By: Bert Binder

You love your job and have absolutely no interest in finding a new one or squandering your scant spare time monitoring the job market. Or maybe you are currently in an “under/over” job. That would be a job where you are: underutilized, underpaid, underappreciated, overworked, overlooked, and/or overwhelmed. If you are in that first group—lucky you! Just do not get too comfortable and complacent to remember that change happens. Don’t get so involved in your day-to-day routine that you lose sight of your long-term career goals. Being the master of your career includes being prepared for events that may impact your current job or work environment.

Career management includes being prepared for the unexpected, whether that is a serendipitous job offer or any undesirable change(s) in your current job. This preparation can give you the power, confidence and ability to move forward in a more felicitous manner. Commitment to staying current about career options and researching the job market are excellent uses of your time and should be part of your long-term career plan. You should not be too busy to stay informed about career opportunities in case you decide or are forced to make a change.

Consider these scenarios: your current employer could merge with another firm/company/agency resulting in a major culture and responsibilities shift; your boss, who is totally awesome, decides to retire or leave for another job and you are reassigned to a new boss who is definitely not totally awesome; a personal situation may require relocation to another city; an unforeseen pink slip due to restructuring or shifting business priorities—all job impacting events. Case in point: I was a Litigation Support Specialist at a large law firm, which had been in business for over forty years that dissolved because of management dissensions. I really loved that job. When it comes to your career, do not let the circumstances beyond your control force you into an under/over job.

Effective career management includes being open to learning about the diverse career opportunities that are evolving in today’s job market. Staying informed about the job market is not a negative reflection on your current employer, it is vital to your career. You may not be unhappy or dissatisfied, just curious. Have you ever wondered what else is out there? Are you really as competitively paid as you think you are? Are you ready for some new challenges and learning opportunities? What additional skills or knowledge would you need to move your career in a different direction? What direction is that? Also, reviewing job postings that are comparable to your current position can provide insight to any evolving trends in skills or technology that are becoming standards or requirements sought by other employers. This information can help you to determine if you need to update your skills or knowledge just to be competitive in your current job classification.

If you are contently employed, you can be more objective and selective in perusing job postings since you will need to be impressed and inspired to consider making a change. If the moment arrives and you realize it's time to move on, by keeping your job search in motion, you will have real time insight to the job market. There’s a difference between always looking for a better job and always switching jobs. Just because you’re always looking doesn’t mean you always want to make a change. The more you review job postings, the more opportunities you’ll uncover. With more opportunities, you can be more discriminating about which ones best meet your interests and career goals. Furthermore, consider that the postings can support and reinforce that you are currently in the right job because nothing else really piques your interest.

It is important to look not just at the positions you are currently qualified for, but also for the next step job to see what qualifications, training or certifications you could pursue. This information can provide you a sense of what the industry standard is for education and skills as well as the salary range in that new direction. It helps to know what’s out there and what employers are identifying as their Requirements or Preferences. Staying in the hunt helps you chart your progress at your current job and evaluate whether or not it’s offering the opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge that you need to advance to the next one. Before you decide on the jobs you want to pursue, you have to analyze the aspects of your current job that you are passionate about, those you don’t mind, and those you wish you never had to do again. Successful people change jobs many times during their careers; and it is good career management to always be on the lookout for divergent opportunities.

You do not need to spend an inordinate amount of time job searching; just keeping up to date with the market. This can be easily accomplished by signing up for job notifications/alerts. If your career plan includes a transition to a different job type than you currently hold, you will need to do some work to determine job titles to use in your searches. Nothing is worse than looking for a job when you’re desperate. Your anxiety level and your unhappiness can result in being willing to settle for a new job that is just good enough—not one that you really want or deserve. So if you find yourself unexpectedly needing to find a new job, you can improvise a course of action without a predetermined plan (aka, wing it); or you can make informed, calculated decisions because you have been monitoring the job market for your next career opportunity.

One of the commitments I made when I became a Career Coach was to publish an electronic newsletter of job postings that I cull from diverse sources. The jobs that I share focus on positions for paralegals, legal assistants, and law office support staff; as well as alternative career positions that require legal skills, knowledge and abilities. While my job postings are for the Metropolitan Phoenix Az area (the 11th largest by population in the U.S.; 2017 Census), individuals across the country subscribe to get insight to the diversity of jobs available in a large metropolitan area for those with legal education, knowledge, experience and skills. I have helped a number of clients who wanted to make a career transition to a job that they never knew existed until they saw a job posting for it. So whether you’re looking to learn more about job opportunities or just finding out what is out there, sleuthing around the job market can be the smartest career move you can make. Exploring your potential with other employers could also reignite your career fire.

Paralegal Career Options Are Diverse ------------------------ If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else. ~~ Yogi Berra The future depends on what you do today. ~~Mahatma Gandhi

About the author: Bert Binder is a nationally recognized Career Coach with a diverse range of expertise in the legal field. Her education includes: A.A.S., Legal Assistant; B.A., Justice Studies Administration; and M.A., Human Resources Management. She has been a member of the adjunct faculty of an ABA approved Paralegal Program since 2001. Her career evolved from traditional paralegal jobs in the government and private sector to litigation technology consulting and court management. As a Career Coach, Bert works with entry level through senior level Paralegals, Legal Assistants, and legal support staff to define, plan and pursue their career goals. If you would like to receive her free e-Newsletter of job postings for the Metropolitan Phoenix AZ area, you can contact her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paralegalcoach/ or at ParalegalCareerCoach@gmail.com