The Paralegal Portfolio Assignment - The Job Hunting Notebook.doc

Introduction to ParalegalismThe Paralegal Portfolio AssignmentPreparation: Purchase a large three-ring, loose-leaf notebook and at least 15 tabbed dividers for your Paralegal Portfolio. Prepare labeled tabs for each of the following sections (15):1. Prior and Current Nonlegal Employment Analysis Sheets2. Prior and Current Legal Employment Analysis Sheets3. Prior and Current Volunteer Activity Analysis Sheets4. Nonlegal Education and Training Analysis Sheets5. Legal Education and Training Analysis Sheets6. Notes/handouts on Resume Writing7. Draft of General Resume8. Notes/handouts on Cover Letters9. Draft of Cover Letter10. Writing Samples11. Contacts Attorneys You Already Know or with Whom You Have Any Indirect Association12. Contacts Employed Paralegals13. Notes/handouts on Job Interviews 14. Job Interview Checklist/Record Keeping (see attachment and section 14 below)15. Job ads (that you already completed for homework)If you purchase small tabs that cannot fit the entire wording of the title, put the number of the Exhibit on the tab and create a table of contents listing the title of each of the tabs. This Portfolio is meant to be a work in progress to be used throughout your tenure at NECC and beyond. If you spend time preparing and maintaining the Portfolio your eventual job search should go smoothly.Purposes:There are a number of purposes for the Portfolio. To help you identify your strengths based on past legal or nonlegal employment, training, and other life experience. To help you organize this data for your resumes. To provide you with checklists of contacts that you should start making immediately. To help you prepare for job interviews. To provide a place to store copies of resumes, cover letters, writing samples, follow-up letters, notes on job leads and strategies, personal impressions, etc.Instructions:Add material to each of the tabs identified above by using the following instructions: 1. Prior and Current Nonlegal Employment Analysis Sheets (see instructions under instruction 3 below)2. Prior and Current Legal Employment Analysis Sheets (see instructions under instruction 3 below)3. Prior and Current Volunteer Activity Analysis SheetsWe begin by analyzing three areas together: your experience in nonlegal jobs (e.g., cashier, truck driver); then in legal jobs (e.g., legal secretary, investigator); and finally in volunteer activity (e.g., church sale coordinator, political campaign assistant). Make a list of these jobs and volunteer activities. Start a separate sheet of paper for each entry on your list, place it in the appropriate section, and then do the following: State the name, address, and phone number of the place of employment or location of the work. State the exact dates you were there. State the names of your supervisors there. (Circle the name of supervisors who had a favorable impression of you. Place a double circle around the name of each supervisor who would probably write a favorable recommendation of you, if asked.) Make a list of every major task you performed there. Try to use the action verbs discussed in class to describe your duties and accomplishments.4. Nonlegal Education and Training Analysis SheetOn a separate sheet of paper, list every school or training program not involving law that you have attended or are now attending (whether or not you completed it), starting with the most recent. Include four-year colleges, two-year colleges, vocational training schools, weekend seminars, work-related training programs, internships, church training programs, hobby training programs, self-improvement training, etc. Include everything since high school. Devote a separate sheet of paper to each school or training program, writing its name at the top of the sheet and answering the following question for it.a. What were the exact or approximate dates of attendance?b. Did you complete it? What evidence do you have that you completed it? A grade? A degree? A transcript?c. Describe the subjects taught. What was the curriculum?d. What skills other than writing did you cover, such as organization, research, computer use, speaking, reading, manual dexterity, machine operation, interpersonal relations?5. Legal Education and Training Analysis Sheets.On a separate sheet of paper, list every legal course or training program that you have ever taken formal or informal. Include individual classes, seminars, internships, etc., at formal schools, on the job, or through associations. Devote a separate sheet of paper to each course or program, writing its name at the top of the sheet and answering the following questions for it. a. What were the exact dates of attendance?b. Did you complete it? What evidence do you have that you completed it? A grade? A certificate?c. Make two lists: a list of the major themes or subject areas that you were required to know or understand (content) and a list of the things that you were asked to do (skills). d. How were you evaluated? What evidence do you have or could you obtain of these evaluations? Do you have a transcript of your record?6. Notes/handouts on Resume WritingIt is important that you have an open mind about resumes. There is no correct format. Different people have different views. In the best of all worlds, you will be able to do some background research on the law office where you are applying for work and will learn what kind of resume (in form and content) that office prefers. When this type of research is not possible, you must do the best you can