Articles by Amy Shanks

Experienced recruiter with a passion for the business - always striving to improve the level of service and innovation for our clients. I believe in acquiring talent beyond expectations resulting in a strong client partnership that allows us both to focus on what we do best.

December 3, 2021 by Amy Shanks Leave a Comment

Your Paralegal Resume Should Feature These Five Transferrable Skills

Being a great communicator is one of the five transferrable skills that paralegals need to land their dream job!

Your paralegal resume should always be strong, but for recent graduates and those new to the profession, experience may be lacking on the page. However, you most likely have a varied skill set to offer, and these skills are highly transferable. If you find yourself without a substantial amount of experience to highlight in your resume, building the document around your transferable skills is a sound strategy for guaranteeing you stand out from the other applicants.

1. Paralegals Must Demonstrate That They Can Prioritize

Planning is a simple but invaluable skill in all sectors. Any activities, assignments, and projects you organized while attending school make for a sincere demonstration of your ability to plan and act on the blueprints you create. Events you’ve put together are also significant items in your history that show the importance you place on solid planning.

2. For Paralegals, Communication is Key

Interviewers will always favor excellent communicators. Both written and spoken communication skills are vital in paralegal work. By providing the details of papers, projects, and presentations that you’ve completed, you can give your resume a leg up in this department.

3. Problem-Solving is the Universal Skill for Paralegals

All of us have solved a problem in a way unique to us. Even if you believe it to be unrelated to law, chances are you’ve found a way to clear a hurdle in your personal or professional life that was more efficient than your previous tries at it. By showing you can improve on how a task is completed to make the result more effective, you’re also illustrating how you can better guarantee client satisfaction.

4. Knowing How to Negotiate and Mediate is Key

Are there situations where you have met resistance head-on and made progress? These anecdotes reveal how savvy you are at knowing when to push and when to give under pressure. Moot court, debate, and panel discussions are a few examples of activities you could include in your resume to exhibit your capability in this area.

5. Paralegals Must Excel In the Details, Details, Details

Proving you are detail-oriented is far more helpful than stating it. To make sure you’re viewed as having a knack for accuracy, proofread your resume carefully for any mistakes. Listing any editing experience, responsibilities where you managed data such as cash flow, and preparation of policy and procedure documents are all great instances where your attention to detail will be on display.

At Strategic Recruitment Solutions, your success is our success. Our reputation for superior client satisfaction results from a tireless commitment to exceeding our clients’ objectives. We are the recruiting firm for top employers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and the Gulf Region. Our recruiters will partner with you in your search for highly talented legal, management and technology hires. They will lend their industry knowledge, experience, tools, and technology to enhance your recruiting strategy. We have been matching top companies with top talent in the Gulf Region for more than a decade. Our focus is on building a long-term relationship with your company. Call us today at 888-366-6508. We can help you find the best candidate to join your legal or IT team.

October 28, 2021 by Amy Shanks Leave a Comment

SRS – Recruitment and Retention – 5 Things Employees Want More Than A Raise

Employee retention will increase your bottom line. Read these five tips to increase employee retention.

An estimated 41 million employees voluntarily quit their jobs in 2019, according to the Work Institute. By the end of 2020, the firm predicted that 47 million, or roughly 1 in 3 workers, will leave their employment. According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, businesses lose up to a trillion dollars annually due to voluntary turnover.

When you consider that cost of replacing an employee is one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary, it makes sense to work on retention. For example, for a 100-person firm with an average annual salary per employee of $50,000, turnover and replacement costs may be $660,000 to $2.6 million per year.

Employee retention is when managers know how to put employees in the right roles and give them suitable projects to keep them engaged, productive, and want to work for the company and the manager.

The benefits of employee retention are:

Increased employee satisfaction
Better employee morale
Increased performance and productivity
Improved work quality
Increased return on your investment (ROI)

Conversely, the price of replacing an employee includes recruitment costs, training, lower productivity, and a lower level of customer satisfaction.

In their book, Love ‘Em or Lose’ Em, authors Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans asked over 18,000 employees why they stayed with their organizations. The result was a bestselling employee retention guide that provides valuable insight into employees’ top non-financial reasons for
staying.

In a Gallup survey, over 50 percent of exiting employees said that in the three months before they left, neither their manager nor any other leader spoke with them about their job satisfaction or future with the organization.

Most employees agree that what they want is exciting, challenging, or meaningful work. Although we all can’t have jobs as exciting as being an astronaut, here are five ways to improve your employee recruiting practices and increase the retention of employees in your business.

1. Form teams.

While in teams, workers learn more, have more variety in their work, and perform much better with follow-up tasks. Teams are great for keeping active engagements and encouraging more accountability. It is a win-win for everyone.

2. Challenge Employees with New Assignments.

New responsibilities can help your employees feel valued. Show your employees you trust them by giving them responsibilities that allow them
to grow.

