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Paralegal Certificate vs Paralegal Certification - Let’s clear up the confusion!

Posted by Tami Riggs

Mar 12, 2024 8:00:00 AM

Certificate vs Certified 1200x700A paralegal certificate or degree is often required to qualify for paralegal job opportunities. Earning an academic credential significantly enhances employment opportunities for anyone seeking to diversify their career portfolio and showcase their qualifications for a legal position. Paralegals can obtain formal education through a training program like those available at Center for Advanced Legal Studies to earn a paralegal certificate or degree. Once paralegals have achieved a requisite level of education and experience, they may choose to seek a paralegal designation and become certified. Several national associations offer certification opportunities. However, paralegals who do not pursue certification through one of these associations are just as likely to enjoy long-term, career success. Paralegals are qualified to perform their responsibilities by completing an educational program, receiving training on the job, or through actual work experience.1 A distinct advantage exists for paralegals who begin their career by earning an academic credential. As they progress, certification can add value to the expertise previously acquired through education, training, and experience.

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Topics: paralegal certificate, paralegal degree, credentials, career, certification, education and training, featured

Bachelor of Arts: Law and Business Degree Program

Posted by Eric H. Happe

Dec 13, 2023 11:30:06 AM

Law and Business Banner wo textCenter for Advanced Legal Studies (CALS) is excited to announce the availability of a new bachelor’s degree program designed specifically for paralegals and other legal support professionals. Classes in the Bachelor of Law and Business degree program begin January 29, 2024.

CALS has specialized exclusively in paralegal education and training since 1987 and has helped thousands of graduates enter this exciting and rewarding profession through the completion of accredited certificates and associate of applied science degrees. This new bachelor’s degree, intended primarily for graduates of paralegal programs at CALS and other accredited institutions, is designed to help paralegals enhance and advance their legal careers and to better qualify for opportunities in the commercial and business sectors.

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Topics: credentials, career, education and training, featured

Landing An Interview Without Exact Experience

Posted by Tami Riggs

May 18, 2023 2:00:00 PM

Law or Business Job Interview

Landing An Interview Without Exact Experience

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Topics: credentials, career, featured

The Truth About Lying on a Resume – It Can Kill Your Candidacy

Posted by Tami Riggs

Mar 14, 2023 11:00:00 AM

Bad-Resume-AdobeStock_219314771There is no place for inaccuracy on a resume or application, whether by fabrication, embellishment, or omission. Don’t make stuff up, twist information, or distort details to gain an advantage. This constitutes professional fraud. While a company is unlikely to pursue legal action in response to a bad-faith misrepresentation, it can be at risk of legal liabilities related to negligent hiring practices in some instances. Purposeful inaccuracies discovered on a resume will almost always result in a candidate being removed from the hiring pool. Any deception discovered post-hire, even many years into tenure, may also result in termination.

Below are 10 ways job seekers commonly adulterate their resumes and applications:

  1. Misrepresent prior employment or duration
  2. Omit jobs or the reasons for leaving them
  3. Falsify job titles or responsibilities
  4. Overstate involvement in or contributions to a project
  5. Exaggerate the level of education attained
  6. Claim to hold a degree, certification, or licensure not earned
  7. Inflate mastery of skills and abilities
  8. Assert conversational knowledge of a second language as fluency
  9. Overinflate salary history
  10. Give fake references
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Topics: graduates and alumni, credentials, career, featured

Why Should We Hire You? Give a FAB Response!

Posted by Tami Riggs

Apr 20, 2022 10:00:00 AM

FAB is an acronym for Features, Advantages, and Benefits. FAB is a common 3-Step strategy employed in sales and marketing to generate interest in products. However, the technique can also be utilized during an interview to SELL yourself and fit any expertise acquired through experience, education, and training to specific job requirements. Consider the following when organizing your FAB responses:
Why should we hire you


Feature – What key factors, attributes, and skills do you have as required by the position?
Advantage – What strengths do your accomplishments, abilities, or past performance indicate relative to the competition?
Benefit – What is the result or value an employer can anticipate from hiring you?

A paralegal job description will typically require the ability to prepare legal documents and correspondence as well as the ability to organize and maintain files. The examples below illustrate how you can use the FAB method to focus your responses, so they are more impactful.

Example 1
Feature: You earned a Paralegal Credential
Advantage: You understand the legal process and terminology better than someone without a credential
Benefit: You are qualified through education and training to perform substantive legal work that requires knowledge of legal concepts, and as a result, can complete the work more quickly and effectively.

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Topics: graduates and alumni, credentials, career, paralegal skills, education and training, featured

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