Prof J's Blogs

5 Hidden Resume Killers

2010-12-23T09:00:00.001-08:00

5 Hidden Resume Killers!

By Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC GetInterviews.com

You may think you have the perfect resume, but you keep getting overlooked for all kinds of positions, and you can't figure out what's happening! Perhaps you are sabotaging yourself in ways you don't recognize.

Almost everyone is aware of obvious job search killers in resumes, such as spelling and grammatical errors; however hidden mistakes often end up costing you the interview when you have an otherwise solid resume. Protect yourself from being misperceived out of a job opportunity by carefully reviewing your resume for hidden killers.

1. Highlighting Political or Religious Affiliations

Many people fill their time with charitable work and, in the process, make some strong community contacts. Great idea and very fulfilling, most likely, but if that organization is your local church or political action group, you may be sabotaging yourself if you include this in the resume. Just the mere mention of such groups may subconsciously create a negative response in the reader. Don't place yourself at risk for potential discrimination or a negative first impression because of an association with a group that may not align with the values of hiring managers. We all know it's not ethical, but it's better to protect yourself, than be naÃ¯ve and lose another opportunity.

2. Explaining Employment Gaps with too ! much Personal Information

Although it is critical to be honest about gaps in your employment history, exercise caution about giving too much personal information or suggesting that your personal life may overwhelm your work life. Be brief and succinct in explaining any gaps in your personal work history, and be aware that caretaking for elderly parents, for example, is becoming much more common. Career change or geographic moves may be part of necessary family caretaking decisions, which could also be important to explain in your resume. However, you don't need to provide a lot of detail regarding the emotional toll and investment of time such caretaking has taken. The explanation doesn't need to suggest you have been consumed by personal obligations, hinting that personal obligations may be more important than your work life.

3. Broadcasting Weaknesses

Everyone has skill deficits or areas where his/her work could improve. However, by over-emphasizing these deficits or appearing nervous about them, you are likely to sabotage the strengths identified in your resume. Being honest doesn't mean you have to hang your head and kick at the floor like a school child; it's likely you feel worse about these shortcomings than necessary. Emphasize your strengths and practice a response to express information about potential weaknesses. What is it that bothers you so much about this particular deficit when you likely have other strengths? You don't need to be "all things to all people in order to land the job", and feeling shameful about deficits can only work against you.

4. Too Many Positions within the Same Time Frame

Sure, you may have worked 2 or 3 jobs in college, but later in one's career, this may send a messag! e that you are scattered, unfocused, or worse yet, not committed to your primary field of interest. Potential employers want to know that you are working toward company goals with the same level of energy that they are, rather than being tired and distracted. Review the job history realistically. You cannot misrepresent your work experience, but try to look at "your story" during that time of your life. If there were a number of part-time positions pieced together out of financial necessity, be certain to identify the positions as part-time. Perhaps the positions included experiences for certification. If so, mention it – this denotes a commitment to professional growth, and more clearly explains seemingly dual, simultaneous employment.

5. Over-emphasizing Periods of Self-Employment

Many potential employers question your ability to be a team player if you are accustomed to being the boss yourself. It may also intimidate hiring managers or suggest that you are over-qualified, if you have labeled yourself President of your own company. Again, don't be deceitful, but be cautious regarding labels. Describe creative development skills associated with self-employment in ways that will benefit the prospective employer, such as market analysis, client development, or full P&L.

Increase your own awareness of potential "resume killers", and you will be well on your way to eliminating obstacles to employment. Resumes can communicate in many more ways than just using words. The nuances of a resume are similar to body language – people get the message even if not overtly expressed. Rid your resume of hidden killers and move ahead in your job search!

About the Author:

Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Job and Ca! reer Transition Coach (JCTC) is the President of GetInterviews.com, the country's leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. Her and her firm's credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the "best resume writers in North America," quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and published in a whopping 25+ career books. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 100,000 job seekers to date. All resume writers are certified writers. GetInterviews.com offers a free resume critique and their services come with a wonderful guarantee -- interviews in 30 days or they'll rewrite for free!