3. Seek Employee Feedback.

Employees want more than an annual review. Furthermore, employees want to know about their performance, and if you provide them with continual feedback, their work will improve considerably.

4. Recognize Quality Work.

The rewards you give your employees should speak to their emotional needs and should go beyond their monetary compensation. Recognition contributes to the positive culture of the company and can be a great morale builder.

5. Provide Your Employees with Learning Opportunities.

German law provides a Bildungsurlaub, five days off annually to participate in an approved training course. Although not many countries have a law like this, the idea of enriching a job via a learning experience will keep your employees educated and interested.

Finally, communication is key to a great workplace. When your employees feel that they can come to you with ideas, questions, and concerns, this leads to a positive environment.

We have been matching top companies with top talent in the Gulf Region for more than a decade. Our focus is on building a long-term relationship with your company. Call us today at 888-366-6508. We can help you find the best candidate to join your legal or IT team.

August 27, 2021 by Amy Shanks Leave a Comment

Hot IT Jobs In the Legal Industry

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused some instability and uncertainty for the workforce, the legal tech professional’s market continues to grow. According to legal tech news, companies and law firms are back to hiring legal technologists with the regularity and ferocity seen before the pandemic. It is anticipated that the demand for legal tech professionals will remain high due to the specific challenges of the pandemic.

Law firms are fully aware of how technology shapes law and the legal process. In response to the pandemic, law firms have had to become increasingly digital. In 2021, technology began transforming the legal industry at lightning speed. Some experts believe technology will innovate the entire law practice before the decade’s end. Here are a few of the current law office technology trends:

Seamless communication and document automation – Law firms want to ensure that they are reachable and that their clients can sign documents electronically.
Cybersecurity – As more work transitions to an online or virtual format, law firms will have to take a more active role in the security of their firms’ and their clients’ confidential information.
Capturing data – Law firm want to capture more data and to have it be in a format that will transfer into more profit.
Integration of cloud-based platforms – Implementing systems that help facilitate efficiency such as client portals.
Digital interfaces from courts and government agencies – virtual filing, virtual conferences with judges and virtual trials.

If you are in the legal technology industry or work in a law firm’s tech department, the following are some useful pointers to advance your career.

Stay Current

Due to the rapid advancements in technology, those in the legal industry need to stay current. You can do this by following tech news and looking at legal blogs for updates as well as attending relevant seminars, webinars, and workshops.

Stay on Track

The legal tech industry is yet to have a clearly defined career path. However, by remaining aware of opportunities you can advance your career. Do not be afraid to ask your colleagues about the current trends in technology. Keep in contact with IT recruiters, and network in order to stay on track with your goals.

Be Passionate about Your Career.

You don’t have to know everything to be successful. For example, you don’t have to get a software degree to work in legal tech. What helps is if you are passionate about your career and willing to learn.

If you have the technological tools to solve the client’s issues while understanding the client’s legal needs, you will excel in this market.

July 30, 2021 by Amy Shanks Leave a Comment

Five Reasons Why Employees Quit

Employee burnout is the number one reason, employees leave employment.

Turnover is expensive. According to statistics, it cost employers three times a person’s salary for each replaced employee. The reasons why good employees quit are similar in robust economies as well as weak ones.

An article on NBC’s website revealed that a 95 percent of all employees were considering finding a new job and 92 percent would consider switching industries for a new position. The top reason for leaving was employee burnout. Although better pay packets and loftier job titles account for many resignation letters, there are other reasons why employees leave. Employees also quit because they seek recognition, opportunities for growth, and better benefits. Beyond these factors though, research into employee turnover has unearthed a host of additional subtle and emotional factors that determine whether employees become job seekers.

Here are five reasons why employees quit and employers can do about it:

1. Poor Team Compatibility

Many hiring managers place too much emphasis on the technical requirements of a job and not enough on the applicant’s “soft skills.” The result is that too often, they hire for skills and fire someone because of incompatibility.

The keys to battling turnover are culture, compatibility, and mission. A great way to increase retention is to benchmark top performers using a personality survey to assess how you can emulate their “chemistry and fit” within your firm.

2. Lack of Appreciation

It’s important to remember that most people don’t quit their companies, they quit their boss. Strong words? Perhaps. But before you ask your next achiever, “what have you done for me today?”, make sure you give praise. Employees want to be recognized for their efforts and thrive on being appreciated. There are many ways to recognize employees.

3. Advancement & Personal Growth

In today’s fast-moving environment, employees want to learn and be challenged. Companies that offer multiple options for employees to learn new technologies and techniques gain a competitive edge. Most employees are interested in “sharpening their saw” through training, personal development, learning new tips and strategies. When you provide these opportunities, you are giving your employees a fresh outlook on organizing and approaching their day-to-day tasks. Seventy percent of 2,000 millennials surveyed said they would quit a job if it lacked high performing and fast technology.

