Episode 10: Career Development – The Small Steps That Change Everything

Transcript

Tara Edwards 0:01

Hello, my name is Tara, and welcome to Sister-in-Law, the Paralegal Journey, a podcast about the careers behind the case files. Whether you work in law, work alongside the legal profession, or thinking about a career in this space, or simply want an honest look at the paralegal journey, you're in the right place. Welcome back to Sister-in-Law, the paralegal journey. In last week's episode, I sat down with Nicole Lee, who has built her career from legal assistant to law clerk, and now licensed paralegal in Ontario. One of the things that really stood out in that conversation is that her career didn't grow through one big leap. It grew through intentional steps over time. When we talk about career development, we often focus on what's next, the next role, the next title, the next move. But we don't always stop to recognize what we're already building right now and whether we're being intentional about it. So that's what I wanna talk about in today's episode. As you listen to this episode, I want you to ask yourself, am I intentionally developing my career right now or am I simply moving through my role? Career development is often framed as a moment, a decision to go back to school, a decision to leave a job, a decision to change directions. But most careers aren't built in moments, they're built in patterns. The work you choose to learn, the environments you place yourself in, the exposure you give yourself over time, and whether or not those choices are intentional. When I was working in Ontario as a labour and employment legal assistant, my path didn't happen by accident. I started in employment law. From there, I moved into a role at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and then transitioned into labour law. At the time, each move felt like it was just the next step. But looking back, each role gave me a different perspective on the same area of law. Employment law gave me the foundation, human rights gave me insight into the tribunal process and how decisions are made. Labour law gave me exposure to a completely different side of workplace dynamics. I wasn't just moving roles, I was building a more complete understanding of the same space, and that was intentional. Later when I moved to Alberta, one of the things I heard was, I haven't seen someone with this much labour and employment experience. That didn't come from one role. It came from the combination of those experiences and the intention behind choosing them, and when I look even more closely, those choices connect even further back. My first diploma in human resources. So when I began working in labour and employment law, I wasn't just learning legal processes. I was also able to understand the HR principles behind the issues, the policies, the workplace dynamics, the decision making from an employer's perspective. Then when I added my paralegal education on top of that, along with my labour and employment experience and my HR background, it created another opportunity for me. I was able to move into an office manager role where I wasn't just focused on the legal work, but also managing the day-to-day operations of the firm. So each step didn't replace the last one it built on it, even though I've moved into other areas since then, those earlier decisions still shape how I think, how I work, and what I bring to the table today. That's what career development looks like. It's not random movement, but connected experience. When you take a closer look at the work, legal assistants and paralegals are doing every day, career development is already happening. The difference is, whether you recognize it and use it intentionally. Here are 10 career development principles you may already be building, even if you haven't realized it yet. One, ownership, no one is responsible for your career. The way you are support helps, but direction comes from you. It is easy to wait for someone else to notice your potential, to offer you new work or to tell you what your next step should be. And sometimes that support does happen, but career development becomes much stronger when you stop waiting for someone else to map it out for you. Ownership means paying attention to where you wanna grow, what kind of work interests you, and what experiences you need to build over time. Even if you do have supportive lawyers, mentors, or coworkers around you, they still cannot want your career more than you do. Two skill awareness. Every task you do is building something. The question is, are you paying attention? Sometimes we look at our work only as a list of tasks, draft a letter, follow up with the client, organize the documents, prepare the filing. But underneath those tasks, you are building real professional skills. You may be strengthening your communication, your attention to detail, your ability to manage timelines, or your understanding of legal processes. When you start recognizing the skill underneath the task, you begin to understand your experience differently. What matters not only for confidence, but also for how you talk about your value in interviews, performance, conversations, and future opportunities. Three, curiosity. Growth often starts with a simple question, can I learn this? Curiosity is one of the most underrated parts of career development. It is what pushes you to ask why something is done a certain way. What happens next in a file or whether there is another part of the process you can be exposed to. You do not need to know everything to grow. In fact, growth often starts when you are willing to admit that you do not know something yet, but you want to understand it. Curiosity opens doors because it shows that you are engaged, paying attention, and thinking beyond the surface of your role. Four exposure. The more you see, the more you understand. Sitting in, observing and asking. Those things matter. Sometimes development is not about doing something yourself right away. Sometimes it starts with seeing it, watching how a lawyer approaches a client issue, hearing how a difficult conversation is handled. Or observing how a file process is from beginning to end can teach you a great deal. Exposure helps you understand context. It helps you connect your own work to the larger legal process and over time, that broader view makes you stronger in your current role and