You find a legal position that catches your attention. The practice area sounds interesting. The responsibilities align with what you have been doing. The location and work environment are what you have been looking for.

Then you reach the requirements.

Five years of experience. You have four.

Experience with a particular legal software platform. You have used a different one.

Previous work in the exact practice area. Your background is similar, but not identical.

Should you still apply?

In many cases, it may be worth considering. Legal job descriptions can contain a long list of preferred skills and qualifications, and not every gap carries the same weight. The key is knowing which requirements you can reasonably overcome and which may be essential to performing the job.

Start by Separating the Must-Haves From the Nice-to-Haves

Read the job posting again and look at the requirements in context.

Some qualifications may be essential. A law firm looking for an experienced litigation paralegal, for example, may genuinely need someone who understands the workflows and demands of litigation. An attorney position may require specific credentials or experience that cannot simply be learned after starting.

Other requirements can be more flexible.

If a firm prefers five years of legal assistant experience and you have four years of highly relevant experience, that is very different from applying with no legal background at all.

Ask yourself: Can I already perform the core responsibilities of this job?

If the answer is yes, don’t automatically eliminate yourself because you are missing one preferred qualification.

Look for Transferable Legal Experience

Legal professionals develop skills that can carry across firms, practice areas and positions.

Perhaps you haven’t worked in the employer’s exact practice area, but you have spent years managing deadlines, preparing legal documents, communicating with clients and supporting multiple attorneys.

Maybe you haven’t used the firm’s preferred software, but you have successfully learned several other legal technology platforms.

Instead of focusing exclusively on what you are missing, identify the experience that translates.

For legal assistants, legal secretaries and paralegals, that could include:

• Managing deadlines and calendars

• Preparing and organizing legal documents

• Maintaining client matter files

• Supporting multiple attorneys

• Communicating professionally with clients

• Working with sensitive or confidential information

• Managing competing priorities

• Learning legal technology and software

• Experience within related practice areas

Your goal isn’t to pretend a gap doesn’t exist. It is to show why the experience you do have is relevant.

Don’t Stretch the Truth About Your Experience

There is an important difference between being confident about transferable skills and claiming experience you don’t have.

If you have never worked in a particular practice area, don’t make your resume sound like you have. If you have never used a specific software platform, don’t list it as a skill.

Legal employers may ask detailed questions about your experience during an interview. Being straightforward gives you the opportunity to explain what you know, what you have done and what you would need to learn.

You can acknowledge a gap while still making a strong case for yourself.

For example, instead of simply saying you don’t know a particular software program, explain that you have experience with comparable systems and have successfully learned new platforms in previous positions.

Pay Attention to How Large the Gap Really Is

Missing one requirement is different from missing most of them.

If a position asks for several years of litigation paralegal experience and your background is primarily outside the legal field, it may not be the right opportunity yet.

On the other hand, if you meet most of the qualifications but are slightly short on years of experience or unfamiliar with one piece of software, don’t assume that automatically takes you out of consideration.

Look at the position as a whole.

Could you realistically walk into the role and handle most of its responsibilities? Are the things you don’t know skills you could reasonably learn?

Those questions can help you decide whether applying makes sense.

Talk to Your Legal Recruiter

This is one area where working with a recruiter who understands legal hiring can be especially helpful.

A job posting gives you the requirements. A recruiter may be able to give you more context about the opportunity.

If you are working with Staffing Solutions, LLC, be open about both your experience and your concerns. Tell your recruiter where you feel confident and where you think you may fall short.

That conversation can help determine whether your background aligns with the employer’s needs.

It can also help your recruiter better understand what you are looking for in your next legal position.

Let the Employer Decide When You’re a Strong Match

Candidates sometimes reject themselves before an employer ever has the opportunity to consider them.

You don’t need to meet every preferred qualification to recognize that your experience could be relevant. At the same time, applying strategically is more effective than sending your resume to every legal opening you find.

Focus on opportunities where you can make a credible connection between what the employer needs and what you already know how to do.

If most of the position sounds like work you are prepared to handle, one missing qualification doesn’t necessarily need to stop you from exploring the opportunity.

Explore Your Next Legal Career Move With Staffing Solutions, LLC

Staffing Solutions, LLC works with experienced legal professionals across a range of roles, including legal clerks, legal assistants, legal secretaries, legal accounting specialists, paralegals, litigation paralegals, and associate and lateral attorneys.

If you are considering your next move in the Portland metro area or Southwest Washington, our legal recruiting team can help you explore opportunities that align with your experience and career goals.

Explore legal recruiting with Staffing Solutions, LLC: https://www.staffingsolutionsllc.com/recruiting-expertise/legal/