General

Category: General

Legal Assistants and Paralegals

When people talk about the most popular and important jobs in the legal world, many might say lawyers and lawmakers. However, legal assistants and paralegals are necessary for lawyers and lawmakers to do their jobs.  While the terms paralegals and legal assistants are often lumped together, the two roles can have very different qualifications and tasks to complete. If you are interested in a legal profession that does not require a law degree, and keeps you out of the spotlight while still doing important, steady, well-paid work, then a paralegal or legal assistant job might be for you!

 Paralegals are specifically qualified, with most having an associate’s degree or certification in paralegal studies.  Some law firms will hire paralegals with a bachelor’s degree in a humanities program and then train you to get a paralegal certification while on the job. Paralegals are hyper-focused on getting everything ready for trials: drafting legal documents, researching laws, interviewing clients and generally helping lawyers prepare.

Legal assistants are less specialized, and usually carry the blunt of the administrative work around the firm; they help schedule and keep track of appointments and meetings, and manage the financial work such as billing of clients. However, their work may also encompasses plenty of tasks accomplished by paralegals, such as conducting legal research and creating and proofreading documents. Legal assistants usually only need a high school diploma to be hired, however there are legal assistant certifications that improve one’s chances of being hired.

The job market for legal assistants and paralegals has gotten increasingly competitive, and if you are at Lawrence, you might already be qualified for at least one of these positions! To be a paralegal or legal assistant, you should be organized, with great writing and communication skills alongside a great deal of tech savviness. It is also important to note that paralegals and legal assistants can be anywhere: in government, in law firms, and in businesses.  Therefore, if that interests you, being a paralegal or legal assistant might just be the job for you!

WORKS CITED:

https://www.indeed.com/hire/job-description/paralegal?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9fitmIHP_QIVkAytBh1V-Q8CEAAYAyAAEgKuF_D_BwE&aceid=&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/legal/paralegals-and-legal-assistants.htm

https://onlinemasteroflegalstudies.com/career-guides/become-a-paralegal/paralegal-vs-legal-assistant/

Spencer R. Brown is a sophomore experiencing their first year at Lawrence University, with a major in Government. They work as a Marketing and Media Assistant in the Career Center and creates content for students in both Communication, Journalism & Written Arts (#CJW) and Government, Law & International Relations (#GLI) career communities. A writer and animator by trade, Spencer is fascinated in finding ways to make digesting information entertaining. Feel free to connect with them on LinkedIn here!

 Creating your summer To Do List:

Summer’s almost here!

After two or three terms of reading assignments, essays, study sessions, group projects, all-nighters, and exams, it’s time for a well-deserved break – a lengthy one. Working, reading, traveling, or exploring new hobbies? No matter what your goal is your summer break is the perfect opportunity to gain valuable experience and enhance your skills. Stepping away from school work, now is the time you can actually take some time out and do stuff that you’ve wanted to but never had the time for. But most importantly, this is the time you can plan your next year and prepare for it:

Check out a few ideas to help you plan your summer goals:

Internships: Look for internships at local companies or organizations in your field of interest. Many companies offer summer internships specifically for college students, giving you a chance to gain hands-on experience and learn from industry professionals. Take what you learned in the classroom and apply it to the real world. A summer internship is a great way to learn more about a business or industry and gain practical work experience to add to your résumé. (This is also a great way to build valuable connections and help determine whether a career is right for you.)

Resources to help you plan:

  • Pathways to Science
  • Handshake

Research: Universities often offer summer research programs for undergraduate students. These programs allow you to work on research projects with professors or graduate students, gaining exposure to advanced research methods and techniques while gaining new career path colleagues and professional connections.
Resources to help you plan:

– Pathways to Science

  • LURF
  • Handshake

Volunteer: Look for volunteer opportunities with organizations related to your field of study. For example, if you are studying environmental science, look for opportunities to volunteer with local conservation groups or parks. Volunteer roles are often available through research programs and organizations in need of your help, including charities, festivals, local non-profits, events, and community groups.

Resources to help you plan:

-CCE

Take a course: Consider taking a summer course to get ahead on your coursework or explore a new subject. Many universities offer online courses during the summer, allowing you to study from anywhere. You might be able to transfer credits from these courses to apply to your Lawrence course credits. Studying abroad helps develop skills that a classroom cannot provide, forcing you to take risks, become more independent, expand your worldview, push your boundaries, and make friends around the world.
In addition to courses relates to your field, you can also take a class or join a group to help cultivate transferable skills that might need work through the practice, exercises, and helpful feedback like public speaking, programming, etc.

