance to the success of your career.

Why should I ask for help?

There are many avenues you can go down to secure a job as a Legal Secretary. You can register on a jobs website such as ILSPA’s Legal Secretary Jobs Board and apply for positions, you can register with a recruitment agency to find a suitable role, or you can contact law firms and send a speculative application. The latter option can be a much more direct and quicker route to getting a job.

Chelsey Newsom, manager and specialist legal recruiter at Sellick Partnership, provides the inside scoop on how to make recruitment consultants love your CV.

Imagine receiving 100 applications for a job vacancy, and having to read the CV and cover letter attached to each. Sound exhausting? Welcome to the world of the legal recruiter!

A recruiter’s job is to match the right candidate with the right employer, and they are often looking for a particular set of skills and experiences, based on a specific job specification. To even get a look in, your CV needs to hit the sweet spot with your consultant, as they can make or break your job search.

There are a few things that all recruiters dislike, so take note of these points to ensure your CV goes to the top of the pile.

Social media, with its ever-growing popularity, is fast becoming an important part of the job-hunting process for both job seekers and recruiters. Job seekers can use social media platforms to search for opportunities and to research companies they are interested in working for. Recruiters can use social media to track down suitable candidates and reach out to them. Recruiters can also use your social profile to find out a bit more about you and decide whether or not you’d be a good fit with the company culture. Social media profiles can give recruiters an impression of who the candidate is and what they are like as a person in a way that a CV is unable to.

Deciding to embark on a career as a Legal Secretary can be a very exciting process, filled with myriad emotions. Alongside undeniable enthusiasm, it is perfectly normal to feel slight trepidation when writing out your first CV and coming to the conclusion that you have no experience in the position you are hoping to land. What a lot of people don’t realise is that their career history is likely to hold a wealth of transferable skills which can be applied directly to their new role, even if the two professions seem completely unrelated. It is vital when writing your CV that you are able to accurately identify and link previous experience to the position in hand by pinpointing the skills you possess that are relevant and transferable.

Working as a temporary Legal Secretary can be a fantastic way of gaining new skills, experiences and exposure to different environments, helping shape your future career. We recently caught up with Georgia Montague, who is currently working as a temporary Legal Secretary via Ambition, to gain an insight into why she chose to take on temporary roles and how this has helped her career so far.

Tell me about your career to date, Georgia.

After completing my CILEX course at college, I worked in a small local law firm supporting a Licensed Conveyancer and a Partner. This was a fantastic experience and a really busy role; however, I always wanted to try a career in the city. When I was made redundant it felt like the perfect opportunity to make that move.

Looking for a new job can be daunting, especially in an area with a high amount of competition such as the law. It can sometimes feel impossible to know where to start. In situations like this it is beneficial to think of the job search as a process to follow. Simply Law Jobs has used their expertise to break the job search down into 10 steps that all job seekers can follow to make the process more manageable. Follow these top tips, and you’ll be well on your way to that perfect job.

1. Check through your CV

Have you ever wondered how experienced Legal Secretaries and PAs began working in the profession? Have you ever wondered what Legal Secretaries enjoy about their role on a day-to-day basis? Or which skills are really worth their weight in gold?

As the professional body for Legal Secretaries and PAs, ILSPA has the privilege of working with people at all different stages of their legal secretarial career. From those still training, or looking for their first position, right through to expert Legal Secretaries and PAs with years of experience behind them. ILSPA chatted with some of these experienced professionals and asked them what wisdom they would like to share with newer Legal Secretaries.

How did you come to work in the legal profession?

You may have noticed recently that for a limited time, recruiters can advertise on our Legal Secretary Jobs Board for free. This means that there are a larger number of Legal Secretary and PA positions being advertised for which you can apply, so it is well worth registering as a candidate or, if you’ve already done so, ensuring that your candidate profile is up to date.