Article by guest author Virginia Cooper
Perhaps you’ve been working at the same law firm as a paralegal for a few years. Now, you’re wondering how you can take steps to move up in your career. If you’re interested in working with a mentor, you can connect with KLR Paralegal. Plus, here are a few ways to advance in your paralegal career, from opening your very own business to moving for a new paralegal job.
Start Your Own Business
Yes, it’s possible to launch your own paralegal services business and work on a freelance basis! If you’d like to continue in this field but you’ve realized that working for a single firm isn’t the right fit for you, opening your own business could be the right choice.
In order to land your first clients, you’ll need to market your business effectively. As you create marketing materials, you might have to add images to a brochure or flyer or share visuals with a graphic designer or web designer. You may end up compressing JPG files to conveniently email them, but keep in mind that compression can degrade the image quality. Instead, you can put the images you’re working with through a JPG-to-PDF conversion tool to switch from JPG to PDF. This will allow you to preserve the image’s quality and even convert multiple files into one PDF, so you don’t have to email lots of files.
Work Toward a Promotion
Perhaps you’re happy at the firm where you work, but you’d like to move up to a role with more responsibility. Bos Staffing states that you might want to specialize in a particular area of law, such as real estate law, criminal law, or family law, or seek out a managerial title, such as paralegal supervisor or senior paralegal.
Relocate for Better Opportunities
What if there are limited opportunities for paralegals where you live? Relocating to an area with a stronger job market might be the answer. If you’ve received a job offer for a position in a new city, as you search for a new place, you can use an online rental search platform to filter your housing options by cost, home type, and even features like the number of bedrooms and bathrooms you want. You can also look for listings that include virtual tours so that you don’t necessarily have to visit promising properties.
Leverage Your Transferable Skills
Maybe you feel like the paralegal field is no longer a good fit for you. If so, you can definitely bring your skills to another industry! InfoTrack states that paralegals are often well-prepared for careers in adjacent fields such as legal sales, conflict analysis, or even legal recruiting.
Consider Applying to Law School
After working in the legal field for so long, you might be considering going to law school so that you can work as an attorney. This is a big decision, so make sure that you do your research first! Your exposure to the daily realities of life in the legal field can help you make an informed choice about whether or not law school is the next step for you. If you need more insight, talk to the attorneys you know to seek out their advice.
Working as a paralegal can open up many doors. Whether you want to land a promotion, start and market a business, move to a new city to work for a different firm, or even go to law school, you have a variety of options! With these tips, you’ll be able to achieve your professional goals as a paralegal.
Want to invest in your professional development as a paralegal? KLR Paralegal has you covered! Fill out their contact form today to learn more about paralegal coaching and mentoring programs.
To learn more about Virginia and her work, please check out learnaliving.co