Spotting Legal Issues

2005-08-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

The essential matter for lawyers, judges, law students, and paralegals in reading law cases is to properly spot the "legal issue" -

here is what Prof. Vermelia Randall of U.Dayton Law School says on Issues

"Issue(s)
An issue is a question of law. It is usually a question that asks, "What is the result when you apply this rule of law to these facts?" Lawyers constantly look for the legal problem or problems at hand; they are problem solvers, and sometimes the toughest problem is pinpointing the problem. In an appeal the lawyers on both sides have selected their legal battlegrounds and put forth their theories, both at the trial and on appeal. The court selects from among, and may reframe, the issues presented by the parties. Nonetheless, it may still be difficult for the reader of the court's opinion to precisely identify the legal issues.

Most cases raise more than one question of law. A case may involve three issues, but have only one or two of them resolved by the court. When this happens, it is often because the multiple issues are related in such a way that whether one issue must be resolved depends upon the resolution of another issue. If "issue one" must be decided in order to determine whether "issue two" must be addressed, then the first question is referred to as a "threshold issue." For example, if a statute of limitations question is resolved in favor of the defendant and the cause of action is dismissed, then the case is concluded without the court considering issues related to the merits of the suit. (If you are writing about the pending case, you must discuss all of the issues that the court might possibly reach, of course, because you do not know what the court will conclude about the threshold issue.)

An issue can usually be framed in the form of a question that can be answered "yes" or "no." In order to yield a legal conclusion that can be applied under the principle of stare decisis to future similar situations, the issue must be stated neither too narrowly nor too broadly. "

check out more information at see a complete brief

Good luck. hope this helps. Prof. J

Study Skills

2005-08-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

It is absolutely essential to always look at improving your study skills. As the word applies, it is a "skill" - defn. " A developed talent or ability ". If you are taking online classes as part of our Paralegal Program, and most students are taking at least one or two, you will need to be self-motivated, and apply excellent "study skills" - since you cannot just raise your hand - or course, you can email the instructor. Read study skills, and apply them in your classes. Hope this helps. Prof. J.

Great New Browser - mozilla "firefox" and email "thunderbird"

2005-07-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

I have now been using mozilla "firefox", a brand new browser, and I love it. If you are looking to change, I would highly recommend downloading it and giving it a "whirl around the block". I also use the mozilla program "thunderbird" for my email, and it works great. What I love about both programs is that it incoprates your previous preferences from Internet Explorer, so you can just pick up where you left off. Let me know how it works for you. I am amazed at how well it serves me. And as you know I do a lot of "browsing" as an online instructor. Good Luck. Prof. J.

Volunteer Work

2005-07-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

Why is volunteering, especially in the legal field so important.

Your reasons for volunteering are as individual as you are, but no matter what your reasons you can get a lot out of volunteering. You can learn about yourself, learn about others and meet a lot of interesting people by volunteering. You can help others as you help yourself. 20 ways to volunteer.

So get active today, and volunteer in the legal field .

Good luck. Prof J.

The use of "I believe" in legal analysis

2005-07-14T17:58:00.000-07:00

I have noticed a number of students start out their legal analysis with "I feel" or "it is my opinion" - this is not a strong start to your legal analysis - look at the information on persuasive appellate briefs.

