I'm Not (that kind of) Quitter!
December 17, 2014 4:35 AM   Subscribe

My most recent position is not ideal, and it's time to move on. How best should I phrase my departure and, if you were a hiring manager, what would you want to hear? Snowflakes inside.

I am a paralegal at a mid-sized defense firm. I started in the file room but, after my predecessor was fired three months ago for "not working hard enough/not getting things done," I was promoted to this position. However, they declined to bring me up to my predecessor's wage rate (over $3 higher than mine) and declined to bring me up to her full-time status, saying that I would have to wait until the fiscal/budget year restarts in January before requesting full-time status. My supervisors were enthusiastic about my work and assured me that the request would be granted, so I waited patiently.

However, my part-time status is inconsistent with the duties I have taken on, and that list has increased beyond reasonable capacity. I have delegated all that I possibly can to file room staff and secretaries. But I am permanently behind schedule on multiple projects because I do not work a 40-hour week, and don't have the time for all of it.

But since I was explicitly told that I cannot turn down an attorney's assignment for me (especially if they're higher-ranked), my inability to balance the 20+ cases I deal with in a week is souring my relationships with the attorneys whose work is pushed aside for that of other, higher-ranked attorneys. Although I have clearly communicated where I am with projects and tried to set reasonable deadlines, several attorneys - ones that I trusted - have begun to snap and get nasty with me. The partner that I normally work with has sent several emails accusing me of failing to accomplish certain tasks, and when I respond with resounding evidence to the contrary, simply nods and shrugs it off.

Maybe it's because this is my first time at a law firm, and I just don't know how paralegals should function. Maybe I'm not an ideal fit. Either way, at $12/hr I'm living uncomfortably, and I no longer like the odds of my being promoted to full-time status. I checked in with my managing attorney whose answer went from "definitely full-time" to "probably" to "maybe." I think it's time to move on, and find something else.

But my recent work history is not ideal for moving on after such a short period of time, either. I was fired from my last job for policy violations (which I do not and will not contest), but was never given a formal reason or letter as promised.

My question, therefore, is this: if you were a hiring manager, is there anything that would give you pause about leaving one job after another, especially after only 4 months? I've learned a valuable lesson from my previous job, which is why I have just enough sense to try and leave this one. What is the best way to phrase this situation, and demonstrate that I've taken both experiences as valuable lessons?
posted by Ashen to Work & Money (14 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: My answer would be different, perhaps, depending on whether you were seeking more paralegal work or were seeking work in a different field.

If you are seeking paralegal work, then I think you should be more honest about what's going on. You could say something like "there was too much work for me to accomplish as a part-timer, but they said they could not afford to hire me full time, and I felt I could not be effective under those circumstances." Or something like that. The reason I counsel being honest about it, to other law firms, is that law firms KNOW how law firms are, and that answer will make a lot of sense to another firm. It will help signal that you are not going to tolerate being dicked around, so will also help (possibly) weed out other firms that are similarly poorly run. Lawyers are very judgmental of other lawyers, so it's not like you would be offending anyone's sense of propriety to cast your current employer in a not-so-flattering light as long as you do it in a delicate and tactful way.

(I am an attorney, no longer practicing, and trust me, we are all aware of the financial constraints and mismanagement that are endemic to law firms, and how much of the burden tends to fall on overworked support staff. For what it's worth, you are GROSSLY underpaid, especially for a mid-sized defense firm!?!? I was a solo practitioner, and money was always tight, and yet I paid my paralegal $20-$25 an hour.)

If you are applying for other types of work, I would advise you to be a bit more opaque. The standard "it wasn't a good fit" would probably work. I'm not saying it would be a huge mistake for you to be honest about the reason, but people outside law simply don't know as much about how disastrously many law firms are run, so disclosing the reason for your quick departure could sound more like you were the problem, not them.
posted by jayder at 4:58 AM on December 17, 2014 [13 favorites]


jayder's advice is spot on.

Since it's the one big thing that jumps out at me, I want to echo what jayder said above about your compensation. I don't know what "mid-sized" means in your mind, but if you are working for any kind of law firm in the NYC area you are ridiculously underpaid at $12 an hour. Most paralegals around here are making around triple that rate. Even accounting for your lack of experience and a smaller law firm in NJ, you should be earning at double the rate you are being paid now. Considering that they are not only massively lowballing you on hourly compensation but also screwing you on your hours, I think you are 100% correct to get out of there. It's not like they're going to stop bleeding the support staff to line their own pockets.
posted by slkinsey at 5:38 AM on December 17, 2014 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Really all you need to say is, "I'm looking for a full-time position." Everyone can understand that. Nthing that what you are being paid is shockingly low.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:43 AM on December 17, 2014 [13 favorites]


First off, you are absolutely right that you need to move on from this firm at some point. If they are giving you too much work for your available time now, why assume they won't keep doing so even if they DO switch you over to full time? (And if multiple attorneys are giving you work, you're probably good at what you do. Trust me, people in billable hour situations learn to sniff out who can help them quickly and efficiently and who can't.)

