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The Paralegal Press
www.neindianaparalegal.org Fort Wayne, Indiana November/December 2014
10 Reasons Why I Won't Hire You Page 6 NFPA Convention Recap Page 12
The leaves have fallen off the trees and the days are getting shorter, but I’m not going to let that dampen my spirits. We are headed into my favorite time of the year! The holidays will be here before we know it, and Sara Cantrell is hard at work planning our NIPA Christmas party. Look for more details soon. Lori Wagner and I attended the NFPA
annual convention in October. The Dallas Area Paralegal Association were great hosts! I had a great time networking with other paralegals and being a part of some important changes within NFPA. Look for Lori’s convention recap on page 12 of this newsletter. NIPA has agreed to host the NFPA Region III meeting on April 11, 2015. More information will be available closer to time. This will be a great opportunity to meet other parale-gals from our Region, and I urge everyone to try to attend the region meeting or social event being planned. Do you hate the long dreary months of winter? Consider joining one of NIPA’s committees to help pass the time. Cindy Witters could use help planning the monthly lunch-eons and spring seminar; Sarah Cantrell could use help planning the Christmas party, annual meeting and August social; Carrie Thomas could use help finding/writing articles for our newsletter; Nichole Wiesehan-Monnier could use help with fundraising ideas; and Tonya White could use help contacting businesses to get them to advertise with NIPA. An hour a month would go a long way to helping our organization grow!
Inside this issue:
Upcoming Events 3
Christmas Party 4
NIPA Board 5
10 Reasons Why I Won't Hire 6
On the Move 8
Judges recognized 9
Basement Case Files 11
From Primary Representative 12
RSS Feeds 15
2015 Fort Wayne Newspapers Rates
16
A Message from NIPA’s President
Page 2 The Paralegal Press
Angie Meyer, RP®
The Paralegal Press
November 3 - Jennifer Mahoney
6 - Marie Lucas
18 - Katie Stronczek
25 - Jenna Bates
December - Laurie Walters 9 - Alicia Williams 18 - Amanda Framme 18 - Nichole Wiesehan-Monnier 22 - Connie Feber 27 - Sue Bibbee
November
December 1985 - Rebeca Gonzales
1997 - Kim Miller
2012 - Katie Stronczek
Upcoming Events
December
10 Board Meeting at Burt Blee Dixon Sutton & Bloom
10 Newsletter article deadline
16 Annual Christmas Party
25 Christmas Day – Courthouse Closed
26 Day after Christmas — Courthouse Closed
January
1 New Year’s Day — Courthouse Closed
14 Board Meeting at Burt Blee Dixon Sutton & Bloom
19 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day — Courthouse Closed
20 Membership Meeting
February
10 Newsletter article deadline
11 Board Meeting at Burt Blee Dixon Sutton & Bloom
16 President’s Day — Courthouse Closed
17 Membership Meeting
Page 3
Happy Birthday to: Paralegal Anniversaries:
The Paralegal Press Page 4
Page 5 The Paralegal Press
President Angie Meyer, RP
®
[email protected] Vice President Beth Hill [email protected]
Secretary Marie Lucas [email protected] Treasurer Alex Jokay [email protected]
2014-2015 Board of Directors
Advertising Tonya White [email protected] Associate / Student Rep. Vacant Education Cindy Witters [email protected] Event Coordinator Sarah Cantrell [email protected] Fund Raising Nichole Wiesehan-Monnier [email protected] Job Bank Coordinator Katie Stronczek [email protected] Membership Kim Miller [email protected]
Newsletter Carrie Thomas [email protected] Parliamentarian Mickie Potter [email protected] Primary Rep. Lori Wagner, RP
®
[email protected] Pro Bono Vacant Public Relations Julie Krider [email protected] Website Editor Jennifer Mahoney [email protected]
Committee Chairs
The Paralegal Press Page 6
I'm jaded, I know it. Right now, I'm cynical, sarcastic and frustrat-ed. Even I wouldn't want to work for me. But - (and there's always a "but", isn't there?), I have had just the most straining, draining and downright paining time trying to hire a couple of people. Let me explain, please.
There comes a time when you just have to expand your career. I've given that little no-brainer out since I started leading seminars years ago.
It's time to take my own advice. At the urging of several clients, I began to tackle the interesting, re-warding and what I think is a fun natural expansion—career coaching.
Clients have started to contact me and I haven't even added a new web page about my new adven-ture, Legal Careers Rx. Someone must have a lot of faith in me for which I am most grateful.
My focus is career strategy and direction; resume evaluation; interviewing techniques, where do I go from here? plus how to get there from here, stress and burnout, difficult bosses and co-workers, continuing education and solutions for on-the-job situations. I've even put together a group of fantas-tic coaches.