more prepared for the next one. What you are exposed to today often becomes what you feel capable of doing tomorrow. Five initiative. Sometimes opportunities are not offered. You must ask for them. This can be uncomfortable, especially in legal environments where people are busy and everyone is focused on deadlines. But initiative matters. Sometimes growth does not come because someone sees your potential immediately. Sometimes it comes because you ask to help, ask to learn. Or asked to be included. That might be as simple as saying, can I sit in on that? Or if something similar comes up again, I would love the opportunity to try it. Initiative shows that you are not just completing assigned work, but thinking about your development in an active way. Six, adaptability files change work changes. Roles change. Learning how to adjust is part of development. Legal work is rarely static. Priority shift, urgent matters come up. Processes change, technology changes. Sometimes even your role changes before your title does. Adaptability is not just about being flexible for the sake of it. It's about learning how to stay effective even when things move around you. That is a valuable professional skill in itself. The people who continue to grow are often the ones who learn how to adjust without losing their focus, professionalism, or willingness to learn. Seven education. Courses and certifications matter, but only if they connect to where you want to go. Education can be powerful, but the most useful education is intentional. It is not just about taking a course because it sounds good or because other people are doing it. It is about asking whether that learning helps build towards your goals. Does it strengthen your current role? Does it open another door? Does it deepen your understanding in an area you want to grow in? Formal learning can absolutely be part of career development, but it becomes even more valuable when you connect it to a bigger direction rather than collecting credentials without purpose. Eight reflection, if you don't stop and think about what you're learning, you miss it. This is one of the most important parts of growth and one of the easiest to neglect. When you are busy, it is easy to move from one task to the next without ever pausing to recognize how much you are developing. Reflection does not have to be complicated. It can simply mean asking yourself what you handled well, what you understand better now, or what challenged you this week. Reflection helps you notice patterns in your growth. It also helps you become more intentional because once you can see what you are learning, you can make better decisions about what you want to keep building. Nine timing. Not every move needs to happen right now. Some growth happens exactly where you are. In a world where everyone seems to be moving quickly, it can feel easy to feel behind, but not every stage of career development looks like a big change. Sometimes the most important growth happens in the role you are already in. Sometimes you are building confidence, consistency, depth, or experience that will matter later. That does not mean staying stuck. It means recognizing that timing matters. There are seasons for stretching where you are, and there are seasons for making a move. Growth is not always immediate, but that does not mean it's not happening. Ten. long-term thinking. Your current role might not be your final role, but it may be building exactly what you need for the next. This is where career development becomes bigger than your current job title. Long-term thinking means understanding that not every experience has to make sense only for today. Some experiences are preparing you for something you cannot fully see yet. A certain type of file, a particular environment, a specific area of law, or even a challenging season in your work, may later become part of the reason you are ready for a future opportunity. When you think long term, you start asking, not only do I like this role, but also what is this role helping me build? That question can change the way you see your entire path. Understanding these principles is one thing, but applying them is where career development really happens. Start by shifting how you see your work Instead of just completing tasks, begin asking what each task is building in you. Pay attention to what interests you because that often points to words where you may want to grow, even if you don't fully understand it. Look for ways to increase your exposure even in small ways. That might mean asking to sit in helping with something new, or stepping slightly outside of your comfort zone. Start thinking about your role in the bigger picture, not just what you're responsible for, but how your work contributes to moving a file or matter forward and take time, even briefly to reflect, because if you don't recognize your growth, it's easy to feel like you're not progressing when you actually are. The skills you're building, don't stay where they are. Your ability to manage timelines, communicate clearly, organize information, and keep things moving forward, those are not just legal skills, they are professional skills and they carry with you across different areas of law, across different roles, and even outside the legal profession. At the beginning of this episode, I asked to reflect on the question, am I intentionally developing my career right now or am I simply moving through my role? This isn't about having a perfect answer. It's about awareness. Because once you see the difference, you can start making more intentional choices. Before we finish today's episode, I wanna leave you with something simple to try this week. Take one file, or even in your current role, and look at it from a career development perspective. Not just what needs to get done, but what it's actually giving you. What skills are you building? What are you being exposed to? What are you starting to understand now that you didn't before? Because sometimes growth doesn't come from making a big change. Sometimes it comes from seeing your current role differently and using it more intentionally. If this episode resonated with you, I invite you to follow the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Apple Music, and connect with me on LinkedIn. Let me know where you're at in your journey. This is Sister-in-law, the paralegal journey. Welcome to the conversation. Okay.