Study abroad: If you have the opportunity, consider studying abroad during the summer. This is a great way to experience different cultures and gain a global perspective on your field of study. Studying abroad helps develop skills that a classroom cannot provide, forcing you to take risks, become more independent, expand your worldview, push your boundaries, and make friends around the world.

Resources to help you plan:

-Off of Off-Campus Programs

Attend conferences: Look for conferences or seminars related to your field of study. These events often offer networking opportunities and the chance to learn from experts in your field. You will be investing in yourself and expanding your network. Some conferences might offer a student discount as well!

Work on personal projects: Use your summer break to work on personal projects related to your field of study. For example you could work to write a research paper, make your website, etc

Grow Professionally: Summer is perfect to grow professionally. You can refine and polish your resume, write sample/skeleton cover letters, and college essays, and even build your professional network online.

Resources to help you get started:

  • Resume
  • Linkedin

Conduct your own individual project. Employers love a self-starter! Take matters into your own hands by creating a short film, building websites and contributing to GitHub, or writing guest blogs. Personal projects not only demonstrate your initiative and dedication, but also help you explore and develop skills needed in your career and are a great, practical way to beef up your resume.
Resources to help you :

-Experiential Learning Funds

Jumpstart Your Career: Why First-Years and Sophomores Should Consider a Discovery Internship

If you are you a freshman or sophomore looking to gain valuable experience in the business world, you may want to consider a Discovery Internship. These internships are intended for younger students who want to explore various industries and departments in hopes of discovering their passions and career paths.

This is also a good way for large companies to find new talents early and bring them back every year while the student is still in college so that they can hire them out of college knowing that they already have one, two, or three summers of experience in the company, making it simpler for them to reach their full potential and succeed in their job right out of college.

Interns in a discovery internship are expected to rotate between departments and work on a variety of smaller tasks.

Personally, I didn’t know about these internships until later in my college career, and I wish I had discovered them earlier. Here are a few reasons why:

  • I would have had the opportunity to intern with a larger company earlier and gain exposure to different sectors
  • I could have tried out various departments within a company to better understand my interests
  • Having a big-name company on my resume early on would have made my life a little bit easier when looking for an internship in one of these big companies in my junior year

Some examples of Discovery Internships in the business and entrepreneurship fields include programs offered by Deloitte, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs. These internships typically last for 6-12 weeks and provide a range of experiences such as project management, finance, data analysis, marketing, and more. Like most internships in big companies, make sure you start looking early while they are still open (August, September, October for the following summer)

Here are a few job postings that I have found (still open at the time of this article):

By taking part in a Discovery Internship, you will be able to develop valuable skills, interact with industry professionals, and explore potential career paths very early in your career. Also, having this experience on your resume will help you differentiate yourself from other applicants and secure future internships and jobs.

If you want to learn more about Discovery Internships, or have any questions, feel free to email me (oliver.decroock@lawrence.edu) or schedule an appointment.

Oliver De Croock ’24, Student-Athlete at Lawrence University majoring in Economics and Data Science. Oliver works as a Career Peer Educator at the Career Center and is the President of the Lawrence University Business Networking Club. Connect with Oliver on LinkedIn.

Community Organizing

Perhaps the most famous community organizer was our 44th President, Barrack Obama.  While most community organizers do not become President, they can make a big difference in their community – no matter the size.

Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest.  Community organizers generally believe that significant change often involves conflict or social struggle in order to generate power for the powerless. The goal of community organizing is to create enough power for a community so that it will influence key decision-makers (e.g. elected officials) on a range of issues over time. This can get community-organizing groups a place at the table before important decisions are made.  Community organizing is different than activism in that it has a coherent strategy for making specific social change, whereas activists often engage in unorganized social protest without a specific plan for achieving their goal –  or, in some cases, even knowing what their goal is.

There is no direct career path to being a community organizer.  Having a bachelor’s degree from a humanities program is helpful so one has a deep and detailed understanding of issues and the ability to problem solve and critically analyze an issue from all perspectives.  Most community organizers are volunteers or interns with individual political campaigns, political parties or grassroots organizations first.  It does not take any specific job training to become a community organizer, just a passion for an issue or issues, a strong understanding of that issue and the ability to advocate and argue for your group’s position.  Strong organizational and communication skills are a must.  The ability to fundraise may also be helpful.  As long as people feel underserved or ignored, there will always be a need for community organizers.

