Significant Career Lesson From a Paralegal at a Legal Services Company
Stephanie's significant career lesson centers on "being curious and not being afraid to ask questions," a trait that propelled their advancement from a receptionist to a supervising case manager and then into a new legal field. This proactive approach, combined with self-advocacy ("I said, you know what screw it...Let me apply"), resulted in multiple promotions and rapid career growth.
Career Development, Communication, Problem-Solving, Motivation, Overcoming Challenges
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Stephanie Henriquez
Paralegal
Legal Services Company
UCLA: 2018
N/A
History, Art History
Law
Legal
Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Ask questions and be curious: Stephanie emphasizes the importance of asking questions and being curious to further one's understanding and career progression. This highlights the value of proactive learning and seeking clarification.
2. Advocate for yourself: Stephanie stresses the significance of self-advocacy in career advancement. This includes actively seeking opportunities and expressing interest in promotions or new challenges.
3. Embrace new challenges and fields: Stephanie's career journey demonstrates a willingness to transition between different legal fields (personal injury to employment law). This highlights the adaptability and growth opportunities within the legal profession.
Transcript
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
I think being curious and not being afraid to ask questions has really helped me. It's because of my curiosity and the questions I ask, and the fact that I'm not afraid to say, "I don't understand what you just said."
This has helped me grow because I become informed, whether I'm asking an attorney or even a co-worker. When I ask, "What is that? What does that mean?" I learn so much from it.
To break down how this has helped my career, I started off as a receptionist in November 2018. It was a very underestimated role, but I learned a lot from it. From there, I obviously applied within that same firm for a case manager position.
Advocating for yourself is important too. Nobody will advocate for you as much as you will. I put myself out there and decided to apply for the case manager roles.
I was a part-time student in a paralegal program at the time, and I got the job. My curiosity and my questions led me to be promoted three times. I ended up being a supervising case manager for 25 other case managers.
This was because of my work ethic, but also because of how informed I had become about the cases themselves. It was due to my questions and the things I love to look for by being curious.
Now, in my current job, I left the other one to pursue a new legal field. I was doing personal injury at the time, and now I'm doing employment law. I haven't even been in this role for a full year, and I'm already getting more work and will likely see a promotion.
Again, it all comes down to curiosity and questions. I went from personal injury to employment law because I was curious and wanted to know what it was and what it meant. It's already been a learning experience, and again, it's about staying curious and advocating for yourself.