Quoting from that article:

"Judges are generally bright people. (Any judge who is reading this is definitely one of the bright ones!) They have a keen sense of the law, and they can quickly detect a bogus (i.e., fake, foggy, far-fetched) argument. While some lawyers may make deliberately bogus arguments, I think that lawyers more often do so because they don't really understand their cases, the law, or the law's application to their facts. They try to hide their ignorance in their writing. But it shows every time. Your argument will strike the judge as bogus if it displays too many of the following characteristics:

Exclamation marks!
Long, convoluted sentences that talk around the rules and facts instead of addressing them directly.
Needless repetition, including repetition of rules in the section that should instead be applying those rules to the case facts.
More law set out in quotations than in your own words of explanation.
Lots of adjectives and adverbs.
Personal attacks on the lawyers for the other side.
Insertion of your personal opinion or emotion ("I think," "we feel").
Merely citing cases without explaining how they apply.
Rolling two or more distinct issues into a single discussion.
Any conclusion that should "clearly," "obviously," or "undoubtedly" be reached. "

So what have you learned in this blog. Do Not start your legal analysis with "I believe", etc. Hope this helps. Prof J.

Improve your law quiz and assignment scores

2005-07-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

Now that you have taken a few law quizzes, and you received possibly a low score, i.e. 40 -60, you are thinking either the "quizzes are completely unfair", or "that I am really stupid and should never become a paralegal" - actually neither are completely true (just kidding). Actually what is happening is that you are being asked to "kick your skills up a notch". Legal Analysis is actually a very funny "animal" - and very frustrating. You must move from the "concrete" to the "abstract". It is like you were playing baseball, and your batting average was .400 but you were only being "dished up" straight balls, and now the slider, and curve ball, and knuckle ball all are being introduced, and your average now plummets to .150 (sorry if you do not like baseball metaphor).

So take heart. There are a number of things you can do. read the following inforrmation - click here to improve your scores

First make sure you know each word you read. So go to an online dictionary and look up even the simple words you thought you understood. Then make sure you look up all of the legal words. Then read the facts of each case as if it were a story. Diagram with pencil stick figures the main characters and use arrows to show their relationship and what they are doing to each other. This helps you to understand the story. Legal facts can be very confusing a lot of the time. If you do not know the story you will not know the law I can promise you. Then finally follow the 7 steps of Critical Thinking when you read your law mateials. I think that most students are having "real problems" with steps 6 - Synthesis and step 7 - Evaluation, so go down to steps 1-5 and get those down first, and then jump up to 6 and 7. hope this helps a little. Prof. J.

Paralegal Jobs

2005-05-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

The first thing you need to consider in getting your ideal is to put together a killer resume - Sometimes you will need to do a self-assessment to locate your job niche. Next start looking for a job. Network in the legal field - Look at the big mistakes you can avoid - volunteer for community service while looking for your job, finally check out Paralegal Jobs posted for our students. Good luck everyone. Prof. J.

California Paralegal Requirements

2005-05-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

California is one of a few states which regulate their paralegals . On Jauary 1, 2001, Business and Professions Code 6450 necame effective. (formerly Assembly Bill AB 1761 was signed by Governor Gray Davis on 9/14/00). This section regulates Paralegals, defines the term "paralegal", and sets forth the "academic training" required.

The new law requires "a certificate of completion of a paralegal program at, or a degree from a post-secondary institution that requires the successful completion of a minimum of 24 semester, or equivalent, units in law-related courses and that has been accredited by a national or regional accrediting organization or approved by the Bureau for Private Post-secondary and Vocational Education."

Mission College Paralegal Program is such an accredited institution. We believe there are numerous good reasons to choose our Paralegal Program, and so do our students .

The Value of Networking

2005-05-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

The Values of Networking
from an article at http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/ip050108.html
William J M. Wold, Chief Executive Officer of Illinois Periodicals
Online states in an article on Networking:
"Most professionals know that by developing a network of colleagues they gain a valuable asset that can make a difference, especially during difficult and changing times. Networking can be a fun and easy way to enrich your life, broaden your horizons and enhance your career. "

"In fact, networking may be crucial to your success. Networking is a chance to gravitate towards a new area of knowledge you may have never explored. And meeting people outside your current position may enable you to fully understand the next step of your career."

This is very true. Prof. Jordan recommends highly in addition
to networking with your own fellow and sister paralegal students,
join the list-serv for our Paralegal Program, and also join one or more of the Paralegal Associations to keep current in the legal field.
Hope this helps. Prof J.