4. Show More Empathy

A 2021 study by Business Solver showed that 92 percent of employees would be more likely to remain at their job if their bosses showed more empathy.

5. Compensation

Why isn’t money at the top of this list? Because “show me the money” isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Money is seldom the driving issue assuming that you are paying a competitive wage. Instead, when items 1-3 are missing in an employee’s job satisfaction, then compensation becomes an added reason to leave.

At Strategic Recruitment Solutions, your success is our success. Our reputation for superior client satisfaction is the result of a tireless commitment to exceeding our clients’ objectives. We are the recruiting firm of choice for top employers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and the Gulf Region. Our recruiters will partner with you in your search for highly talented legal, management and technology hires. They will lend their industry knowledge, experience, tools, and technology to enhance your recruiting strategy. SRS has been matching top companies with top talent in the Gulf Region for more than a decade. Furthermore, our focus is on building a long-term relationship with your company. Call us today at 888-366-6508. We can help you find the best candidate to join your legal or IT team.

June 14, 2021 by Amy Shanks Leave a Comment

Time to change jobs? Look for these signs!

You have been in your job a few years and noticed your motivation is dwindling. Maybe you no longer feel challenged to learn. Or perhaps you feel like you are going in the opposite direction of where you envisioned your career going.

Everyone’s interests and goals naturally change over time. So how do you know if you’re ready for a job change?

Here are seven indicators that it may be time for you to make your move:

You feel stressed and tired

Are you overly tired on the way to work, sleeping less, or more irritable? These could be symptoms of rising stress levels – an early warning system that something is off. Stress can affect your mood and immune system, making you more susceptible to colds and lows and impairing performance.

So if your body is trying to tell you something, take a moment to understand the message.

You don’t believe in the company like you used to

When you began working in your current job, it seemed full of possibilities, and you felt proud to identify yourself as an employee of your organization. But recently, you’ve noticed a change in the office atmosphere, and your belief or confidence in the organization isn’t what it was.

Perhaps the company has taken some commercial or strategic decisions that don’t sit well with you. Maybe a management reshuffle has not been a change for the better. Or perhaps it’s just that your thinking has evolved, and you feel your values no longer align with yours.

You can’t wait for the day to end

When you first started this job, you woke up excited about going to work. On the job, you often asked about taking on extra projects and offered to stay late to complete your work. Now, you find yourself counting down the hours until you can log off and head home. You look for the minimum workload rather than look for opportunities to go the extra mile.

It may be that your position doesn’t stretch you any more, or your current employer doesn’t have an adequate development path for you. Either way, it could be time to move on to something that ignites your passion again.

Your job skills don’t match up with your interests

Sometimes people get hired for things they’re good at but don’t necessarily like doing. You may be skilled in software sales but would really prefer to be in marketing. Maybe you’re great at creating spreadsheets but would rather meet with clients instead of sitting at a desk all day. Perhaps you’ve found yourself practicing in one area of law, but you’d prefer another.

It is natural to want to align your interests with your career activity – and the longer you leave it, the harder it can be to switch as you become more and more specialized in a field where you feel you do not belong.

As Steve Jobs once said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” So now could be the time to take the opportunity while you can and see what you can achieve if you try.

You feel invisible

Do you get the impression that your opinions and contributions go unacknowledged? Have you been overlooked for a promotion or an important project, and you’re finding others get the credit for things you suggested months ago. Perhaps relationships within your team aren’t as cordial or collaborative as they used to be, and team members aren’t socializing together anymore.

Because you spend a significant portion of your time at work, it is important that you feel that you are valued. It also helps if your work atmosphere is friendly, productive, and encouraging. If you’ve done everything you can to improve the dynamic, but still feel that things are not right, it may be time to move on. Find something new to challenge you and where you think you can make a real difference.

Your job is boring

Sometimes it can be hard to accept that your role is just not substantial enough for you anymore. Unhappily staying in a position because of your sense of loyalty or hesitation to make a change could hurt your career in the long run.

Over time you have developed skills and experience, and it may be time for new challenges. Sometimes an employer may not have the resources to help you reach your potential. What your career may need is the sort of change that only a job switch can provide.

If you see similarities with your job experience after reading these seven signs, don’t be afraid to start exploring your options.

At Strategic Recruitment Solutions, your success is our success. Our reputation for superior client satisfaction is the result of a tireless commitment to exceeding our clients’ objectives. We are the recruiting firm of choice for top employers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and the Gulf Region. Our recruiters will partner with you in your search for highly talented legal, management and technology hires. They will lend their industry knowledge, experience, tools, and technology to enhance your recruiting strategy. We have been matching top companies with top talent in the Gulf Region for more than a decade. Our focus is on building a long-term relationship with your company. Call us today at 888-366-6508. We can help you find the best candidate to join your legal or IT team.