Paralegal Blog

Are you a paralegal? Ready to move your career forward?  Maybe it's time for you to become Certified. 

But before we answer the 'why should I become certified' questions you may have, let's make sure we are talking about the same thing first.  What do I mean?  Well, there apparently continues to be confusion about the difference between a paralegal who is 'certificated' and one who is 'certified'.  The confusion comes from all places; attorneys, misinformed paralegals, paralegal programs who aren't careful in their word useage, students who prefer to 'pretend' they are certified on their resumes but are really 'certificated', and probably a host of other places.

(Note: This is the first of two articles on preparing an effective, persuasive resume and cover letter to assist you in landing a paralegal job).

The days and nights of studying, writing papers and attending classes are over. You finally have your paralegal degree or paralegal certificate. Now it’s time to go get a job!

But before you start applying anywhere, you’re going to need a solid, persuasive resume, one that will help convince an employer that you’re a viable candidate and that you deserve to be interviewed.

Dawn Yuengel is currently student in the Center's paralegal Online Interactive InstructionTM classes.  Students may gain a paralegal education for many reasons. Most assuredly they have an interest in the law or focus on wanting to help people. Some, like Dawn, hope to set an example for their children in the process. 

It was a cold winter’s day in New York City and Christina Ladyman was working as an assistant manager at a local house wares store. She was a new mom and a fresh college graduate with a major in marketing and a minor in law, and she was waiting for the next chapter of her life to begin. At the moment, however, she was busy wrapping a package for a waiting customer. The man, who happened to be an attorney, was chatting with her companionably. He wondered out loud why she was working there and asked her if she had ever considered a career as a paralegal. His current assistant was going on maternity leave and he was impressed with Christina’s people skills and attention to detail, so he offered her a job on the spot.