A job well done
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010Legal Assistant
I was impressed for a number of reasons. First, Jeannette does appear to have done her job well. She was “proactive” and used her research, critical thinking and ananlytical thinking skills. In addition she was able to recognize her own success and compliment herself on it. All too often those in charge are short on compliments and we need to be able to “pat ourselves on the back.” As I point out in The Empowered Paralegal, “Empowerment does not come from the outside. It comes from within. It is not granted, it is earned. The empowered paralegal gains that power and the confidence that comes with being professional, and by being a competent, effective and efficient member of the legal team.“
That being said I would recommend that Jeannette go one step further – record the successes. This has several advantages. It provides a resource for review in preparation for annual evaluations and it can be useful in re-establishing self-esteem and self-confidence at the end of those (we hope infrequent) bad days. It is good to keep a notebook with copies of CLE certificates, thank-yous or compliments from clients and attorneys, certifications, volunteer activities, professional association activities, and every other honor you receive during the year, and bring that notebook with you to your annual evaluation. Include a section recording those honors that you have given yourself when you recognize you have done your job well.