Summer School Classes

2005-05-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

The Summer School Classes for the law program run from June 13th to July 24, 2005, a total of six (6) weeks. It is recommended that you take one or two, but NO more than two, since the summer schedule is accelerated, and compress 15 weeks of work into 6 weeks. The Fall 2005 Schedule has also been published. Students should look at both the Summer and Fall 2005 classes to best select their classes. All of the Summer School Clases are online. Any questions email Prof. J . Good luck. Prof. J.

New List Serv for Our Paralegal Program

2005-04-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

We now have a new list serv for our program "missionlaw". So how does this help you? Well first of all when you graduate, and even before you graduate, you will want to stay in touch with any new developments in the law, updated postings on jobs and employment, tips on legal research, legal writing, and also you may want to just keep in touch with your fellow and sister paralegals. So join the MissionLaw family. It is simple as one, two, three. First subscribe to MissionLaw List-serv. You will then receive an email from missionlaw, asking if you want to join, fill out the information, return the email, and voila, you are now one of the privileged "MissionLaw" Group Members. Then add to your email address book, the email address "missionlaw@yahoogroups.com", and any time you want to communicate to the group, just email our family. Remember to treat everyone with respect. Enjoy. Prof. J.
P.S. you will also receive email updates from time to time from Prof. J, and other members that we hope you find useful. Welcome to our "MissionLaw" Yahoo Groups family. Prof. J.

"Challenges in Virtual Collaboration"

2005-04-27T14:03:00.000-07:00

In a recent book, of the same name, Lynne Wainfan and Paul K. Davis of the Rand Research Institute state (page 25):

"Alhtough some studies show contradictory findings in a number of areas, they are generally consistent in concluding that, relative to FTF (face-to-face) groups, computer-mediated communication groups CMC (i.e email, chat, threaded discussions, forums, or bulletin boards)

1. have difficult in reaching consensus
2. have greater equality of participation
3. show differences in influence, particularly relating to status
4. exhibit lower inhibition
5. are more likely to be polarized"

"Why would people be less inhibited "(Page 29) - "the psychological distance imposed by these type of communications can allow a great expression of emotions, especially negative emotions." "At a computer, where social cues are absent, people may forget that they are talking to another person, not a computer screen". "The medium's relative anonymity may produce comparatively self-centere and unregulated behaviour."

page 31 - "CMCgroups present higher levels of negative conflict (prolonging and escalating conflict, inflexibility, hostility, etc.) and lower levels of positive conflict (releasing tension, clarifying and re-evaluating goals, and creating new ideas, and so forth) than their Face-to-Face counterparts do."

here is a good article on email rules:

32 most important email etiquette tips:

1. Be concise and to the point
2. Answer all questions, and pre-empt further questions
3. Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation
4. Make it personal
5. Use templates for frequently used responses
6. Answer swiftly
7. Do not attach unnecessary files
8. Use proper structure & layout
9. Do not overuse the high priority option
10. Do not write in CAPITALS
11. Don't leave out the message thread
12. Add disclaimers to your emails
13. Read the email before you send it
14. Do not overuse Reply to All
15. Mailings > use the bcc: field or do a mail merge
16. Take care with abbreviations and emoticons
17. Be careful with formatting
18. Take care with rich text and HTML messages
19. Do not forward chain letters
20. Do not request delivery and read receipts
21. Do not ask to recall a message.
22. Do not copy a message or attachment without permission
23. Do not use email to discuss confidential information
24. Use a meaningful subject
25. Use active instead of passive
26. Avoid using URGENT and IMPORTANT
27. Avoid long sentences
28. Don't send or forward emails containing libelous, defamatory, offensive, racist or obscene remarks
29. Don't forward virus hoaxes and chain letters
30. Keep your language gender neutral
31. Don't reply to spam
32. Use cc: field sparingly

Hope this helps.