If I were interviewing you, I would not bat an eye if you explained that you were looking for a full time job, and your current workplace was keeping you at part time. I also wouldn't blink if you said that you had earned a promotion, but they had declined to raise your wages to match said promotion.

That all being said... January (when they said their fiscal year would restart) is in two weeks, and I doubt you'll find many companies interviewing for new hires over the holidays. You could wait until January 2 and then explain to your current employers that you need to be full-time and at a higher wage. (Mind you, I am not sure that I buy that "wait until January" explanation -- if they had the budget for your predecessor, why don't they have the budget for you? Weirdness. These guys are sketchy.)
posted by pie ninja at 5:44 AM on December 17, 2014


Best answer: Even as a paralegal at a small legal nonprofit more than 15 years ago, I made more money than you make now.

I don't think you have anything to worry about. "I learned a lot from the job but I desire full-time work" is totally acceptable. Also when you go to apply, telling prospective employers why you want to work at that firm, why you see yourself at that firm, and why you will be an asset to that firm in specific is worth far more than anything else. You can accentuate the positive. It's not "why you want a new job"; it's why you want the job that you are applying for, in specific. (The culture, the experience, the staff, whatever you can latch on to to make your case.)
posted by RJ Reynolds at 6:12 AM on December 17, 2014 [4 favorites]


When interviewing, I would just say that you are looking for permanent full-time work and enjoy working in a fast-paced litigation environment.

That pay is CRAP for a paralegal. I'm in small-town Midwest land and my government paralegal earns double that and I think she is underpaid.
posted by notjustthefish at 9:39 AM on December 17, 2014


Whenever I hear that someone is working part-time, I don't need to hear any more - the motivation that "I'm looking for full-time work" is sufficient. No need to unpack the low pay/bad conditions baggage.
posted by randomkeystrike at 10:40 AM on December 17, 2014


How long have you been with this firm, period? Have you been a paralegal for four months, or have you been with the company for four months?

I think if the sum total of your work experience there has been a year or more, you are perfectly justified in leaving and shouldn't worry about seeming like a flake. If asked why you're moving on (by a hiring manager, NOT the firm you're already with!), you should just say that since becoming a paralegal you're interested in seeing what other types of opportunities are out there that would be a better fit. Say you're looking to go full time, you're aware that your pay rate is not competitive within the field, etc. Those are great reasons to look elsewhere for employment.

If asked why you're leaving by people with the power to help you at the firm, I would tell them you want to go full time and be paid what your predecessor was paid.

Also, frankly, if this were me, I'd be telling the attorneys getting frustrated about deadlines that you would be able to complete the work if you were given more hours. I mean, it seems like kind of a weird thing to be laying on your shoulders, assuming you're not otherwise slacking off.
posted by Sara C. at 11:49 AM on December 17, 2014 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: To clarify: I have only worked at the firm for a total of four months. I have been a para for three.
posted by Ashen at 1:48 PM on December 17, 2014


Are you looking for more paralegal work? If so, yeah, as a law firm lawyer all you have to do is tell me that they said they can't afford to bring you on full time, and that makes it hard for you to do the kind of job you want to do in limited hours, and I will get it and think poorly of your firm to boot.

If you're looking to escape the legal field, I would imagine people would get that, too.
posted by J. Wilson at 5:27 PM on December 17, 2014


Btw do the lawyers you are working with know you aren't allowed to work full time hours?
posted by J. Wilson at 5:28 PM on December 17, 2014


Response by poster: @J. Wilson: I would LOVE to continue being a paralegal (although everyone's asking for experience that I don't have yet). I really do enjoy the practice of law and being so close to it.

Every lawyer that I work with is aware that I have less than 30 hours every week to get their work done. They sometimes forget that, because I'm there every day at the same time, but I've repeatedly made it very clear that my time is limited. In fact, I've addressed this with every attorney I work closely with in the last 4 weeks, in an attempt to gain their support towards my petition for full-time status. I've started keeping track of my non-billable hours because the implication that I'm somehow slacking off is demonstrably ridiculous. And yet...here we are.
posted by Ashen at 5:59 PM on December 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


Just apply for jobs and move on. Even if you magically get a full-time schedule, you're still only making 1/3 of what you should be making. Hell, see if you can sign up with a temp agency for legal professionals. Robert Half and Filcro are places to start. You might get some contracts to get more experience. You'll certainly get more money!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:56 AM on December 18, 2014


Response by poster: I learned through an unfortunate chain of events that being raised to my predecessor's wages is merit-based, in my case. So instead of seeing my wages corrected in January, they'll consider doing so in March, but realistically August (after a full year of employment with them has passed). I was told that I have to prove that I'm valuable (and profitable) enough to retain full-time. Eh. While I appreciate how blunt they were about it, I'm still going to move on.

I know that as long as I keep my head down and continue to churn out good work, I'll have multiple references; someone is trying to help me move to a different firm, so there's that. Since I plan to be gone before March OR August, the "I'm looking for full-time work" line still applies, with appropriate modifications for the law firms I may interview with (fingers crossed).

Thank you for your answers! They were exactly what I needed.
posted by Ashen at 6:06 AM on December 20, 2014 [1 favorite]


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