First of all, if you step into that marble foyer for the first time and realize that you would rather be anywhere but there, you should be. The practice of law is for people who truly want to be lawyers. Those who don't have their hearts in it will have a very difficult road ahead of them. However, if the smell of all those legal pads really gets you going, don't lose track of that passion. It will get you through what just might be the toughest 12 months of your life.
Many fresh-faced new lawyers go into their first year on the job with visions of perfection dancing in their heads. They plan to draft perfect briefs and advance perfect ideas while wearing perfectly ironed shirts and smiling perfectly bright smiles. They are usually disappointed.
When it comes to doing the grunt work that first-years are sure to do, it's usually easier to focus more on getting the job done right rather than getting it done perfectly. There won't be anyone grading your papers, making sure you've done everything properly. There will, however, be a real, live client paying good money for you to make sure that what he/she wants gets done.
In short, you should try to have a broader perspective when it comes to first-year work. Focus on the overall goal of accomplishing a task, and don't get bogged down in the miniscule details.
Once you start working as an attorney, there will be many things you won't have any idea how to do. For example, the firm will have its own system of filing, distributing information, and handling day-to-day operations.
Many times, you won't know where to go, how to get there, or whom to talk to once you do; but instead of spending your days in the restroom mopping your sweaty brow, ask someone for a practice guide that deals directly with the firm's practice areas. This is a simple, easy way to get your head above the water and gulp in some much-needed air.
Once you have a basic understanding of how things at the firm work, you will gain confidence in your own abilities and become more comfortable doing the work. However, there will most likely come a day when someone hands you an assignment that leaves you baffled, wondering what in the world you spent the last three years of law school learning.
In this situation, take a deep breath, and go with your gut instinct. Do what you think you should do, regardless of whether or not you know that it's the right thing to do. Most likely, your gut feeling will be correct. After all, you must have developed some sort of legal intuition while sitting immobile in those stuffy college auditoriums.
Also, don't be afraid to ask a senior associate or partner for answers to questions or for clarification on assignments. Sometimes, you can save a lot of time simply by asking the right person a question.
Now on to arguably the most exciting part of being an attorney (at least in the eyes of new associates): the perks. The best advice in this area is moderation. Overdoing it or taking advantage of the firm in any way will be viewed negatively. Therefore, even if the firm seems liberal when it comes to living the high life, it's always better to exercise a certain level of restraint.
Another area where restraint should be practiced is in regard to your personal life. Don't get me wrong. Everyone has issues of a personal nature that have to be dealt with from time to time, but keep in mind that your superiors have their own personal problems to deal with.
Unless you have a personal matter that absolutely, positively must be discussed, keep your private life to yourself. Also, it's a good idea to talk things over with your family and friends prior to starting work so that they understand exactly what you're getting into. That way, you won't have to deal with the added stress of family disagreements and disappointments if you have to suddenly renege on commitments.
And a last little tidbit of advice for newbie attorneys is to take advantage of your status. Partnership will come soon enough, and then you won't be able to ask dumb questions or get lost on your way to the restroom. Take this opportunity to learn as much as you can while you have the least amount of responsibility. Being teachable during the first 12 months will pay off in the future.
- Law Crossing
http://www.lawcrossing.com/
Your Resume Must Represent Your Career Goals
When drafting your resume, it is easy to fall into the habit of focusing on the past. After all, much of your resume will consist of a list of things you've done?from positions you've held to special awards you've received to degrees you've attained. A resume is, in fact, a compilation of your professional and, in some cases, personal history. Therefore, admittedly, much of your resume will have sentences and clauses that are in the past tense.
And yet, a resume should also be a forward-looking document. In other words, it should not simply indicate where you've been?it should also inform a potential employer about where you're headed. As a result, in order to craft a truly effective resume, you must be somewhat futuristic in your thinking. This means clearly articulating your career goals within the text of your resume.
First Step: Define Your Goals
Placing your career goals on your resume can be quite a challenge if you do not have a clear idea of what those goals are. If you are in this position, you're certainly not alone. Many of us have difficulty visualizing where we would like to be five or ten years down our career path. In a number of cases, this may be the result of selling ourselves short, thinking that the highest levels of achievement in our chosen field are closed to us because we are lacking in some area?interpersonal communication, written communication, decision-making ability, or other job skills which are critically important for managers.
However, if you talk with someone who has made significant progress in his or her career, you might be surprised to learn that this individual also faced feelings of inadequacy or believed that he or she was ill prepared for the job now held. Even sons and daughters of business owners often have to start out in entry-level jobs before they master the skills and expertise needed to run a company. In other words, it would be wrong to assume that a corporate executive is inherently more talented or more intelligent than you are.
Through research?interviewing executives, reading business magazines, and talking to members of professional organizations that you belong to?you should be able to develop a clearer idea of what your career goals are. Perhaps you would like to secure a managerial position?maybe you'd like to teach at the college level?or perhaps you would like to own your own company some day. Jot both immediate and long-term goals down on paper so you have some idea what kind of information you'd like to convey on your resume.
