LogFAQs > #911146762

MorganTJ posted...

Since you're giving out advice - I graduated in 2015 but spent another year getting a paralegal certificate afterwards. Since then, I've had very infrequent temp positions, to the point that my resume has large gaps of unemployment. I just started volunteering at courthouses for experience, but is there anything else I should be doing?

What did you graduate in? I'm guessing the paralegal certificate you want to be involved in law, but what areas of law? Do you just want to be a paralegal?

If so, then your gaps of unemployment can easily be brushed aside by creating a skill-based resume instead of a chronological-based resume (look those up). A skill-based resume focuses more on the skills you've learned in your temp jobs moreso than the temp jobs themselves.

Volunteering at a courthouse is a great start, but are you networking there? Do the workers there know you by name yet? Do they like you? You need to engage in some water cooler talk and talk to everyone from the desk clerks to the judges when the opportunities present themselves. Every now and then, bring up in the conversation how your goal is to do ________ just so they are aware of it. Previous posters are right in that the right connections can get you a job.

It's not only who you know, but more importantly, who knows you.

Those are some good starting points based on the info you gave me.
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