During the process, I had an is-that-true? moment. People had no clue why they weren't being hired. I would hear lots of complaints and heartbreaking stories. I could see through some whining such as "there are no jobs out there" or "I'm entry-level and no one wants to give me a break." The biggest contender: "It's pure age-discrimination, through and through." A lot of the time, it seemed it was al-ways someone else's fault.
My evolving practice revealed there may not be as many "no jobs/age discrimination/no one wants entry level" situations as people think. Sure, those things exist. However, many times the candidate was simply in denial. The manner in which some candidates were approaching their job search was not going to land them a position with anyone, ever. The funny thing is, none of them thought they're doing anything wrong. After all, they wrote a great resume, cover letter, wore their Sunday Best and gave 'em hell during the interview. Someone needs to break the news. People who don't get jobs think the advice is not applicable to them. It's for someone else.
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10 Reasons Why I Won't Hire You10 Reasons Why I Won't Hire You10 Reasons Why I Won't Hire You
The Paralegal Press Page 7
Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association
Job Bank Coordinator $ Katie Stronczek $ (260) 426-9706 $ [email protected]
One of the perks of becoming a member of the Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association is that we offer members access to an EXCLUSIVE job bank!
Looking for quality legal professions?
Consider posting your employment ads with the Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association! It’s absolutely FREE!
For more information, please contact Katie Stronczek, Job Bank Coordinator
The Paralegal Press Page 8
George Guido, Esq. Graly & Guido Law Office 420 Lincoln Tower 116 E. Berry Street Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802 Telephone: (260) 423-3395 www.gralyandguidolawoffice.com Thomas Gallmeyer, Esq., Esq. Burt, Blee, Dixon, Sutton & Bloom, LLP 200 East Main Street, Suite 1000 1st Source Banking Center Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802 Telephone: (260) 426-1300 Courthouse Box #11
Do you know of someone or an office that is moving or has recently moved?
Please let us know so that we have the
information for the next newsletter.
ON THE MOVE
The Paralegal Press Page 9
Several judicial officers (judges and magistrates) were recognized by Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush for their commitment to higher education and their long-time service. Chief Justice Rush, as Chair of the Judicial Conference, recognized twelve judicial officers who received an Indiana Judicial College certificate and five judicial officers for 24 years of service on the bench. Both honors were presented at a 2014 judicial conference.
Indiana Judicial College
A judicial officer must complete 120 hours of education presented by the Indiana Judicial Center to receive this certificate. The programs offered are designed for judicial officers to enhance their legal knowledge and improve their personal and professional development. To view and download photo-graphs of the Judicial College graduates, please visit our Flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/incourts/sets/72157648738317146/. Judge James R. Ahler (Jasper) Magistrate Sally E. Berish (Boone) Judge Jonathan N. Cleary (Dearborn) Judge W. Gregory Coy (Switzerland) Magistrate Gael S. Deppert (Marion) Magistrate Katherine J. Garza (Lake) Judge David A. Happe (Madison) Judge Clay M. Kellerman (Franklin) Judge Mary Margaret Lloyd (Vanderburgh) Judge Dan E. Marshall (Hancock) Judge Gary L. Smith (Jennings) Magistrate Karen A. Werner (Perry)
24 Years of Service This award is presented to judicial officers with 24 years of service on the bench. Judges are typical-ly elected to a six year term; therefore, a judge receiving this certificate has likely been elected four times. To view and download photographs of the 24 Years of Service certificate recipients, please visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/incourts/sets/72157648738208956/. Judge Nancy Eshcoff Boyer (Allen) Judge David C. Chapleau (St. Joseph) Magistrate Glenn D. Commons (Lake) Judge P. J. Pierson (Sullivan) Judge Patricia A. Riley (Court of Appeals) The Indiana Judicial Center serves as the state’s judicial research and continuing judicial education agency. It develops and sponsors education programming for judges, probation officers and other court personnel. The Center works to enhance the performance of the judicial system as a whole by continuously improving the professional competence of judicial officers. For more information on the Judicial Center, visit courts.in.gov/center.
Judges recognized for educational pursuits Judges recognized for educational pursuits Judges recognized for educational pursuits and longand longand long---time servicetime servicetime service
The Paralegal Press Page 10
Here's what I went through, here's why they didn't get hired, and here's what I really wanted to say:
1. You have no current training.
There are no webinars, courses, seminars or anything else on your resume demonstrating you have kept your skills up-to-date. It's even worse for those out of work whose attitude is it's the firm's re-sponsibility to pay for continuing education, and they have no firm. Or, you are working but the firm doesn't budget CLE, so you don't go. How am I supposed to trust your knowledge? Is your current firm involved in training, training, training? I doubt it.
