Paralegal without experience

[Sarajerjawi]

Hello, I've only recently completed my LPC LLM with a Merit and currently looking for paralegal experience whilst applying for TC. However, most positions do require experience and I only completed a 6 months internship. I have edited my CV and Cover letters several times but my application would not even progress to the interview. Since I started the job hunt, I have only received 3 calls. Is there any advice you could give me? I think I am missing something.

To clarify, I have been unemployed for over 5 months now. I don't know what else to do and how I'm meant to explain my unemployment period. I have joined TCLA recently to expand my knowledge and get advice. I have completed virtual internships for some Leading law firms.

 

[Will Jones]

Sorry to hear about this. How long is your CV? It should ideally be 2 pages in length. And have you had a friend review to check for typos? I would encourage you to continue to apply on LinkedIn and reach out to recruiters expressing your interest. A few friends are doing paralegal roles and there are a handful that go for people with zero experience (have to start somewhere!). Goodluck with the search

 

[eleven14og]

Hello, I've only recently completed my LPC LLM with a Merit and currently looking for paralegal experience whilst applying for TC. However, most positions do require experience and I only completed a 6 months internship. I have edited my CV and Cover letters several times but my application would not even progress to the interview. Since I started the job hunt, I have only received 3 calls. Is there any advice you could give me? I think I am missing something.

To clarify, I have been unemployed for over 5 months now. I don't know what else to do and how I'm meant to explain my unemployment period. I have joined TCLA recently to expand my knowledge and get advice. I have completed virtual internships for some Leading law firms.

Hi there, I got a paralegal position with around 4 month of internships without LPC. I would say don't worry too much about the requirements for previous experience and just submit! It is sadly a numbers game and I think I sent at least 150 applications in until I finally land my current one.

From my experience, I found it's rather hard to get a role from LinkedIn applications as there are loads of applicants. You could probably try going on law firm's application portals and see if there are any job openings you are interested in. Recruitment agencies are also helpful, but they perhaps have more short term positions like document review projects rather than paralegal positions. Also, if you don't mind relocating, it's much less competitive in regional offices compared to London. I couldn't find a role in London so I left for my current role.

With your CV and cover letter, it is rather time-consuming to change your cover letter for each application so I would say focus more common competencies for paralegal positions like attention to detail, working under pressure and just change law firm names upon sending. Don't lose hope and keep trying! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!