WORKS CITED:

https://books.google.com/books?id=cdcQvm4WkC8C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ViewAPI&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://archive.org/details/organizingforsoc00kimb

https://archive.org/details/rootsforradicals00edwa

https://www.zippia.com/community-organizer-jobs/

Mastering HireVue Interviews: Tips and Tricks for Success

HireVue is a digital interviewing tool that enables companies to optimize their recruitment process and more efficiently evaluate candidates. This AI-powered service assesses candidates remotely using video, audio, and AI technologies. In this article, I will share my experience and give you a few tips and tricks on how you can prepare to ace your next HireVue interview.

Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in two different HireVue interviews from two competitors in the same field, EY, and Deloitte. On the one hand, EY asked me three long and elaborate questions (see example below) and only gave me 30 seconds to prepare, making it difficult to structure my responses properly. Deloitte, on the other hand, had a total of 8 questions, but they were shorter, and I had a full two minutes to prepare, making it simpler to organize my thoughts and successfully answer the questions.

Example of long-form question asked (EY):

  • New technologies and new ways of doing business are emerging all the time. In such a disrupted environment, you must embrace innovation or risk being left behind. We believe that having an innovative mindset is critical in this time of near-constant change. That’s why at EY, we recruit people today based on their mindset – not just their skill set. With a focus on innovation in mind … Provide a recent example of how you leveraged your expertise on a specific technology or topic to drive innovation and impact the results of a project, organization or role. What steps did you take? What challenges did you face? What was the end result?

Examples of short-form questions asked (Deloitte):

  • Tell me about yourself and why you are interested in this position.
  • Provide an example of a challenging situation you faced and how you overcame it.
  • Describe a project you worked on and the results you achieved.
  • What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Here are a few tips and tricks I wish I knew before going into my first few HireVue interviews:

  • Practice all the most common interview questions ahead of time so you know how to respond before you begin.
  • Make the most of your preparation time! If you are unsure what to say after the initial preparation period, use the entire length of your first take to gather your thoughts and figure out how you want to answer so you can be much more confident in your second take (remember, that will be the one and only take you will have). It’s better to have one really good take rather than two average ones.
  • During the preparation period, develop a bullet point list of the points you intend to cover; don’t stare at it, but use it in case you run out of ideas.
  • Be confident and, if possible, look at the camera – this will make it appear as if you are speaking straight into the viewer’s eyes – it’s a simple way to differentiate yourself from others, as eye contact (even virtually) goes a long way.

HireVue is a useful tool for companies looking to optimize their recruitment process, but it can also be a difficult experience for candidates. If you are prepared, you’ve been practicing interview questions, and you know what to expect, you will be able to navigate the HireVue process with confidence and give yourself the best chance of standing out against other applicants.

If you want to learn more about my experience with HireVue, practice behavioral interviews, or have any questions, feel free to email me (oliver.decroock@lawrence.edu) or schedule an appointment.

Oliver De Croock ’24, Student-Athlete at Lawrence University majoring in Economics and Data Science. Oliver works as a Career Peer Educator at the Career Center and is the President of the Lawrence University Business Networking Club. Connect with Oliver on LinkedIn.

Break into the Tech Industry with CodePath

Breaking into the tech industry requires a number of factors: industry-relevant knowledge, connections, specific hard and soft skills, and an understanding of the technical interviewing process. Unfortunately, even the most well-funded, prestigious CS programs can have gaps and lack the support needed to help students succeed in the tech world. CodePath was founded to change that. With more than 20,000 students enrolled, CodePath provides the access, exposure, and community they need to successfully navigate the tech industry and jumpstart their careers, at no cost to them.

CodePath provides career-ready courses for students that are applicable to the real-world scenarios you will experience once hired. Some examples are:

  • Pathway: Cybersecurity – no cost, 10 weeks (Fall 2024 / 5-10 hours per week) Explore the complex field of digital security. Learn about real-world tools and attacks, empowering you to confidently discuss the basics of different areas of cybersecurity.
  • Pathway: iOS Development – no cost, 10 weeks (spring 2025 / 7-10 hours per week) Experience building iOS applications from scratch using Apple’s native IDE and programming language in a project-based journey of iOS development.
  • Technical Interview Prep – no cost, 10 weeks (summer 2024 / 5-10 hours per week) – Ace technical interviews and gain a preview of real-world challenges in the industry. Designed to prepare you to solve challenging problems in real interviews at top companies.

These are just a few of the many courses available through CodePath. If you want to break into the tech field, any way you can distinguish yourself from others and go beyond the ordinary can help you get the dream job. If you want to learn more about CodePath or explore future career opportunities, feel free to check out their website.

Oliver De Croock ’24, Student-Athlete at Lawrence University majoring in Economics and Data Science. Oliver works as a Career Peer Educator at the Career Center and is the President of the Lawrence University Business Networking Club. Connect with Oliver on LinkedIn.