There are a number of reasons why a hiring manager of a law firm may not be entirely satisfied with job candidates who submit their applications. Their work experience could be minimal, they may have forgotten to include references or their online presence on accounts like LinkedIn may not be up to par. While it may not seem crucial to job-seeking students, easily accessibly online accounts are becoming an integral part of the applicant screening process, and can ultimately make or break the decision to choose someone for a job.
For those who are serious about landing a job as a legal administrative assistant, they should try and avoid these common LinkedIn mistakes.
Significant Others in Photos
Although many people consider their fiances, partners or spouses the most important parts of their lives, they still should not have them in their LinkedIn profile picture. This type of photograph is much more appropriate on a website such as Facebook, where the purpose is to connect with others socially. On LinkedIn, however, the sole purpose is for connecting on a professional level. A person's account should highlight their own skills and not showcase what they are like outside of work. Consequently, the profile picture should be just as professional as the rest of the information contained in the profile.
Skills Are Too Obscure
When people highlight their skills on LinkedIn, they are essentially making it easier for themselves to become searchable on the website. When recruiters are browsing through hundreds of potential candidates, the individuals who will stick out to them first and foremost are the ones who have a number of skills that match that particular job opportunity.
As a result, it is important for a person to list their skills accurately - and abide by the competencies that the networking site has listed in its principal database. If students put skills that are not listed, then they are making themselves relatively unsearchable to employers and could risk missing out on a great opportunity just because they did not use the right terms or phrases in their profile. For a legal administrative assistant, "legal writing," "legal research" or "administrative organization" could all be potential skills listed in a strong account.
Students who are interested in pursuing futures as legal administrative assistants can enroll in legal courses at Vancouver Career College. To learn more, fill out the form on the right.