Remember save an email as a "draft" if you are in a hurry, or upset, then think about it for a few hours before sending it. Once the bell has been rung, it sure is hard to "unring it". Good Luck. Prof. J.

Globalization and "The World is Flat"

2005-04-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

"Thomas L. Friedman, a foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times, in his new book, "The World is Flat - a Brief History of the Twenty-First Century" nicely sums up the explosion of digital-technology advances during the past 15 years and places the phenomenon in its global context. Just consider that the Web, search engines, digital photography, iPods, e-mail, PDAs, the browser, file sharing, Wi-Fi, and a dozen other cutting-edge technologies have not only come to dominate economics and the workplace but have also helped reshape the political world -- all in less than a generation. Change has been so rapid and overwhelming that there hasn't been time to keep track of the developments, much less to understand their implications. The world is flattening, Friedman says -- meaning it is increasingly interconnected. This can raise the poor from poverty, nourish a worldwide middle class, and even spread democracy." (above quote is taken from a recent Business Week Online article.

I think, we in the Mission College Paralegal Program have seen an explosion - see the Development of our Webpage to see how much our program has "flattened" since we first started to develop online materials in August 1997, and then in the Summer of 2002 inaugurated our completely online certificate to respond to the needs of our students. Probably the singlemost driving factor in the "wild fire" expansion of our online program, is "driving itself" - that is the time it takes to drive on our L.A. Freeways so consumes our students' time, that they now save that time and instead 'telecommute' to our classes - thus saving "lost time" on the L.A. freeways and investing that "otherwise lost freeway time" into their legal studies.

Well enough about technology. Prof. J.

new streamlined home page

2005-04-24T10:11:00.000-07:00

Prof J. has streamlined the law home page. There is also another easier to find main home page for students, and that is lawteacher.us.

On the left side of the page, continuing students will check into their materials under getting started, and new students will check under "welcome new students" at the top of the page. Hope this reduced style makes it easier to navigate. For those students who cannot find some old links which were on the main page they are located resources Enjoy. Prof. J.

What are blogs?

2005-04-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

You might ask what is a blog. It is short for web log. You might ask why we use them in the Paralegal Studies Program. First, there are many common items of importance such as our Paralegal Graduation on June 11th which you are invited too which we can announce through ProfJ's blogs, but also it is a forum for discussion to improve studying and understanding the law - which is of primary importance for paralegals and their law professors. Thus we have our Paralegal Blog, and we join the group of many other bloggers. That is what it is all about. Hope that explains 'what is a blog'. until our next blog, your blog Prof J.

Honors Awards - April 1, 2005

2005-04-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

Let's congratulate our Paralegal Honors Awards Recipients who were honored on April 1, 2005 at Mission College. We had 8 President's List recipients and more than 40 students who were on the Dean's List. Congratulations for a job well done. I am sure your families are very proud of your scholastic accomplishments at Mission College, and we are too. (a smiling) Prof J.

Principles, Policies, and Rules - i.e. more on Legal Analysis

2005-04-19T06:26:00.000-07:00

One thing which is useful everytime you read a case is to find, or think about the underlying social principles, policies and rules established in the case. Sometimes law cases are logical and rational, but other times they are 'counterintuitive' - meaning they go against the grain or 'your basic gut feeling'. Students must learn the law 'as it is' and not 'as they want it to be' or 'they have heard it to be' from TV, friends, relatives, family, etc.

Many times the rules, principles, and policies seem to make no sense.

Look at the exercise provided by Prof. David Linnan at University of South Carolina Law School, where students analyze the rules, principles and policies in a very interesting case about a Vietnam protester. (Thanks Prof. Linnan - great assignment !)

here are Prof. Linnan's definition of P-P-R's:

A. A "principle" is a standard that should be observed, not because it will advance or secure an economic, political, or social situation deemed desireable, but because it is a requirement of justice or fairness or some other dimension of morality. For example, "no person may profit by his own wrong" is a principle.