I also hate seeing people take minimum CLE just to fulfill state or association requirements. Do you think you know everything you need to know to do your job forever? If so, you should be president. And even that could take a little extra training.
2. I looked up your LinkedIn profile and Facebook page before I invited you to interview.
You may think employers are checking Facebook to see if you're that 20-year-old posting pictures of you and your buddies wildly drunk at a party. Or, they say they avoid Facebook because it is a "social" situation and not relevant. Not quite. They peek anyway. How you behave in some social settings can spill over into your social skills in the office. How about where you got into a public argu-ment on your FB page with Sally over some petty little thing? Remember how it escalated into the War of Words? It was all about your criticism of typos in her posts.
Was that your attempt at leadership? Hmmm. It probably wasn't the wisest thing to publicly tear someone down, and I wasn't particularly fond of the fact you encouraged your FB friends to jump in and defend you. Not my idea of a leader. Here's an indication of what situations may show up on the job. Red alert! No thanks.
Oh, and by the way, LinkedIn showed different dates and firms than what's on your resume. It didn't seem to be updated, either. No thanks, once again.
3. You have too many issues such as: needing to work special hours, you have to work from home certain days, need vast amounts of time off to take care of family problems, etc.
Your billable hours at your last job were what again?
(Continued from page 6)
(Continued on page 13)
10 Reasons Why I Won't Hire You10 Reasons Why I Won't Hire You10 Reasons Why I Won't Hire You
The Paralegal Press Page 11
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FROM THE PRIMARY REPRESENTATIVE LORI A. WAGNER, RP
The annual NFPA convention was held in Dallas, TX on October 9, 2014, and ran through Sunday, October 12, 2014.
Thursday was a busy day with CLE seminars provided from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm. Be-ginning at 4:15 there were two workshops offered. One workshop demonstrated the val-ues of using Wild Apricot for your website, and the other dealt with the DNA of your board. A vendor’s reception was held following the workshops, giving delegates an op-portunity to meet the vendors and sign up for door prizes. The NFPA board meeting be-gan Thursday night at 7:00 pm and was adjourned at 9:45 pm. The meeting addressed outstanding routine business, convention reporting and bids for upcoming conventions and joint conference.
Friday began with the Region meetings. The region director recapped the Thursday night board meeting for those we were unable to attend. Several board members visited throughout the day to give a summary of their board position. We are pleased to an-nounce that Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association will be hosting the Spring Region meeting here in Fort Wayne. This meeting will be held on April 11, 2015. More details will be coming as we will want all of our members to help host the delegates. Following the coordinator’s appreciation luncheon, most of the afternoon was spent reviewing the agenda topics that would be presented during the policy meeting on Saturday. All region meetings were adjourned 4:30.
From the region meetings, everyone was whisked away to the Treasurer’s meeting. Tracey Chandler, RP, presented the proposed 2014-2015 budget for the final time and answered any remaining questions. The delegates will vote to approve this budget on Sunday morning during the policy meeting.
Finally, a time to network. A lovely social event was held from 6:30 pm until 10:00 pm at the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. A margarita machine (compliments of a corpo-rate sponsor) and an interesting “Selfie Speed Meet and Greet” started the evening, fol-lowed by a good ole buffet of Tex Mex and a photo booth before spending the rest of the evening touring the John F. Kennedy Museum.
Saturday and Sunday were dedicated to the policy meeting. The roll call began the meet-ing with 40 associations credentialed to sit on the policy floor. The general business was conducted. I have a detailed agenda if anyone would like more details of what was dis-cussed.
10 Reasons Why I Won't Hire You10 Reasons Why I Won't Hire You10 Reasons Why I Won't Hire You
4. I couldn't get a word in edgewise during the interview.
I figured you had a hearing problem, so I didn't usher you out.
No one talks over the interviewer. Really, they don't.
5. You refused to follow directions when asked to send your resume.
Don't respond by saying "check my LinkedIn profile" when I ask you to send a resume. I don't care what the magazine articles tell you. I have hundreds of resumes to review all by myself. I am not go-ing to go through each candidate's LinkedIn profile, make notes, try and cut and paste and incur all that extra work. What makes you think it's ok to go against instructions? Then, you kept calling to see if I got your email and asking when was I going to schedule an interview. Annoying, really annoying. What this clearly says is, "This person cannot follow directions and wants to do things his way." No thanks.