Showcase Your Goals
Once you have defined your career goals, it is important that you showcase them on your resume. Of course, there are various schools of thought about how to highlight career goals most effectively. Which approach you ultimately decide to take depends on a number of factors: what your colleagues and mentors consider to be most effective; what you yourself are comfortable with; and what is the most appropriate approach for the position you're attempting to pursue.
One effective means of spotlighting your career goals is by placing them under a ?Career Objective? category in your resume. This category affords you the opportunity to clearly articulate the direction in which you'd like your career path to go. If you have more than one career goal to list, it's perhaps most effective to list your goals in bullet-point format.
But there are also some other creative ways you can indicate your career goals on your resume. For instance, in the supplemental information you provide for each position you've held, you can indicate how that particular job?or the duties that came with it?helped to move you toward your career goal. As with all the other text in your resume, this information should be stated clearly and succinctly. A simple phrase can inform a prospective employer about how a position aided you in developing the skills needed for achieving your career goals.
Avoid the Temptation of Omitting Critical Information
Unfortunately, some job seekers become so focused on their career goals that they feel that they have to radically alter their resumes in order to demonstrate their dedication to their goals. Such an approach is sure to backfire because it creates a resume that is misleading. When an employer discovers that you have omitted key information, he or she may be understandably reluctant to hire you.
For instance, consider the following scenario: You've just learned about a position that is available at a highly-respected company known for its fantastic promotion policies, benefit packages, and other perks. This is exactly the type of job you'd like to have?not only because of the opportunities it presents, but also because it would help you immensely in accomplishing your long-term career goals.
You decide that a resume re-draft is absolutely essential. However, when you begin the re-writing process, you decide to give a major makeover to the ?Experience? section of your resume. You eliminate every job that does not directly relate to your career goal. By ?streamlining? your resume, you hope to increase your chances of securing the position you desire.
Unfortunately, things in the business world are not that simple. By omitting references to certain jobs in your resume, you are doing a disservice to your employer?and to yourself. You are making it appear as if you've been headed in the same direction throughout your career when, in fact, your career might have taken a number of twists and turns. In addition, your streamlining has resulted in the appearance of serious gaps in your work history. If a would-be employer believes that you were unemployed for long periods of time, he or she may simply place your resume in the reject pile.
Be Open-Minded
Recognize that your career goals can change throughout your employment. As a result, you may need to tinker with the career goals text in your resume every so often. This is not an admission of defeat?rather, it is simply an indication that, as your work experience broadens, your ultimate objectives may evolve, taking you along paths you never dreamed possible.
This article was written by the certified professional resume writers of Resume Service. The writers at AccuroResumes will help create a perfect professional resume suited to your best needs. See why thousands of people are discovering the benefits of a perfect professional resume written by AccuroResumes.com. You are guaranteed to be 100% satisfied with your new, professional resume or, your money back. Reproductions of this article are encouraged, but must include a link pointing to http://www.AccuroResumes.com/.
Integrating XML into SAP Business Connector
Corporations are always in search of the most effective mechanism for both acquiring and selling goods as well as services at very minimum total cost over the Internet. The Business Process Connectors for SAP systems supports for the dynamic integration between the application processes and server systems thus it facilitates in faster and efficient functioning of SAP R/3, SAP Portals and MySAP solutions. In the current model, SAP Business Connector Framework uses XML schemas for generating a JSP that can be assessed from any of the web browsers dynamically, so that one can test and deploy integration tools between the application server environment and SAP systems immediately. For the purpose of adding flexibility, convergence of XML schema approach to the SA Business Connector facilitates to all the SAP standards. Thereby the customers can leverage the power and flexibility of XML into their business documents with an improved efficiency and improved cost-effectiveness as well.
Integrating Business Connectors with XML
SAP BC combines both the RFC server and the client. Additionally it supplies an XML layer over R/3 functionality and also comes with XML automation since it has the ability in converting SAP's RFC format into XML. There is no requirement of SAP R/3 automation at the receiving end since it supports both synchronous RFC and asynchronous RFC protocols.
Benefits of XML Integration:
End-to-End Web Business Processes
Internet bridges the gap between different businesses, systems and users and facilitates them to do business via web. SAP BC makes communication easier by its XML conversions. By means of integration with XML, it enables the exchange of structured business documents over the Internet by providing common standard for various applications together with IT systems for communing with each other and for exchanging business data.
Open Business Document Exchange over the Internet
SAP Business Connector uses hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) for exchanging XML-based documents over the Internet. Without the need of developing tool, it guarantees the security in replacing of documents in accordance with the help of its SSL (Security Socket Layer) technology. Additionally, SAP BC offers openness and flexibility for complying with emerging semantics of business that keep on changing frequently.
XML Solutions for SAP services
SAP BC makes all solutions to be accessible by means of XML based business documents and with the support of XML-based interface Repository (IFR) and empowers SAP customers to benefit from SAP functionality over the Internet, it helps all major existing interfaces that are being offered by SAP. This particular IFR gives the choice of downloading XML schemas and tenders a uniform XML interface representation despite different implementation technologies such as RFC, IDOC and BAPI. XML messages are easily translated into equivalent SAP internal call whenever you need and it gets converted back into XML format when received from SAP system thereby enhancing the existing programming model for distributed applications formed by ALE along with SAP BC.
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