hi everyone! just contingency planning here... what is the job market and application process for paralegal roles like? I am in my penultimate year so have another chance next year to secure a TC, but failing that I will want to apply for a paralegal role. Is it super competitive? Do most places want you to have previous experience and not be straight out of uni? What is the application process?
any insight anyone has will be majorly appreciated ta x
It's fairly competitive and can take a while to get your first role. Once you've built up a bit of experience things open up significantly. A lot of genuine entry level opportunities will be in-house, many firms will want you to have the LPC and/or substantial experience - with that said, if you very proactively monitor firms' careers pages you can catch some opportunities that don't have as many hats in the ring because they aren't running through recruiters, LinkedIn or job boards.
Keep an open mind about what you're willing to do for a first gig and how much you expect to get paid.
Get registered with as many legal recruiters as possible, connect with a couple people from each agency on LinkedIn and monitor their posts - don't be shy about sending them a message if they share an interesting opportunity. If you're interested in a specific industry, find recruiters in that industry - at least in financial services, they will sometimes have recruiters specialised in the industry fielding paralegal candidates: this is probably somewhat true in some other industries.