6. Your answers sounded rehearsed, routine and repetitious.
I heard no enthusiasm for the field, no real desire for the job and no knowledge of what we're doing. Your answers to why you left your last and prior positions were: "For a better challenge" or "I was re-cruited away" or "for more money." Yuck! Mr. Creativity over here. Can we get just a little more hon-est?
7. You were not relating to the job I had to offer.
Whatever it was you wanted, I wasn't the person who was going to give it to you. Your answers were so far off base, I thought you dropped in to the wrong interview. You knew nothing about my organi-zation, me, the job nor how your skills related to this position. You spent most of the interview talking about your talent and experience that had no relevance to the job.
8. You simply interview badly.
I shouldn't have asked you in after that ridiculous phone interview but I wanted to give you a chance. When am I going to learn? Never second guess your gut feeling. It's based on experience. I think you walked out of the interview thinking you aced it. Now I understand the phrase, "Ignorance is bliss."
(Continued from page 10)
(Continued on page 18)
Page 13 The Paralegal Press
Page 14 The Paralegal Press
NIPA MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
As a member of NIPA, some of the benefits that you will receive are:
Automatic membership in the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA), the
oldest and largest national paralegal association
The chance to meet and network with other paralegals
Educational meetings featuring speakers on legal
topics and topics affecting the paralegal profes-
sion
A Job Bank with Information about local job open-
ings
Discounts on educational seminars
Salary and benefits surveys
Timely news about issues affecting paralegals
Articles about local paralegals and paralegals in
other states
Access to members-only pages on both the NIPA and NFPA websites
Directory of NIPA members including their area of practice
Information about paralegal duties and responsibilities
Public service announcements
Links to CLE and other websites
A chance to win the Paralegal of the Year Award
Personal and professional growth through leadership opportunities
Representation in the Indiana Alliance of Paralegal Associations regarding matters af-
fecting paralegals in Indiana, including regulation
invite your co-workers
To become Members !!
Page 15 The Paralegal Press
Indiana Courts have a growing number of RSS feeds available for subscription with an RSS reader or by email.
Indiana Court Times
This bi-monthly printed magazine and blog covering topics of interest to the courts and the legal community in and around Indiana is published by the Division of State Court Administration. You can also subscribe by email.
Case Clips
Case Clips are selected decisions of the Indiana appellate courts abstracted for judges by the Indi-ana Judicial Center. You can also subscribe by email.
Bits & Bytes: Court Technology Project Blog
This blog, published by the Judicial Technology and Automation Committee, provides updates on trial court technology projects. You can also subscribe by email.
Legislative Updates Blog
During the legislative session each year, the Indiana Judicial Center publishes weekly information about bills before the Indiana General Assembly that are of interest to the judiciary. You can al-so subscribe by email.
Indiana Courts Twitter Page
Follow our updates on Twitter, or if you don't wish to sign up for a Twitter account, you can subscribe by RSS or email.
Indiana Courts YouTube Channel
Many of our informational videos are available on YouTube. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel or just get the RSS for our video uploads.
RSS FeedsRSS FeedsRSS Feeds
Page 16 The Paralegal Press
Page 17 The Paralegal Press
We have an open position on the Board of Directors and two open Committee Chairs. If you have thought about volunteering for your association in the past now would be a good time to step up and take a position. The association is only as strong as its members. We would love to see some new people get involved and now is your chance. Contact any Board member regarding these openings. Let’s fill the table!!
We have empty seats!!! We have empty seats!!! We have empty seats!!!
As a member
of NIPA
you receive at
our membership meetings
10 Reasons Why I Won't Hire You10 Reasons Why I Won't Hire You10 Reasons Why I Won't Hire You
Page 18 The Paralegal Press
9. Your grammar was so bad, it was embarrassing.
It's hard to believe you went all the way through college. On second thought, I'd better check that fact first. I also have no issue that English is your second language. I wish I could speak more than one. However, your written grammar made no sense and it's my reputation at stake. ESL or not, any usage of bad grammar and incorrect wording is going to reflect on me—not you. I'm not taking the risk because I have a soft spot somewhere in my heart and I like you. No way.
10. You showed a lot of disrespect.
Recently, I posted a job opening on various LinkedIn groups. I was flooded with hundreds of re-sumes. I posted that it was going to take some time to get back to everyone and for those who have been accepted, I would set up a telephone conference to further discuss their qualifications. I re-ceived one post—on a public forum, mind you—from a paralegal who said, "Chere, I don't need to get your posts for your job over and over. When you're ready, I'll take your call. Until then, stop sending me notices."
