Professionalism as Key Legal Support Staff Skill

There is a difference between professional skills and professionalism. When we talk about personal presentation – both when you are job hunting and when you are on the job – we are talking about professionalism.

Professionalism may be easy to say but it is not that easy to achieve, especially early in your career. It takes time to learn what is and what is not appropriate. One of the best pieces of advice you can follow is to find the person in your office (or if you are still looking for a job, in your life) who best exemplifies the way you want to present yourself. Emulate them. Watch what they do and how they do it. Watch how they treat people and think about how they are treated in return.

If you present yourself well, people will respond to you on a more positive level. It is human nature to respond to others in the way they present themselves. If you present yourself with dignity and grace, people will respond to you that way.

These few aspects of professionalism will help set you apart from other applicants or other staff:

•  Look professional – wear clothing appropriate to your job and always be well-groomed and tidy. Even the smallest change in your attire will change the way you are treated.
• Act professionally – use good manners. Treat clients, other staff, lawyers and anyone else you encounter in the course of your job politely and professionally. Remember that old saying do unto others. It is just as true in the office as it is anywhere else.
• Be cheerful without being too friendly. Smile when you greet people, they will respond and your encounter will begin on a positive note.
• Present yourself with confidence and enthusiasm. Employers notice both these qualities and, although confidence may be difficult to achieve early in your career, be confident in your ability to learn.

 Here are some easy ways to polish up your presentation:

1. Spelling – In law, words matter. It is our stock-in-trade. Print out and read correspondence and documents before you pass them on.  Yes, you may have used spell check but it does not differentiate between words like “there , their or they’re”.  These are two of the most common mistakes editors see and they should never happen.  It’s ALWAYS means it is.  They’re ALWAYS means they are.
2. Tone of voice – Keep your voice low.  Sound travels in the oddest ways so even if you think no one can hear you, they probably can.  It is distracting to be listening to someone else’s conversation, even if they are talking about business.
3. Phone – When taking handwritten, text (SMS), or email messages, spell the name and set out the phone number correctly.  You might find it helps to keep a list of frequently heard names and numbers so you do not have to ask for them or look them up.  Be cheerful and professional when you answer the phone.  Your office may have a policy as to what you say when you pick up the phone, if they do not, use your name – Kate Jenskins speaking – and speak clearly.  The person on the other end of the phone will appreciates this courtesy and your conversation begins on a good note.
4. Correspondence and documents – The same goes for correspondence and documents.  Perhaps the lawyer or assistant signing or reviewing the document will catch it if you’ve spelled someone’s name wrong, but what if they do not?  Take a few seconds to check the spelling of names and addresses before you send it on, you’ll look good.
5. Your personal space – No one can keep their desk,  office and desktop tidy all the time, that is an impossible task in a law office.  But keep it as neat as you can.  And if you have just gone through a tremendously busy time and there is paper or electronic files everywhere, take the time (even if it is only five minutes) to clean it up before you go home.  You will appreciate the effort the next morning and so will everyone around you.
6. Courtesy – There is no way to guess ahead of time the correct response to every situation in which you find yourself, but there are two things that will always stand you in good stead:  be polite and be discreet.
7. Discretion – Remember that you never know who is standing behind you in the grocery store line-up or sitting at the next table in a restaurant.  Never say anything that you don’t want overheard. Loose lips sink ships.

There you go, a crash course in presentation.  Polishing up your presentation gives you great results for very little expenditure in time or energy.  Just try it.

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