B. A "policy" is a standard that sets out a goal to be reached, generally an improvement on some economic, political, or social feature of the community (though some goals are negative, in that they stipulate that some present feature is to be protected from adverse change). For example, the idea that automobile accidents should be decreased is a policy.

C. A "rule" is a standard that is applied in an all or nothing fashion to dictate outcomes under a particular set of circumstances. For example, "the maximum legal speed on interstate highways is fifty-five miles per hour" states a rule

Hope this helps in your legal analysis of cases. Prof.J.

Legal Analysis

2005-04-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

I found a very good article on legal analyis. Here is the the website .

I think where many students 'fall down' in their legal analysis is by:

1. Not stating the rules of law.

2. Not reviewing the facts given.

3. Not taking the facts and trying to fit them into the Rules of Law to see if they fit or not.

to simplify, QUOTE THE RULES, FIND THE FACTS, FIT THE FACTS (OR NOT) TO THE RULES, AND THEN CONCLUDE

Hope this helps in your legal analysis. prof. J.

new Hybrid Classes for Fall 2005

2005-04-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

This Fall 2005 we are going to try something new. They are called 'Hybrid' Classes. Law 11 and 19 will meet 8 times during the semester 'on campus' and the rest online/internet. This will combine the best of both worlds, that is 'face to face' with your law instructor i.e Prof. J. and then online for convenience. Check out the Fall 2005 Schedule. By the way if you want to comment, then click on 'comments' below, please click on 'other' and put in your name, and then 'comment away'. Prof J. is emailed so he knows that you have commented, and he can then comment to your comment. pretty neat. hey. Blog away students.

Prof. J.

Graduation - Spring 2005

2005-04-18T17:49:00.000-07:00

You are all invited to our Spring 2005 Certificate Graduation Ceremony just for the Paralegal Program on June 11th. Here are some details. Congratulations to our Spring 2005 Graduates. If you are not on the list and should be, then make sure you fill out your petition and email it to Prof J at abogado@pacbell.net (even if you have sent one in to Admissions, the Petition starts first with Prof J. Hope to see you all at the graduation. It will be really fun. We also have a "free" and "tasty" BBQ chicken lunch with all the "fixings" for those who attend. See you there. Prof. J.

Registration for Summer 2005 Classes

2005-04-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

Here is the schedule for the Summer 2005 classes. Class registration for continuing students starts on May 5th. go to student information system to register. The Class sections for each class are as follows

Good luck, and enjoy your classes.

P.S. I would not recommend taking more than two (2) classes unless you have an enormous amount of time. We have the same amount of materials i.e. 15 weeks worth of work, which is required in a short six (6) week period for the summer classes.

Prof. J.

Legal Analysis

2005-04-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

It is so important to a paralegal, lawyer and law student to analyze the law. To simplify this matter, first show your knowledge of the rules of law you have learned by first quoting the rules. Then go through the facts, each fact given in the fact or hypothetical have some relevance. Show your intellect by taking the fact and matching it up with the elements required by the rules. Show how the fact either fits, and makes the case for the rule, or NOT. Then come up with your conclusion.

here is a nice summary:

Preliminary analysis: Analyze facts and frame the question

A. Objectives:

1. Learn jargon.
2. Learn blackletter law and locate basic statutes and cases.
3. Identify issues which may be answered readily through research.
4. Identify issues which need analysis after research.

B. Identify factual elements:

1. What is the THING or ACT involved?
2. Who are the PERSONS involved?
3. What is the PLACE involved?

For the factual elements, list all the words that might describe the particular fact from the most general to the most specific. These will help you both in constructing searches in books and online sources and in determining later what the important factual elements are. For example, a store may be described as property, private property, and private commercial property.

C. Identify legal elements :

1. What is the RELIEF being sought?
2. What is the PROCEDURE required?
3. What are the LEGAL THEORIES?

from Harvard Law School

good luck. Prof J.

Welcome to Our Law Program

2005-04-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our law program. Here is information about our program . Welcome and enjoy your classes. Prof. J.