to predict what kind of a resume will be effective. On these pages in the Portfolio, you should collect ideas about resumes from a wide variety of people such as:TeachersProgram administratorsWorking paralegalsUnemployed paralegalsParalegal supervisorsLegal administratorsFellow studentsAttorneys whom you knowPersonnel officersAuthors of books and articles on Placement officers finding employmentLegal secretariesOthers?You want to collect different points of view on questions such as: What is an ideal resume? What are the major mistakes that a resume write can make? What is the best way to phrase a career objective? How long should the resume be? In what order should the data in the resume be presented? How detailed should the resume be? What kind of personal data should be included and omitted? How do you phrase educational experiences to make them relevant to the job you are seeking? How do you phrase employment experiences to make them relevant to the job you are seeking? How do you show that nonlegal experiences (school or work) can be relevant to a legal job? How do you handle potentially embarrassing facts, e.g., frequent job changes, low course grades? What should the cover letter for the resume say? 7. Draft of General ResumePrepare a general resume and include it here. We are calling it general because it is not directed at any specific job. Use the guidelines, questions, and checklists in this Portfolio to help you identify your strengths. The resumes you write for actual job searches will be specialized, and tailored to the job you are seeking. Before you write specialized resumes, however, you should write a general one that will be your main point of reference in preparing these other resumes. The general resume will probably never be submitted anywhere. 8. Notes/handouts on Cover LettersThe cover letter is an essential document in your job search. Each letter must be tailored to the job you are applying for and must be perfect in terms of grammar and appearance. Include your notes and handouts related to cover letters here.9. Draft of Cover LetterPrepare a general cover letter and include it here. We are calling it general because it is not directed at any specific job.10. Writing SamplesThe importance of collecting a fairly large pool of writing samples cannot be overemphasized. Even if you eventually use only a few of them, the value of preparing them is enormous. The following characteristics should apply to each writing sample: It is your own work. It is clearly and specifically identified. The heading at the top tells the reader what the writing is. It is typed. There are no spelling or grammatical errors in it. Its appearance is professional. Someone whom you respect has evaluated it before you put it in final form. You feel that it is a high-quality product. It does not violate anyones right to privacy or confidentiality. (If the sample pertains to real people or events, you have disguised all names or identifying features.)There are two main kinds of writing samples: those that are assigned in school or at work and those you generate on your own. Examples of Required Work That You Could Turn into a Writing Sample A memorandum of law A legal research report or memo An answer to a problem in a textbook An intake memorandum of law A complaint An answer to a complaint A motion A set of interrogatories Answers to a set of interrogatories An index to discovery documents A digest of one or more discovery documents Other memos, studies, or reports Articles of incorporation and bylawsAny of these writing samples could be generated on your own if they are not required in your coursework. Ask your teachers or supervisors to help you identify written pieces that you could create. Also consider writing an article for one of the many newsletters of paralegal associations. The article could cover an aspect of your education or work experience. You could write about why you want to become a paralegal. You might write a response or reaction to someone elses article in a paralegal newsletter or magazine. Even if what you write is not published in a newsletter, it might still become a writing sample if it meets the criteria listed here. 11. Contacts Attorneys You Already Know or with Whom You Have Any Indirect AssociationMake a list of attorneys, include their names, addresses, and phone numbers. Not only do you want to know whether any of these attorneys are interested in hiring paralegals, but equally important, you want to know if they can give you any leads to other employers who might be interested in hiring. 12. Contacts Employed ParalegalsYou want to talk with as many employed paralegals as you can to obtain leads to possible positions, as well as general guidelines for the job search. Make a list of the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all the paralegals with whom you have had contact. Include notes on what they told you. If they have nothing useful to say at the present time, ask them if you could check back with them in several months and if you could leave your name number for them in the event that they come across anything in the future. 13. Notes/handouts on Job InterviewsInclude your notes and handouts related to job interviews here.14. Job Interview Checklist/Record KeepingCreate a checklist containing the following to be used prior to each interview:1._Exact location of interview2._Time of arrival3._Professional appearance in dress4._Extra copies of resume5._Extra copies of writing samples6._Copies of your transcript7._Name of person(s) wh