What Type of Person Thrives in the Legal Aid Industry, According to a Project Coordinator at Legal Aid Society San Mateo County
Maraina, a Project Coordinator, advises that minimal formal training is provided in the field, stating that "the expectation is that you just know things," requiring significant self-directed learning to navigate the complexities of government agencies and organizations. This on-the-job learning experience, while successful for Maraina, highlights a potential mismatch between the industry's expectations and the need for structured training for some professionals.
Project Management, Problem-Solving, Self-Motivation, Resourcefulness, Independent Learning
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Maraina Weyl
Project Coordinator
The Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County
Syracuse University
Santa Clara University School of Education and Counseling Psychology- M.A. Counseling
International Relations & Affairs
Government & Public Sector, Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Consulting
Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Worked 20+ Hours in School, LGBTQ, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Project Coordinator roles may involve minimal formal training; expect to learn on the job.
2. Requires self-initiative and independent learning to navigate unfamiliar government agencies and organizations.
3. A proactive and resourceful approach is crucial for success in this field, as direct training might be limited.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone had told you before you entered the industry?
I think that training might be minimal. That is something that I wish someone told me. From what I understand, in talking to other people who have similar roles to me, the expectation is that you just know things, and sometimes you do and sometimes you don't.
So with a lot of this work and the ins and outs of some of these very specific government agencies and organizations that we're working with, I had no idea what these things were and how to work within them until I kind of had to train myself. I don't mean that as a diss to my organization. We have one lawyer and the team is very, very small.
So the other coordinator did her best to train me, but there was a lot of stuff that I kind of had to figure out on my own as I went. I would have liked to know that there wasn't going to be a binder of how to be a project coordinator available to me.
But I would like to think that I'm pretty smart and pretty go-getter. So if I want to learn something, I will go learn it, and that's kind of what the process has been. For some people, that might not work so well; they might need direct training. There was less of that than I anticipated.