Really? To a prospective employer? Let's not even address the arrogance or rudeness. This egotisti-cal, self-obsessed diva doesn't know that if you set your settings to receive every answer to every discussion on LinkedIn, you get a copy of the original post. She thinks I am personally sending her the post over and over. How savvy is that? My response? "Ginny: I only posted once to this group. A wonderful thing happened! I received 97 resumes in two days! Did I mention one of the qualifications is great client relationship skills? I wouldn't be sitting by that phone much longer if I were you."
There. Got that out of my system. I needed that. Thanks for letting me vent. <sigh>
Chere Estrin is the CEO of Paralegal Knowledge Institute. She has written 10 books in the legal field, is a national seminar speaker, Editor of KNOW, the Magazine for Paralegals and author of hun-dreds of articles. She is maintains a career coaching practice for paralegals at Legal Careers RX, a division of PKI. She can be reached at [email protected].
(Continued from page 13)
About The Paralegal Press
The Paralegal Press is published bi-monthly & is
the official publication of the Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association.
Subscriptions are free to members.
The deadline for articles & advertising
for the next issue is December 12.
The Paralegal Press Page 19
The Pen is Mightier than the Sword Been meaning to write more?
You should.
Hone your skills by
contributing to the
Paralegal Press today.
Send your wildest ideas to
“Plug In” & Get Involved!
Gain marketable skills, help others, make friends & meet new people, build business
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Get in the “know.”
Contact [email protected]
to find out how and where you can serve.
Page 20 The Paralegal Press
Have a new job, gotten married or
recently received an award?
Be sure to keep the members of NIPA informed.
Send any announcement to [email protected]
for inclusion in the Paralegal Press.
The Paralegal Press Page 21
Newsletter, The Paralegal Press (distributed bi-monthly) One (1) Time Six (6) issues
Business card size ad $20 $100
Quarter page ad $30 $150
Half page ad $50 $250
Full page ad $70 $375
E-News (distributed bi‑weekly)
Logo w/link to your website $150
EVENT & AWARD SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Membership Meetings (3rd Tuesday of each month)
Regular meetings (covers sponsorship only) $150
Annual meeting (May 2015) $225
Presentation of Program *
Seminar (Spring 2015)
Exhibitor table $100
Refreshment breaks $50
Paralegal Recognition Award (May 2015)
Sponsor $60
Co-Sponsor $30
Marilyn Morlen Scholarship (May 2015)
Sponsor $500
*Presentation of Program - The sponsor shall, at its expense, provide lunch for everyone who attends the meeting. Sponsor may put a limit on the maximum number of lunches it purchases; however, the minimum shall be not less than 20. If there are less than 20 registrants for the meeting (determined after the registration deadline), sponsor need only provide lunch for those who attend.
2014/2015
ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES
Tonya White Advertising Chair Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association You may contact me at: Haller & Colvin, PC 444 E. Main Street Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802 Phone: 260/426-0444 Email: [email protected]
Make checks payable to: Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association Mail to: Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association P.O. Box 13646 Fort Wayne, Indiana 46865
The Paralegal Press Page 22
GENERAL INFORMATIONGENERAL INFORMATIONGENERAL INFORMATION
The Paralegal Press is the Official Publication of the Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association (“NIPA”) and is published bi-monthly. The subscription rate is included in the membership dues. Arti-cles written by individuals express the view of the author and are not necessarily those of NIPA. Original items printed are the property of NIPA and may not be reproduced without prior written con-sent. Letters to the editor are encouraged, but must be signed in order to be published. The editor reserves the right to edit material of clarity and space.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS:
Please notify us of your address change as soon as possible so that all NIPA and NFPA mail will reach you. Please include the following information: Name, New Address, Phone Number, Fax Number, and E-mail address. Mail information to: Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association, P.O. Box 13646, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46865-3646.
NFPA INFORMATION: Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, NFPA is a non-profit professional organization representing more than 11,000 paralegals in the United States NFPA is the national voice and the standard for excellence for the paralegal profession through its work on the issues of regulation, ethics and edu-cation.
23607 Highway 99, Suite 2-C Edmonds, WA 98026 425-967-0045 425-771-9588 (fax) [email protected] www.paralegals.org
News and opportunities of our national affiliate can be ac-cessed at their website listed above.
Moving???
Help us find you! Be sure to let us know your new address so we can
update our records. This includes any changes you may have to employment infor-
mation, phone numbers, home or work
e-mail addresses. Email Kim Miller at
By updating your information you will continue to receive the bi-
weekly copy of
News & Websites
and the bi-monthly electronic
Paralegal Press
as well as remain current on NFPA’s mailing list so that you do
not miss a single issue of The Paralegal Reporter. Don’t loose any of your NIPA membership
benefits.
